II Samuel 12

Nathan sent by LORD to Davidverses 1-4

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David – and he came unto him

and said to him

There were two men in one city

the one rich – and the other poor

The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds

BUT the poor man had nothing – save one little ewe lamb

which he had bought and nourished up

and it grew up together with him

and with his children

it did eat of his own meat

and drank of his own cup

and lay in his bosom

and was to him as a daughter

And there came a traveler to the rich man

and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd

to dress for the wayfaring man that was come to him

BUT took the poor man’s lamb

and dressed it for the man that was come to him

David reacts to Nathan’s storyverses 5-6

And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man

and he said to Nathan

As the LORD lives – the man that has done this thing shall surely die

and he shall restore the lamb fourfold

BECAUSE he did this thing

BECAUSE he had no pity

Nathan confronts David as the manverses 7-10

And Nathan said to David

You are the man

Thus said the LORD God of Israel

I anointed you king over Israel

and I delivered youout of 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 moreover have given to you such

and such things

WHEREFORE have you despised the commandment of the LORD

to do evil in HIS sight?

You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword

and have taken his wife to be your wife

and have slain him with the sword of the

children of Ammon

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house

BECAUSE you have despised ME

and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite

to be your wife

Penalty for disobedience givenverses 11-12

Thus says the LORD

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 unto 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

David confesses his sinverses 13-14

And David said to Nathan

I have sinned against the LORD

And Nathan

said to David

The LORD also has put away your sin

you shall not die

Howbeit – BECAUSE by this deed you have given great occasion

to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme

the child also that is born to you shall surely die

David fasts and prayers for childverses 15-17

And Nathan departed

to his house

And the LORD struck the child that

Uriah’s wife bare to David and it was very sick

David therefore BESOUGHT God for the child

and David FASTED

and went in – and lay all night on the earth

and the elders of his house arose – and went to him

to raise him up from the earth – BUT he would not

neither did he eat bread with them

Child dies on seventh dayverse 18

And it came to pass on the SEVENTH DAY

that the child died

And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead

for they said

BEHOLD while the child was yet alive – we spoke to him

and he would not hearken to our voice

how will he then vex himself

if we tell him that the child is dead?

David understands that child diedverse 19

BUT when David saw that his servants whispered

David perceived that the child was dead

THEREFORE David said to his servants

Is the child dead?

And they said

He is dead

David eats and drinks and worshipsverse 20

THEN David arose from the earth

and washed – and anointed himself

and changed his apparel

and came into the house of the LORD

and worshiped

THEN he came to his own house – and when he required

they set bread before him – and he did eat

David’s advisers confusedverse 21

THEN said his servants to him

What thing is this that you have done?

You did fast and weep for the child

while it was alive

BUT now he is dead

you did rise and eat bread

Theology of David regarding death of childverses 22-23

And he

said

While the child was yet alive – I fasted and wept – for I said

Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me

that the child may live?

BUT now he is dead – wherefore should I fast?

Can I bring him back again?

I shall go to him

BUT he shall not return to me

David and Bath-sheba have Solomonverses 24-25

And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife

and went in to her

and lay with her

and she bare a son

and he called his name Solomon

and the LORD loved him

And HE sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet

and he called his name Jedidiah

BECAUSE of the LORD

Joab calls David to come for battleverses 26-28

And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon

and took the royal city

And Joab sent messengers to David

and said

I have fought against Rabbah – and have taken the city of waters

now therefore gather the rest of the people together

and encamp against the city – and take it

lest I take the city

and it be called after my name

David comes to battle and gathers crownverses 29-31

And David gathered all the people together – and went to Rabbah

and fought against it – and took it

And he took their king’s crown from off his head

the weight whereof was a talent of gold

with the precious stones

and it was set on David’s head

And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance

and he brought forth the people that were therein

and put them under saws

and under harrows of iron

and under axes of iron

and made them pass through the brickkiln

and thus did he to all the cities of the

children of Ammon

So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; and one rich, and the other poor. (6223 “rich” [‘ashiyr] means wealthy, possessing material wealth, noble, honorable, BAD SENCE: haughty, impious, prideful)

DEVOTION: Bible stories have object lessons in them. The king had killed a man and taken his wife. The LORD was not happy. HE wanted the man David to know that he had done wrong and HE knew about his actions.

David might have thought the LORD would have looked over his sin because HE anointed him to be king. He was wrong. The LORD doesn’t look over sin in the life of a believer HE confronts the believer with his sin before HE can bless him again.

