Sin’s Consequences Have a Long Shelf-Life

1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?” 4 The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” 5 They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.

10 Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 11 When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land. – 2 Samuel 21:1-14 ESV

These closing chapters of the book of Second Samuel function as a kind of appendix, presenting six unrelated stories that do not appear in chronological order. Yet, this compilation of disconnected stories is intended to provide a historical overview of the life of David. The first involves a famine, which probably took place early in David’s reign. It had lasted three years and brought much devastation to the people of Israel. But it was not until David sought the face of God that he became aware of the famine’s cause. It is significant to note that, early in David’s reign, he seemed to have been more prone to seek the face of God when faced with difficulty. But he had still waited three years before he determined to seek the Lord’s will concerning the matter.

It seems that David initially viewed the famine as nothing more than a natural disaster. But after three years with no relief, he finally inquired of the Lord and was told, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites” (2 Samuel 21:1 NLT). This was not a case of divine judgment; God was punishing Israel for a sin committed by Saul during his reign as king. But the genesis of this story goes back much farther than that.

The Book of Joshua records an incident concerning the people of Israel as they were attempting to take possession of the land of Canaan. This was the inheritance that God promised to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now, centuries later, Joshua had been appointed by God to lead the Israelites in their conquest and occupation of the land. Early on in their mission, Joshua was approached by a contingent of Gibeonites who were disguised as weary travelers who had come as emissaries of a distant nation. They informed Joshua that they wished to make a treaty with the Israelites.

These Gibeonites, who were actually local occupants of the land, had heard of Israel’s destruction of Jericho and Ai and feared that they would suffer a similar fate. So, they had come up with a plan to deceive the Israelites into making a treaty with them, and it worked. But what’s important to note is that it worked because Joshua  “did not ask counsel from the Lord” (Joshua 9:14 NLT). Instead, he signed a treaty with the Gibeonites, vowing not to attack them.

Even when the Israelites discovered that they had been deceived, they were powerless to do anything about it because they “had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 9:18 NLT). This story contains a powerful and timeless life lesson. When faced with the Gibeonites’ plausible but false story, Joshua failed to seek God’s wisdom or will. As a result, he was deceived and made a treaty with the Gibeonites, in direct violation of God’s will.

“Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.

“You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them. Then you will accept their daughters, who sacrifice to other gods, as wives for your sons. And they will seduce your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods.” – Exodus 34:12-16 NLT

Joshua didn’t realize it at the time, but his decision would have long-lasting implications. The Israelites would suffer no immediate consequences for finalizing their agreement with the Gibeonites but, in time, the wisdom behind God’s earlier prohibition would make sense. 

The Israelites’ tendency to leave God out of the picture would repeat itself over the centuries. The names of the leaders would change but the pattern of autonomy and stubborn self-sufficiency would continue to raise its ugly head. Even David, the man after God’s own heart, has displayed a surprising propensity for leaving God out of his decision-making and, each time he did, it never turned out well.

This incident with the Gibeonites is yet another reminder that failure to seek the will of God doesn’t always produce immediate consequences, but it is a dangerous game to play. God’s wisdom and will are not up for debate. His plan is perfect and in no need of alteration or assistance. Joshua had no way of knowing how his decision would impact the lives of future generations of Israelites. He simply signed the treaty with the Gibeonites and moved on with the conquest of the land.

But centuries later, when Saul became king of Israel, he violated the treaty that Joshua made with the Gibeonites. It is unclear whether Saul was ignorant of the long-standing treaty or willingly broke it to eliminate the Gibeonites as a threat to his kingdom. The details of this incident are not recorded in Scripture but Saul’s actions would produce consequences.

When David sought God’s insight regarding the cause of the famine, he was told, “It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, because he murdered the Gibeonites” (2 Samuel 21:1 NLT). God had not forgotten the initial treaty signed by Joshua or Saul’s violation of it. The Almighty’s memory is flawless and His will is unchanging. Even though God had not authorized the treaty between Israel and the Gibeonites, once it was ratified, He expected its terms to be kept. But Saul had chosen to break that binding agreement for the sake of his kingdom. Now, years later, Saul’s debt was coming due and David would have to pay it.

