As Chapter 11 opens, winter has passed, David is settling into his role as King of Israel. His first task of the New Year is to repay the Ammonites for their brutal treatment of David’s messengers, who were sent in peace (Chapter 10) to offer comfort to Hanun because Hanun’s father had shown comfort to David in the crisis of fleeing from Saul. Joab is now in full control of David’s army and is dispatched on the mission while David stays behind in Jerusalem.
While looking out from the roof of his home one evening, David suffers a major heart attack, with full blockage of the artery leading to his heart. Of course, I refer to his spiritual heart, not his physical heart. But the metaphor is very powerful. This story is by far the best illustration of why I started this series in August 2014, to use the Cycle as an analytical tool to search the Old Testament for examples of unity with God, as a sequel to my New Testament book called Streamside – Finding Peace through Perfect Unity.***
David has a “heart after God” (1 Samuel 13:14), and up to this point in 2 Samuel, everything David does is preceded by inquiring of God. Using the metaphor of Streamside, David has kept open the flow of God’s Spirit through the artery to his spiritual heart. He has experienced amazing deliverance through his unity with God.
But in Chapter 11, instead of inquiring of God first, David falls to the Cycle of temptation and disobedience in taking Bathsheba and having her husband killed. This brings disunity with God, warnings (from Nathan the prophet), and ultimately judgment from God in the form of an innocent child’s death.
We have all lived the Cycle up to the point of judgment, which has been fully deserved – it is the product of original sin. But now notice very carefully what David does after he has been crushed by the judgment of God. Remember his heart for God is still there, but the blessings of God’s Spirit are blocked by his failure to inquire and his disobedience. He needs a stent in emergency surgery - stat!
David makes a decision to unblock the flow of the Spirit of God to his heart by confessing to Nathan that he has sinned (12:13a). What comes pouring into David’s damaged heart through his now-unblocked artery is God’s never-ending love – Nathan tells David that God has already taken away his sin and that David will not die (12:13b)!
What does David do? He realizes what he had forgotten in his overpowering desire to sin – inquiring of God. Falling on the ground to do just that, David earnestly repents (12:16).
Repentance does not mean avoiding punishment, but punishment is easier to endure when we choose not to die of a heart attack of our own making.
We can experience the astonishing restoration to God (unblocking the flow) and return to unity with God – but only with repentance!
My friends, the Cycle is powerful not only for each of us personally, but for our local church, synagogue or mosque; for our faith; for our home; for our community; for our country; and for the world.
Unity with God starts with avoiding a heart attack with a simple decision to unblock the flow of God’s love into our hearts, over and over again, to always inquire of God before we do anything – that is, to pray, wait, listen – and to obey!
_______________________________________________________________________
***Get Streamside directly from me at the amazing blogger’s price of $10.00, a 73% discount! Contact me at [email protected]
While looking out from the roof of his home one evening, David suffers a major heart attack, with full blockage of the artery leading to his heart. Of course, I refer to his spiritual heart, not his physical heart. But the metaphor is very powerful. This story is by far the best illustration of why I started this series in August 2014, to use the Cycle as an analytical tool to search the Old Testament for examples of unity with God, as a sequel to my New Testament book called Streamside – Finding Peace through Perfect Unity.***
David has a “heart after God” (1 Samuel 13:14), and up to this point in 2 Samuel, everything David does is preceded by inquiring of God. Using the metaphor of Streamside, David has kept open the flow of God’s Spirit through the artery to his spiritual heart. He has experienced amazing deliverance through his unity with God.
But in Chapter 11, instead of inquiring of God first, David falls to the Cycle of temptation and disobedience in taking Bathsheba and having her husband killed. This brings disunity with God, warnings (from Nathan the prophet), and ultimately judgment from God in the form of an innocent child’s death.
We have all lived the Cycle up to the point of judgment, which has been fully deserved – it is the product of original sin. But now notice very carefully what David does after he has been crushed by the judgment of God. Remember his heart for God is still there, but the blessings of God’s Spirit are blocked by his failure to inquire and his disobedience. He needs a stent in emergency surgery - stat!
David makes a decision to unblock the flow of the Spirit of God to his heart by confessing to Nathan that he has sinned (12:13a). What comes pouring into David’s damaged heart through his now-unblocked artery is God’s never-ending love – Nathan tells David that God has already taken away his sin and that David will not die (12:13b)!
What does David do? He realizes what he had forgotten in his overpowering desire to sin – inquiring of God. Falling on the ground to do just that, David earnestly repents (12:16).
Repentance does not mean avoiding punishment, but punishment is easier to endure when we choose not to die of a heart attack of our own making.
We can experience the astonishing restoration to God (unblocking the flow) and return to unity with God – but only with repentance!
My friends, the Cycle is powerful not only for each of us personally, but for our local church, synagogue or mosque; for our faith; for our home; for our community; for our country; and for the world.
Unity with God starts with avoiding a heart attack with a simple decision to unblock the flow of God’s love into our hearts, over and over again, to always inquire of God before we do anything – that is, to pray, wait, listen – and to obey!
_______________________________________________________________________
***Get Streamside directly from me at the amazing blogger’s price of $10.00, a 73% discount! Contact me at [email protected]
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