The New Testament tells us that if we confess our sins HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness. This verse is talking to those who have already made a commitment to Jesus Christ.

HE also warns those who don’t confess their sin that HE will send weakness, sickness and pre-mature death if they don’t respond to HIS warnings. If we confess HE will forgive and continue to bless us again.

That doesn’t mean that there are no consequences to sin but HE is with us throughout any consequences.

Here is the start of the confrontation of David by God through HIS prophet Nathan. Nathan uses a story that struck the heart of David and he wanted to just the man for taking the one little lamb until he found out he was the man.

Object lessons used in church can bring home a Biblical principle that we all need to follow. We are not to take things just because we can. We need to be givers not takers. David was a taker in this instance and the LORD had to judge him for his actions.

Just because we can do something and think we can get away with it doesn’t mean we will. The LORD is watching our every move as HIS children. HE knows what we are thinking and doing at all times. There is no hiding anything from the LORD.

CHALLENGE: Stop trying to hide things from the LORD and ask for HIS help to live a life that bring glory to HIS name each day.

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 8 And 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 moreover have given to your such and such things. (4592 “too little” [ma’at] means few, small thing, fewest, a small amount or duration, a trifle, fewest, or hardly enough)

DEVOTION: God is a giver. HE gave David many gifts when HE made him king. HE protected him from Saul. HE protected him from the enemies of Israel. HE gave him his provisions from the time of Goliath until he was anointed king by the children of Israel. HE never left him alone to fight his battles.

Now we find that the LORD is communicating with David through the prophet Nathan regarding all HE has done for David recently. HE gave him Saul’s house. HE gave him Saul’s wives. HE gave him the house of Israel and Judah to be king over.

The rest of the verse is so telling about how giving the LORD is to HIS servants. Remember we are HIS servants. Also remember that this is not the health and wealth gospel (falsely called “gospel”) that is being preached by many on television and in special meeting around the world. Our blessings are not always going to health and money in our pockets but spiritual blessings which are much more important to HIS genuine children.

HE is promising David more. HE wants us to know that HE will give more if our attitude and actions are right in HIS eyes. David’s actions at present were not good. He was not waiting on the LORD regarding his actions.

Too often we don’t want to wait for the LORD to give us the blessings HE wants us to have. We think we know what we need and run ahead of God in some of our actions.

David ran ahead of God. Our prayer life should be one that is not a “give me” prayer life but a life that says to HIM “what can I do for you.” With that attitude HE can use us for HIS glory and we can be blessed with what HE wants to bless us with not what we think we should be getting.

CHALLENGE: HIS blessings in HIS timing are always GOOD!!!

: 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house; because you have despised ME, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. (959 “despised” [bazah] means contemptible, disdained, scorned, to look down on with contempt, or to think lightly of)

DEVOTION: The LORD had treated David real good. The problem with him and most of us we are never satisfied with what the LORD gives us. David was no different. He was always looking for more than the LORD wanted him to have. He was looking in the wrong direction.

The LORD wanted to bless David with many blessings and HE did. HE would have given him more blessing that were within HIS will if he asked him. However, here is an occasion where he went ahead of God and did something that was displeasing to God.

We sometimes do the same thing that David did. HE has blessed us and we continue to want more than what HE has provided.

The problem is that we, like David, didn’t want the LORD to judge us for our sins. The LORD doesn’t work that way. Even though David was special to the LORD HE still judged him for his sin.

The LORD confronts us for our sins regularly because we sin regularly. HE wants us to stop sinning and live a life that is pleasing to us. HE knows that we can’t be sinless but HE does want us to sin less.

That can only happen as we stay close to HIM each day with our prayers and regular study of HIS Word. This helps us to focus better.

HE will open the doors HE wants us to go through. HE wants to bless and HE wants us to serve HIM with gladness. This only happens when we learn to be content with what HE provides for us.

CHALLENGE: Contentment is hard to find but the LORD will give us the ability if we seek it from HIM.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 14 Howbeit, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die. (5006 “blaspheme” [na’ats] means treat disrespectfully, disdain, irreverently, to scorn, abhor, treat with contemn, spurn, despise or provoke)

DEVOTION: Our actions affect people’s relationship to the LORD. If they can find sins in our life, they have an excuse for not following the LORD. They like to look at us for that excuse.