It’s important to note that David did not dispute the facts of the case. He didn’t question the Lord’s explanation for the famine or demand to know why he was having to clean up Saul’s mess. The famine was the result of Saul’s sin and David was being tasked with the unpleasant prospect of mitigating its consequences. There is little doubt that Saul did not seek the will of God before he broke the treaty with the Gibeonites, and there is no indication that he personally suffered for doing so. But David and the people of Israel had been forced to endure three long years of hunger and suffering for Saul’s disobedience.

It should not be overlooked that Saul’s motivation for killing the Gibeonites was honorable.

Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out. – 2 Samuel 21:2 NLT

He had meant well but because he did not seek God’s will, the outcome didn’t turn out well. Saul never had to face the consequences of his disobedience, but David did. When he interviewed the Gibeonites and asked for a list of demands to remedy the injustice Saul had committed, their answer must have surprised him. 

“It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel. So let seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord.” – 2 Samuel 21:5-6 NLT

The Gibeonites didn’t ask for financial remuneration or demand that David award them rights to Saul’s former land holdings. They appealed to the ancient law of lex talionis which demanded retribution in kind. The Mosaic Law contains its own version of this legal precedence.

But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. – Exodus 21:23-25 NLT

Once David heard their demand, he knew he could not ignore it or attempt to barter his way out of it. The famine would not end until this situation was made right and justice was served. So, David gathered seven of the sons of Saul and “gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together” (2 Samuel 21:9 ESV).

This must have been a dark day for David and the people of Israel as they watched the seven sons of Saul marching to their deaths. Saul’s kinsmen would have found this payment for past sins particularly hard to accept. Their lingering dislike for David would have boiled over into resentment and disdain for his all-too-quick assent to the Gibeonite’s demand.

But one of the lessons we must take away from this story is the residual nature of sin. Joshua failed to seek God’s counsel and ended up making a covenant that violated God’s will. Yahweh had commanded the complete destruction and elimination of the occupants of the land. No treaties were to be made. No alliances were to be formed. Joshua’s failure to listen to God not only left the Gibeonites in the land but created a ticking time bomb that would threaten future generations of Israelites. Saul would end up breaking Joshua’s treaty with the Gibeonites by putting some of them to death. Then, years later, the people of Israel ended up having to endure a three-year-long famine as payment for the disobedience of both Joshua and Saul. One sin led to another, leaving David with the unpleasant task of having to remedy the whole situation by having seven innocent men put to death.

Sin always has consequences. What can easily be overlooked in this story are the thousands of innocent people who suffered from the famine. Many likely lost loved ones due to starvation. Innocent children suffered. Animals died. The entire community was forced to go through three years of God-ordained punishment because of the sins of two men. It’s impossible to ignore the sorrow of Rizpah, the grieving mother who remained by the lifeless bodies of her sons, mourning her loss and attempting to protect their bodies from scavengers. Her grief was the direct result of someone else’s sin.

The story comes to a conclusion with David gathering the bodies of the seven slain sons, along with the bones of Saul and Jonathan, and burying them all in the land of the Benjamites. Saul and Jonathan had also died as a result of sin against God. Saul deserved what happened to him, but Jonathan was yet another innocent casualty of sin’s devastating impact. Time and time again, the Scriptures reveal the latent and lingering influence of sin. It has a long shelf life. Our sins can be forgiven, but their consequences can last for generations. That’s why it is so important to seek the Lord’s wisdom and to strive to live within His will. It is when we fail to seek Him that we leave ourselves vulnerable to our own sinful natures and the influence of the enemy. Ignoring God and following our own flawed and selfish desires never produces the result for which we are looking. When we leave God out of our decision-making, our poor choices will always come back to haunt us. We wrongly assume that our sins are personal and harm no one but ourselves. But the Scriptures are full of sobering stories like this one that proves that conclusion painfully wrong – dead wrong.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Sin Has a Long Shelf-Life

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And 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. – 2 Samuel 11:14-27 ESV

The apostle James wrote this clear and convicting description of sin:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. – James 1:14-15 NLT

This entire affair surrounding David’s life is recorded for posterity in chapter 11 of 2 Samuel and serves as a tragic illustration of James’ words. David had desires. He had a strong attraction for the opposite sex that he seemed to have a difficult time managing. It had already led to his growing collection of wives, and when he spied Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop, that desire kicked into high gear. The sight of her was not enough; he had to have her. His desires enticed him and lured him into committing an even greater sin than simply lusting after Bathsheba. The Greek word James used is exelkō and it refers to a hunter or fisherman drawing his prey out of hiding by tempting them with something they desire.

