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The long-awaited soap opera, part two, listen here: https://bit.ly/3zFXggw
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. 27 When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, 1 and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him." 5 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; 6 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." 7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; 8 I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 11 Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. 12 For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." 13 David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan said to David, "Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. (2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:13a NRSV)
Happy Wednesday, ConCafe Family! May the joy of the Lord be your strength today, dear Friend is my prayer for you. Prayers for those who need our prayers. Prayers for one another. Prayers for you, my friend.
Last week I may have surprised some of you with the old As the World Turns music theme from the 1960s; but it was, in my opinion, very appropriate for the soap opera elements of human life as found in the palace of Israel. The ruddy cheeked giant killer is now a grown man who followed his lust and seduced a married woman, then after failing to dupe her husband into sleeping with her to make him believe he was the child that his wife was now expecting, David orders him into the heat and height of battle only to have the soldiers withdraw from his side, allowing the enemy troops to murder him, this poor faithful solider, Uriah the Hittite. Today we're in chapter two of this drama, and like a good soap opera, we waited faithfully for this chapter to come around for we cannot leave unanswered questions hanging! Today, dear audience we find the widow learning that her husband is dead, and she mourns his death. We also learn that when the period of mourning was over, David orders her to the palace where he makes her his wife; better said, one of many wives, and she bears David a son. What does God think about all of this drama? Here's the prophet, as prophets do, speaking for God; "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord," and the Lord sent Nathan to David," who came with a story about a rich man and a poor man. The story outlines how the rich man has all he has ever wanted, flocks and herds of every livestock he could ever have wanted; and the poor man "had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought." The story of this man and his little lamb was very touching. In fact, Nathan said the lamb was like a daughter to him. And yet, the rich man, when company came to visit him, decides to take that lamb from the poor man and has it slaughtered and served for dinner. Ouch!
David feels the same way; he's outraged and angered! This has always reminded me of our little nephew, who when in kindergarten, heard a classmate crying in the girl's restroom, and he ran in there and yelled, in Spanish, no less, "Who made this little girl cry?!" The teacher asked him to leave the girl's bathroom, and he again yelled, "I'm not leaving until someone tells me who made this little girl cry!" Again in Español. Even now I smile. He's a married man now with a daughter of his own, and still has a heart of gold and a very caring spirit. Yet, in David's case, he was unaware that the outrage he felt against the character of this parable, was directed to himself, for God's outrage was just like that. Just listen to God's declaration through the prophet, "I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of saul; I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me,and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife." Nathan continued, "I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." Whoa. Will this be what Judgment Day will be like for us?
The Lord has outlined exactly what would happen in the household of David; with his very sons being the "neighbor(s)" whom God said would do the wicked things that David himself had done. Yet, what David may have expected, he did not get, for the prophet said, "Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die."
There is a consequence to every sin. Even when done in secret when we think no one saw; God did. And that is enough. And while we may think such a situation as this makes for good soap opera, in real life, it makes for tragedy and sadness. I need to point out that the prophet did say, "The Lord has put away your sin." meaning that God forgave David, but did outline the consequences that would come his way as a result of his sin, and not as result of God sending this to him.
This calls us to reflection and repentance. We all have sinned, and we all stand in need of God's grace and forgiveness. While we may not be a king or a queen, we have areas of life over which we are responsible, and for which we have to answer; let us make the first move towards God in asking for His lovingkindness, grace, and forgiveness. God stands lovingly ready to forgive, and as the prophet said, "to put away our sin," which means it is erased and forgotten. At midnight tonight, all of yesterday's sins are erased as we have asked, and the slate is completely clean by the time we wake up. Let us resolve in our hearts to live the life to which we were called, and to do the job to which we were assigned.
PRAYER: Loving God, smile favorably upon us as we confess our sins to You. May You truly forgive and forget our sinfulness and wipe the slate clean. May our first moments tomorrow be moments of joy and happiness, for You have given us a new day and new opportunities in which to serve You. Help us make the most of today and tomorrow. This we pray by He, Whose merits we pray, Jesus our Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Smile, you've been forgiven and the next chapter of your own personal soap opera does not have to be lived like you thought!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