The LORD has a testimony on this earth. The children of Israel were HIS testimony people. David was the king of HIS people. The nations around Israel watched David to see what a servant of the LORD looked like. David had committed adultery and murder. These actions affected the LORD’S testimony to the nations around Israel.

Nathan came to confront David. David had sinned against the commands of God and some people knew it. David thought his sin was a secret. Nathan informs him that the LORD knew all about his secret. He told David that he had given those who were enemies of the LORD an excuse to be disrespectful to the LORD. They could point to him as a believer.

There are people who don’t like God that are just waiting for HIS children to sin, so they can say, that HE isn’t real.

Some people despise God because of some of the actions of HIS people. There are people waiting to see us sin and then despise God because of it. We need to remember that the enemies of God are watching our every move. They want to show that Christianity is false by the actions of Christians.

We know that we are sinners saved by grace but they don’t care. Our world is becoming more and more anti-Christian. They want to have spirituality but not Christianity.

David let the LORD down. We let the LORD down. David confessed his sin to the LORD. We need to confess our sin to the LORD. Does that mean that there are no consequences to our sins? NO!!! David had consequences.

Does that mean that the LORD doesn’t love us anymore? NO!!! HE wants us to confess our sins to HIM. HE is a forgiving God. HE loved David and loved his next son by Bath-sheba, Solomon. Solomon was the one HE had chosen to build HIS temple.

Finally, we have a doctrine called “eternal security of the believer.” This teaches that once saved always saved. However, there are people who believe this doctrine but are not saved. They go out and live as they please because at one time they walked forward in church or said a prayer and then thought they had their get out of Hell card.

This passage teaches that those who sin when they are believers are chastened of the LORD. If nothing happens to those who are living as they please, then they do not have “eternal security” because they are experiencing no chastening. David was chastened of the LORD.

CHALLENGE: If you believe in eternal security teach it properly to those you meet. Remember the LORD wants us to sin less not more after we become believers.

: 25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jed-i-di-ah, because of the LORD. (3041 “Jed-i-di-ah” [Yadiydayah] means beloved of Jehovah, delight of Jehovah, one greatly beloved, another name for Solomon, or beloved of Jah).

DEVOTION: The firstborn child between David and Bathsheba died as part of the judgment of God on the couple for what they did to Uriah the Hittite her first husband.

However, the second child of the couple was names “beloved of Jehovah.” This doesn’t make sense to most of us because we would think that any child produced by this couple would be under the judgment of God. This was not true.

When God for gives our sins, HE says that he buries them in the deepest part of the ocean or they are as far as the east is from the west in HIS eyes. HE is a forgiving God. HE doesn’t allow confessed sin to influence HIS actions in a negative sense. HE accepts those who genuinely confess their sins as individuals who receive a fresh start with HIM.

Sin doesn’t cause us to lose our salvation once we make a genuine commitment to the LORD. The LORD has to correct us, so that, we know that HE still hates sin but loves us on the basis of the blood of Jesus Christ. The only way we can have any standing with HIM today is through the blood of Jesus Christ. Our good works don’t earn us heaven. Our giving of money doesn’t earn us heaven. Only the blood of Jesus Christ gives us a relationship with HIM.

When we stand before the LORD after death what are we going to say to HIM regarding letting us into heaven? We have to say it is because of relationship to HIS SON Jesus Christ.

Now once the LORD forgives sin, HE can bless the life of the individual again. Here HE is blessing David with peace. There are future consequences to his sin but the second child is not going to be judged because of the sin.

We need to realize that we are beloved of the LORD because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to thank HIM for our relationship daily.

CHALLENGE: We need to keep short accounts with the LORD. HE will bless us quicker if we confess our sins to HIM and allow HIM to correct us.

DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

David fasted for his sonverses 16, 17, 21-23

Seven day fastverse 18

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

David besought the LORD for his sonverse 16

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

David worshiped the LORDverse 20

DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 1, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13-15, 20, 24, 25

God – Elohim (Creator)verses 7, 16

LORD God of Israel verse 7

Commandments of the LORDverse 9

GOD – Jehovahverse 22

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Uriah the Hittiteverses 9, 10, 15

Children of Ammonverses 9, 26-31

Enemies of the LORDverse 14

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Despise commandments of the LORDverse 9

Killedverse 9

Evilverses 9, 11

Taken another man’s wifeverse 9

Despised LORDverse 10

Sinverse 13

Blasphemeverse 14

Fearverse 18

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Gifts from the LORDverse 8

Wept over sinverse 22

Graceverse 22

Lovedverse 24

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Nathan tells David a storyverses 1-6