David took the bait and his desire gave birth to sinful actions. What began as a lustful look turned into adultery, but it didn’t stop there. His sin grew and produced further fruit. Bathsheba became pregnant and this unexpected news forced David to commit additional sins. He lied. He manipulated. He ordered her husband back from the front lines in the hope that Uriah’s reunion with Bathsheba might hide his own sin. When that didn’t work, David’s sin gave birth to death. He concocted a plan for Uriah to be killed in battle, and he sent Uriah back to the front unknowingly carrying his own death warrant in his hands.

This story is meant to shock us, but it should not surprise us. It shocks us because it involves David, the man after God’s own heart. But just because David held a special place in God’s heart does not mean that David was immune to sin. He was human and had flaws and weaknesses, and David’s sins proved deadly. In this case, David’s growing number of sins finally led to literal death, but not his own. It was Uriah who would die and, along with him, many other innocent soldiers who were unnecessarily exposed to the same deadly circumstances as Uriah.

David’s sin gave birth to death. The Greek word James used is apokyeō and it means “to beget, to bring forth from the womb, to produce or generate.” Like the unexpected pregnancy of Bathsheba, there would come a time when David’s sins would come to full term and deliver. There would be a byproduct of his sins.

It’s interesting to note that in the Garden of Eden God had warned Adam about the consequences of disobedience to His commands.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Genesis 2:16-17 ESV

And the day came when Eve, Adam’s wife, listened to the enticing words of Satan and chose to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6 ESV

The apostle Paul reminds us that Adam’s sin of eating the forbidden fruit along with his wife resulted in death.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 3:12 NLT

For the first time, death became an inevitable and unavoidable reality for mankind. Adam and Eve would know the pain of physical death. But it also brought into being the more hideous reality of spiritual death – eternal separation from God – the fate of all those who do not accept God’s gracious offer of salvation through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

But Adam and Eve didn’t die immediately; they lived long after their sin was committed. Yet their sin did give birth to death in the form of their own son’s murder at the hands of his brother. In a fit of jealousy and rage, Cain killed Abel. Sin always gives birth to death. It may not always produce physical death, but it will always result in spiritual death because sin separates us from God. It also causes suffering for others. It damages and destroys. It grows and spreads like cancer, infecting our lives and contaminating those around us.

Uriah was an innocent victim of David’s selfish sin but he was not alone. Other innocent men died because of David’s poor choices and lust-driven desire to satisfy his own desires. Yet, when David heard the news of the undeserved deaths of his own men, his response was anything but sorrowful.

“Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged. The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!” – 2 Samuel 11:25 NLT

He displayed no remorse, repentance, or regret.

But David was far from done; he still had the pregnancy of Bathsheba to cover up. In his rush to conceal his sin, David had the grieving widow brought to the palace, providing her with no time to mourn the loss of her husband. With a hastily arranged wedding, David hoped to provide a logical explanation for her soon-to-be-obvious pregnancy. But while David thought his act of subterfuge had gone unnoticed, God knew, and God would discipline David for his sin.

The apostle Paul tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 ESV). Ultimately, he was referring to the spiritual death that follows our physical death. There is an eternal separation from God that will be the lot of all those who have sinned unless they have placed their faith in the redemptive work of Christ. Paul goes on to say that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As Christians, we will inevitably sin in this life but we will never have to face eternal separation from God in the next life. Jesus has provided us with eternal life and the guarantee of our status as sons and daughters of God, and heirs of his Kingdom. But our sins will still have ramifications in this life. It will still produce death by destroying our joy, robbing us of contentment, damaging our relationships, and limiting our effectiveness for God. As Proverbs 11:19 reminds us, Genuine righteousness leads to life, but the pursuit of evil brings death” (Proverbs 11:19 BSB).