Nathan confronts Davidverses 7-21

Consequences for sinverses 10-12

Solomon (Peace) bornverse 24

Jedidiah (Beloved of Yahweh)verse 25

Crown on David’s headverse 30

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

Child going to dieverse 14

Child diedverses 18, 19, 21, 23

Reunion after deathverse 23

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QUOTES regarding passage

Despite the prophet’s pronouncement that the child’s fate is sealed (v.14), David is not yet willing to resign himself to the death of his son. He therefore intercedes for the child’s life (v.16). “Supplication is more humbling than resignation” (Simon, “The Poor Man’s Ewe-Lamb,” p. 239). Ostensibly as a symbol of mourning (see also v.20 and comment), he “fasted” (see comments on 1:12; on 3:32–35; and on 1 Sam 31:13). Although the series of consecutive perfects beginning with “went” is correctly rendered as repeated action in the NIV (cf. also S.R. Driver, Notes on the Books of Samuel in loc.), commentators in general seem not to have noticed that going “into (one’s) house” and spending one’s nights “lying on the ground” are incompatible activities, unless the house has a dirt floor—which was surely not the case in David’s palace. In any event, the MT does not have “into his house” in v.16 (contrast “went to his [own] house” in v.20), and thus “went” (bāʾ) should probably be understood here as an auxiliary verb used to initiate action (cf. the analogous use of imperative bôʾ with auxiliary function in cohortative constructions as noted in Waltke and O’Connor, Biblical Hebrew Syntax, p. 574). Outside the royal palace, David “spent the nights lying on the ground”—ironically, just as Uriah and his fellow soldiers had done (cf. 11:9, 11; cf. Vogels, “David’s Greatness,” p. 261). (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 947). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

12:15–23. Shortly after the interview with Nathan … the child became terminally ill. Despite David’s intense fasting and prayer the baby died within a week. Only then did David cease his mourning, wash, worship, and eat, contrary to custom and much to the amazement of his servants. David’s response is classic: While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept.… But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? David attested to the irrevocability of death—its finality renders further petition absurd. I will go to him, David said, but he will not return to me. This reflects his conviction that the dead cannot return to life as it was. Rather it is the living who go to the dead. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 468). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Chastening is not punishment meted out by an angry judge who wants to uphold the law; rather, it’s difficulty permitted by a loving Father who wants His children to submit to His will and develop godly character. Chastening is an expression of God’s love (Prov. 3:11–12), and the Greek word used in Hebrews 12:5–13 means “child training, instruction, discipline.” Greek boys were taken to the gymnasium early in life and taught to run, wrestle, box, swim, and throw, exercises that were assigned so the boys would develop “a sound mind in a sound body.” In the Christian life, chastening isn’t always God’s response to our disobedience; sometimes He’s preparing us for challenges yet to come, like a coach preparing athletes for the Olympics. If there were no painful consequences to sin or subsequent chastening from the hand of God, what kind of a daring and irresponsible world would we be living in?

Bathsheba delivered the son that Nathan had predicted would die, but David still fasted and prayed and asked God for healing for the child. The Lord didn’t interrupt David’s prayers and tell him to stop interceding; after all the sins David had committed, it didn’t hurt him to spend the day in prayer. During those months of silence and separation from God, David had a lot to catch up on! The baby lived only a week and the parents weren’t able to circumcise and name their son on the eighth day. Their son Solomon ended up with two names (vv. 24–25), but this son didn’t even have one.

Why would a loving and just God not answer a grieving and repentant father’s prayers and heal the child? After all, it wasn’t the baby’s fault that his father and mother had sinned against the Lord. For that matter, why did God allow Uriah and some fellow soldiers to die at Rabbah just so David could marry Bathsheba? Keep asking similar questions and you will end up with the ultimate question, “Why does a loving God permit evil in the world?” Eventually David looked back and saw this painful experience as God’s “goodness and mercy” (Ps. 23:6) both to him and to the baby. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” asked Abraham (Gen. 18:25 nkjv). When he heard the bad news of God’s judgment on his family, even backslidden Eli confessed, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him” (1 Sam. 3:18 nkjv). There are no easy answers to settle our minds, but there are plenty of dependable promises to heal our hearts, and faith is nurtured on promises, not explanations.