As long as David’s sin remained unconfessed and unforgiven, it would continue to produce death. It would kill David’s fellowship with God. It would destroy David’s peace and contentment. And it would result in yet another death – one that would come close to home and leave David devastated. Sin is deadly and, while as Christians, we may rest in the knowledge that spiritual death is no longer a threat to us, we must never underestimate the deadly effects of sin while we live on this earth. Our sins always have consequences.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.” 2 David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.” – 1 Samuel 28:1-7  ESV

The last few chapters have featured a series of repetitive encounters between Saul and David, providing a stark contrast between the lives of the two men. The back-and-forth nature of the narrative repeatedly shifts the focus from one man to the other, revealing aspects of their lives that set them apart. One minute we’re given a look into the life of David, and then the scene shifts to that of Saul. Sandwiched in between were two awkward face-to-face encounters between the two men in which David had been given the opportunity to take Saul's life but refused to do so.

In this chapter, the two men appear together but not physically. The opening verses of the chapter provide a brief but sobering look into what happens when someone decides to disobey God and take matters into their own hands. While the author has gone out of his way to contrast David and Saul, this preface to chapter 28 appears to make both men responsible for the events about to unfold. Both men have created unnecessary and uncomfortable circumstances for themselves because they have chosen to disobey God.

David is living with the Philistines. Granted, his troops and their families occupy the city of Ziklag, in a more remote area within Philistia but they are still considered vassals or servants of the Philistine king, Achish. In fact, because of David’s deception, King Achish had the false impression that David and his 600 men were actually fighting against Israel on his behalf. Where would he have gotten such an idea? From David himself. Each time David and his troops went on a raid, they would attack the enemies of Israel. But when they returned, they would report to Achish that they had been raiding areas within Judah (1 Samuel 27:8-12). So Achish believed that David, because of Saul, had switched his loyalties and was now a faithful servant of the Philistines.

David must have considered himself some kind of genius. By moving to Philistia, he had escaped the constant pursuit of Saul and found a safe haven from which to continue his attacks against the enemies of Israel. David’s plan seems to have turned out well, but his reliance upon deception was about to blow up in his face because the inevitable happened. The Israelites declared war on the Philistines and King Achish demanded that David and his men accompany him in battle against the Israelites.

King Achish told David, “You and your men will be expected to join me in battle.” – 1 Samuel 28:1 NLT

The dream scenario David had created was about to turn into a nightmare. If he refused to fight alongside the Philistines, King Achish would question his loyalty and, perhaps, renege on his offer of hospitality and protection. Worse yet, the king might realize that David had been deceiving him all along and turn against him.

If David agrees to fight with the Philistines, he will be forced to attack his own people and forfeit any right to the crown of Israel. Maintaining his cover in Philistia would require David to be a traitor to his people. So, in the heat of the moment, David gave Achish an ambiguous commitment.

“Very well!” David agreed. “Now you will see for yourself what we can do.” – 1 Samuel 28:2a NLT

David is forced to continue his deception of King Achish, delaying the inevitable decision he must make. The king assumes that he has David’s full support and allegiance and gives him a promotion.

Then Achish told David, “I will make you my personal bodyguard for life.” – 1 Samuel 28:2b NLT

David, who once served as the personal bodyguard of King Saul, now finds himself offering his services to the king of the Philistines (1 Samuel 22:14). Imagine David’s embarrassment at having to try and explain this promotion to his men. This was a predicament to end all predicaments. David was between a rock and a hard place and it was all his fault; he had no one to blame but himself.

What about Saul? He faced a war against the Philistines and was missing one of his best warriors and 600 of his most battle-hardened soldiers – all because he had chosen to make David and his men outlaws. His obsessive attempt to take David’s life had forced David to switch sides (or so Saul had concluded). In addition, Saul was operating without the aid of a prophet of God because Samuel was dead. To make matters worse, God had removed His Spirit from Saul, leaving him without divine direction. He was a king without a Sovereign to whom he could turn for help and guidance. But this didn’t prevent Saul from attempting to seek God’s help.

When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. – 1 Samuel 28:5-6 NLT

God had gone silent, the prophet was dead, David was AWOL, the Israelites were vastly outnumbered, and Saul was scared out of his wits. But this desperate situation had been of his own making. He is the one who disobeyed God and failed to wipe out the Amalekites. He is the one who refused to wait for the prophet and offered sacrifices to God in direct disobedience to the law of God. He is the one who refused to accept God’s decree for David to be the next king of Israel. Instead, he had repeatedly attempted to take David’s life. Now David had sided with the enemy and Saul was facing consequences that were a direct result of his disobedience and poor decision-making. Like David, Saul found himself between a rock and a hard place, and in a last-gasp attempt to solve his predicament, he would make one more ungodly decision he would live to regret.

Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.” – 1 Samuel 28:7 NLT

Because God refused to answer him, Saul decided to turn to a witch for help. His desperate need for guidance drove him to disobey the will of God. Saul knew what he was doing was wrong because God had clearly communicated His policies concerning witchcraft and the occult.

“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” – Leviticus 20:6 ESV

“There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead,  for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 18:10-12 ESV

Saul had even banned from the land of Israel “all mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead” (1 Samuel 28:3 NLT). But, as Saul felt the walls closing in on him, he denied his own edict and disobeyed the command of God.

Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.”

His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.” – 1 Samuel 28:7 NLT

Two men. Two different circumstances. But both found themselves in a predicament of their own making and all because of their disobedience to God. Rather than seeking and submitting to the will of God, they had determined to take matters into their own hands. Now they were faced with the consequences of their Godless decision making. Thomas L. Constable provides us with a sobering summary of what is going on here.

“This whole pericope illustrates that, when opposition from ungodly people persists, God’s people should continue to pray and trust Him for protection rather than taking matters into their own hands. If we initiate a plan without seeking God’s guidance, we may remove one source of aggravation and danger only to find ourselves in another. Such plans may result in some good, but they may also put us in situations where we find it even more tempting to disobey God (cf. Jacob). We should, instead, remember God’s promises (e.g., 1 Pet. 1:3-9; 2 Pet. 1;2-4) and pray for His guidance (cf. Phil. 4:6-7). – Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on 1 Samuel, 2009 Edition

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Avoiding the Truth Won’t Void the Consequences

6 “Do not preach”—thus they preach—
    “one should not preach of such things;
    disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
    Has the Lord grown impatient?
    Are these his deeds?
Do not my words do good
    to him who walks uprightly?
8 But lately my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
    with no thought of war.
9 The women of my people you drive out
    from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
    my splendor forever.
10 Arise and go,
    for this is no place to rest,
because of uncleanness that destroys
    with a grievous destruction.
11 If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,
    saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
    he would be the preacher for this people!– Micah 2:6-11 ESV

Micah, like the rest of God’s prophets, had a very unpopular message to deliver. His words concerning God’s pending judgment were not received well by the people. No one liked hearing that they were guilty of grievous sins against God and stood justly condemned to bear His divine punishment. 

The people begged Micah and the other prophets to shut up. They thought that if they could silence the doom and gloom messages of these men, all their problems would go away. The people to whom Isaiah prophesied begged him to simply change the tone of his message.

They tell the seers,
    “Stop seeing visions!”
They tell the prophets,
    “Don’t tell us what is right.
Tell us nice things.
    Tell us lies.
Forget all this gloom.
    Get off your narrow path.
Stop telling us about your
    ‘Holy One of Israel.’” – Isaiah 30:10-11 NLT

They didn’t want to hear the truth, even if it came directly from the lips of God Almighty. Amos, another prophet of God, was told by his contemporaries, “Don’t prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against my people” (Amos 7:16 NLT). Again, they thought they could change the outcome simply by changing the content of the message. This mindset led to the rise of a virtual cottage industry of false prophets, who gladly told the people what they wanted to hear. They told them nice things. They lied to them. These false prophets took it upon themselves to deliver contradictory yet much-more tolerable messages to the people.

And Micah refers to these naysayers who were demanding that he stop preaching his message of judgment.

“Do not preach”—thus they preach—
    “one should not preach of such things;
    disgrace will not overtake us.” – Micah 2:6 ESV

They were prophesying that Micah should stop prophesying. They were claiming his message to be wrong and theirs to be right. And you can imagine how the people responded to these two competing visions of the truth. They sided with the false prophets. They gladly accepted the lie because it was exactly what they wanted to hear. And because these false prophets claimed to be speaking for God, the people soaked up their message eagerly and without discernment.

Generations later, the apostle Paul warned his young protege, Timothy, about this natural propensity on the part of God’s people to reject the truth for a lie.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. – 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT

That is exactly what Micah was facing. His audience would prefer to hear him lie than have him speak the truth of God. Micah’s competition was practicing an early form of positive motivational thinking. They were presenting nothing but good news, preferring to focus on what they believed to be their unique position as God’s chosen people. They were counting on the fact that they had a covenant relationship with God Almighty and He was not going to abandon them. It is likely that they turned to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, and cherry-picked passages that would support their more positive point of view.

“Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly. You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.” – Deuteronomy 26:16-19 NLT

But they conveniently avoided any passage that might paint a more negative outcome.

“But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you…The Lord will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone! You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you.” – Deuteronomy 28:15, 36-37 NLT

Micah argued with the people, demanding that they not kill the messenger. He was simply telling them the truth and re-articulating the very message that God had conveyed to Moses hundreds of years earlier. This outcome had always been a distinct possibility. In fact, it had been guaranteed by God. If they obeyed His commands, they would enjoy His blessings. But if they chose to disobey, they would suffer His curses. Obedience was optional, but God’s judgment was not.

The people were counting on God’s continuing patience. After all, He had tolerated their sinful behavior for generations, so why not now? But Micah warned that there was a limit to God’s patience. And they had nothing to fear from Micah’s message – if they lived uprightly. But the sad reality was that no one was honoring God with their lives. As a nation, they had turned their backs on God and were guilty of practicing all kinds of egregious sins that were far worse than the pagan nations around them.

And once again, Micah is forced to point out their sins with painstaking clarity.

Yet to this very hour
    my people rise against me like an enemy!
You steal the shirts right off the backs
    of those who trusted you,
making them as ragged as men
    returning from battle. – Micah 2:8 NLT

They treated God’s prophet like an enemy. They mistreated their fellow Judahites, practicing every form of injustice and ignoring God’s calls for mercy, love, and compassion.

You have evicted women from their pleasant homes
    and forever stripped their children of all that God would give them. – Micah 2:9 NLT

Notice that Micah’s indictments have to do with their treatment with one another. He is not just listing their idolatry and their practice of religious pluralism. This wasn’t just about worshiping false gods. It was their rejection of the one true God that led to behavior that was out of step with His divine will. Again, the apostle Paul warned Timothy about a coming day when people would display these same ungodly characteristics.

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. – 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT

When people reject the one true God, they end up displaying behavior that is contrary to His divine will. Idolatry is not just the worship of a false god, it is the embracing of a lifestyle of ungodliness and unholiness. And Paul described what happens when men reject the truth of God and embrace the lie.

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. – Romans 1:28-32 NLT

This was the atmosphere in Judah during the days of Micah. The people had fully embraced the lie and had rejected the truth of God’s Word. They knew better. And they surrounded themselves with prophets who would tell them what they wanted to hear. And Micah called them out for their unapologetic search for positive motivational prophets.

Suppose a prophet full of lies would say to you,
    “I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!”
That’s just the kind of prophet you would like! – Micah 2:11 NLT

The truth had become relative. And a prophet was anyone who told you what you wanted to hear. But Micah had more bad news for these easily deceived and highly delusional people. 

Up! Begone!
    This is no longer your land and home,
for you have filled it with sin
    and ruined it completely. – Micah 2:10 NLT

No amount of false prophets were going to change the truth concerning God’s judgment. Rejection of God’s divine will was possible, but escape from His wrath was not. They could continue to live under the delusion that all would be well, but reality would eventually set in and their fate would turn out just as God had warned. They could choose to ignore the truth, but they could never avoid the consequences.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Reason To Praise.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. – Psalm 51:14-15 ESV

Psalm 51

David was guilty of murder. He had arranged for the death of an innocent man, all in order to justify his taking of that man's wife. What started out as an act of adultery ended up leading to murder. And David was fully aware of his guiltiness before God. But because he knew of God's unfailing love and mercy, he asked God to deliver him from the very guilt he deserved. The Hebrew word David uses is natsal and it literally means, “to snatch away.” David was asking God to reach down and rescue him out of the predicament in which he found himself. Like someone who finds himself drowning in a river, David desperately called out to God for deliverance. He couldn't save himself. David could confess his sin, but he couldn't do a thing about his guilt. He needed salvation. He required God's divine intervention and deliverance.

The penalty for David's two sins of adultery and murder was severe. At best, he deserved alienation from God. At worst, he deserved death. But here he was, begging God for mercy and forgiveness. He was asking God to forgive and deliver him from his well-deserved guilt. In essence, David was asking God to commute his death sentence. The seriousness of David's situation sometimes escapes us. We are so used to reading this Psalm and so accustomed to viewing God as merciful, loving and always forgiving, that we fail to recognize what David did – that God is holy and obligated by His nature to deal with sin in a just and righteous manner. He cannot ignore or overlook it. To do so would make Him an unjust judge. He also cannot be impartial, treating David differently just because he was a man after His own heart. God loved David, but He was not going to disregard David's sin. David's sin deserved death. And while God would spare David's life, the baby born as a result of David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba would die. The prophet, Nathan, shared with David the judgment of God. “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die” (2 Samuel 12:13-14 ESV). Not only that, Nathan warned David that one of his own sons would end up doing to him what he had done to Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba. “Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of 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 sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun” (2 Samuel 12:11-12 ESV). David would escape death, but he would not escape the discipline of God.

It is most likely that David wrote this psalm after he had received this bad news from Nathan. He knew punishment was coming. He would mourn the death of his young son. But he would also praise God for His loving deliverance of his life. David had deserved death, but he had been allowed to live. He had been allowed to continue serving God as king of Israel. While his actions had forfeited him that right, God had shown him mercy, rescuing him from his guilt and shame. And David would go on to praise God for all He had done. David had promised God that he would “sing aloud of your righteousness” and “declare your praise.” And David would do just that. He would write many more psalms declaring the greatness, goodness, graciousness and glory of God. He would spend years singing of God's mighty deeds and shouting about God's unfailing love. David's life would not be easy. He would see one of his own sons rape his half-sister. He would watch as one of his other sons took revenge by murdering the brother who had committed this act. David's sin would have long-lasting implications. He would experience God's forgiveness and deliverance, but he would not escape the consequences of his actions. Our sins, while forgiven by God, still have consequences. Our actions have implications. David was graciously forgiven by God and allowed to live, rather than die as he deserved. But David's sin would have a ripple effect that impacted the lives of his children. David would have to watch as his infant son died. But immediately after David received the news of his death, the Scriptures tell us, “Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped” (2 Samuel 12:20 ESV). David praised God. He knew that God had been just in all that He had done. David didn't rail against God. He didn't become angry and bitter. He knew that God had saved him. He realized that God had delivered him from the guilt of his sin and provided him with life when what he had deserved was death. He had reason to praise God, so he did. He had motivation to be grateful, so he was. In spite of David's sin, God had been loving, gracious, kind and forgiving. And David was forever grateful.

Living Civilly With Civil Authorities.

Romans 13:1-7

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. – Romans 13:1 NLT

Now Paul changes his focus from discussing our relationship with our enemies to how we should interact with the government under which we live. Keep in mind that Paul is writing to Christians living in Rome. They are under the iron-fisted rule of one of the most powerful nations that has ever existed. So when Paul tells them to submit, his readers immediately had to think about the heavy-handed reign of Caesar and his far-reaching empire. The Romans ruled from England to Africa and from Syria to Spain. Every one in four people on the planet at the time lived under Roman law. The Roman Empire governed all of life, including a person's social status. Roman rule could be both sophisticated and brutal. It was the Romans who perfected the use of the cross as a means of capital punishment. The Romans were intolerant of dissension or civil unrest of any kind.

And yet, here is Paul encouraging his readers to submit to governing authorities, including the Romans. Why? Because according to Paul, all authority comes from God. He is the ultimate authority and no one rules on this planet outside of His overarching, divine authority, including Satan. It is interesting that Paul concluded chapter 11 with an admonition about taking revenge into our own hands. For those living under Roman law, there would have been the constant temptation to rebel against or at least resist their all-encompassing influence – perhaps to even consider retaliating against what they believed to be unjust and unbearable requirements. Even the disciples had an expectation that Jesus, as their Messiah, would at some point overturn the rule of the Romans and reestablish the Jews as the authorities in Palestine. But Jesus' agenda was not political, but spiritual. When confronted about whether or not the Jews should have to pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus replied, "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God" (Matthew 22:21 NLT).

The real issue here is about the sovereignty of God. As believers, we must understand that God is the ultimate ruler over all things, including earthly governments, whether good or bad. Paul says that we are to submit, not just obey. That word conveys a willing decision to come under the authority of another. When we do so, we are really coming under the authority of God, recognizing that, in His sovereignty, He has ordained where we were born and under what government we live. And ultimately, government is a God-ordained institution designed to provide order, protection, and punishment for wrong when necessary. Paul writes, "The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong" (Romans 13:4 NLT). Governments inherently establish law as a necessary means to maintain order. Order prevents chaos. Much like Paul's discussion of the Law of Moses and its role in the lives of men, civil law provides a bench mark for behavior. We have traffic laws in order to establish and maintain some sense of order. Without them, it would be every man for himself. The laws provide standards for behavior, that when broken, require punishment. Paul says that we are to submit to those laws or standards, willingly and with the understanding that when we rebel against the authority placed over us by God, we are really rebelling against Him.

In saying all of this, Paul is not encouraging blind submission or allegiance to an unjust, unfair government. Those in authority over us must also ultimately answer to God as their authority. When civil authority contradicts the divine authority of God, we must obey God, which may require us to disobey those in authority over us. But we must do so submissively, willingly accepting the consequences of our actions. If the government should require a believer to do anything that contradicts the will of God or to violate our belief system, we are obligated to disobey, but we are also obligated to accept the consequences of our disobedience. Daniel disobeyed the civil authorities of his day when he refused to bow down and worship King Darius as if he was a god. His punishment? He was thrown into a den of lions. Daniel obeyed his God, but willingly submitted to his fate for disobeying the civil authorities.

There is no perfect government. Governments are ruled by fallen men with wicked hearts. Even those with the best of intentions are marred by sin and prone to selfishness. And yet Paul lets us know that God has ordained all governments. They are tools in His hands to accomplish His divine will. All throughout history, God used both good and evil rulers to bring about His divine plan. He used the Pharaohs to enslave the Israelites for 400 years. He used the Babylonians to conquer the southern kingdom of Judah, and the Syrians to conquer and capture the northern kingdom of Israel. God used King Herod to attempt to eliminate the baby Jesus, forcing Mary and Joseph to seek safety in Egypt, all in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. Our problem is that we are cursed with a limited perspective. We have a hard time seeing government as good. We focus on the flaws and fret over what we see as the inequities of their rule over our lives. But Paul would say, "Submit!" He would encourage us to recognize all rulers and authorities as having been placed there by God. So at the end of the day, we are really submitting to the sovereign authority of God over our lives. We must trust Him, much like Daniel did. We are to "give respect and honor to those who are in authority" (Romans 13:7b NLT). That is our God-appointed duty. Should the time come that we must disobey that authority because it requires us to do anything that goes against the will of God, then we must do so submissively, not violently. We must be willing to obey God AND accept the consequences of our actions. And when we do it that way, we can do so with a clear conscience. Jesus willingly submitted to the authorities in His day, accepting the punishment of death on the cross, even though He was guiltless and innocent. His only crime was claiming to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews. All He had to do was renounce His claim and He could have saved His life. But He refused, because that would have been to disobey God. So He willingly submitted to the civil authorities, and accepted their punishment of death on the cross – a Roman cross. At no time did He lash out. He didn't rail against the Romans and their tyrannical rule. He didn't attempt to start a rebellion in order to save His life. He submitted to His authorities as though placed their by God, and willingly accepted His fate – all to God's glory and our ultimate good.

Father, this is difficult. We live in a world where governments are corrupt, untrustworthy, and even ruthless in their treatment of their citizens. We struggle with remaining obedient to what we believe to be unethical systems of rule that violate our freedoms and trample our rights. But Paul reminds us that, while we are citizens of heaven, we must remain submissive and obedient to the authorities under which we live. We must view them as placed there by You, and trust that You have a plan in place of which we are ignorant. You left us in this world, with its corrupt and flawed government, for a reason. Show us how to live as children of light in the midst of a dark and depraved world. We need Your help and a glimpse of Your perspective. Amen.