This much is sure: David’s week of fasting and prayer for the baby showed his faith in the Lord and his love for Bathsheba and her little son. Very few Eastern monarchs would have shed a tear or expressed a sentence of sorrow if a baby died who had been born to one of the harem “wives.” In spite of his many sins, David was still a tender shepherd and a man after God’s own heart; he had not been “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13). He washed himself, changed his apparel, worshiped the Lord, and returned to life with its disappointments and duties. In Scripture, washing oneself and changing clothes symbolizes making a new beginning (Gen. 35:1–2; 41:14; 45:22; Ex. 19:10; Lev. 14:8–9; Jer. 52:33; Rev. 3:18). No matter how long or how much the Lord chastens us, “He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep his anger forever” (Ps. 103:9 nkjv). Because of God’s grace and mercy, we can always make a new beginning.

David’s words in verse 13 have brought great comfort to people who have experienced the death of a little one, but not every Old Testament student agrees that the king’s words are a revelation from God. Perhaps he was just saying, “My son can’t come back from the grave or the world of departed spirits, but one day I shall go there to him.” But what kind of comfort does it bring us to know that everybody eventually dies? “He shall not return to me” states that David believed that his dead son would neither be reincarnated nor would he be resurrected before the Lord’s time. It also affirms that David expected to see and recognize his son in the future life. Where was David eventually going? “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6 nkjv; see also 11:7; 16:11; 17:15). (Wiersbe, W. W. (2002). Be restored (pp. 73–75). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor.)

Ver. 16. David therefore besought God for the child, &c.] Perhaps went into the tabernacle he had built for the ark, and prayed to the Lord to restore the child, and spare its life; for though the Lord had said it should die, he might hope that that was a conditional threatening, and that the Lord might be gracious and reverse it, ver. 22 and David fasted; all that day: and went in; to his own house from the house of God: and lay all night upon the earth; would neither go into, nor lie upon a bed, but lay on the floor all night, weeping and praying for the child’s life, and especially for its eternal welfare; he having through sin been the means of its coming into a sinful and afflicted state. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, pp. 611–612). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

FROM MY READING:

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

LIARS

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22

The language used in this verse is very strong; John does not hesitate to refer to these antichrists as liars. Some say, “Here is the man who appears as the great apostle of love and who talks so much about love in this particular epistle. So how is it that he should thus describe these people who had gone out, and those who had seduced them, as liars?”
What we have here is in many ways very characteristic of the New Testament. John is not the exception; John did not use language like this because he was Boanerges, one of the sons of thunder (Mark 3:17); you find others doing the same thing. Listen to the apostle Paul using language like that to the Galatians: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). You cannot imagine anything stronger than that. Or listen to him as he writes to the Corinthians: “If any man, love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema” (1 Corinthians 16:22).
Remember, too, the preaching of John the Baptist when he looked at his congregation, which consisted of Pharisees and others, and said, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:7). Think also of the words of our blessed Lord Himself as He addressed the Pharisees toward the end of His life; He referred to them as “whited sepulchers” (Matthew 23:27).
Now I emphasize all this merely because we must be careful lest we put ourselves into a position in which we claim that we are more Christian than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His blessed apostles. The New Testament uses strong language. Here it is in its essence liars.
A Thought to Ponder
We must be careful lest we put ourselves into a position in which we claim that we are more Christian than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. (From Walking with God, pp. 131-133. By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Jesus points out the hypocrisy of observing traditions yet ignoring the Scripture.

INSIGHT

Even the earnest Christian must guard against hypocrisy. How easy it is to sing, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give,” and then go out to live with some areas of our lives not given over to Christ.

Yet, there is a difference between weakness and rebellion. All of us struggle with weaknesses which we wish we didn’t have and with which we wrestle in the grace of God to overcome. Rebellion expresses itself when we could overcome a sin if we wanted to but make no attempt to do so.

The Bible expresses compassion for us in our weaknesses as we cry out to the Lord for greater strength. But God’s Word pronounces a scathing rebuke for hypocrisy and rebellion. We must check our hearts to be certain that our shortcomings are weaknesses and not hypocrisy. (Quiet Walk)

THE SECONDARY MEANING OF “SANCTIFY”

Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Leviticus 19:2
There is a secondary meaning to the word sanctify, and this is equally clear from the Scriptures. This is that we are not only regarded as holy—we are made holy. And obviously we are made holy because that is how we are regarded. God sets us apart as His peculiar or special people, and because of this we must be a holy people:“Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy,” says God. So, we are to be holy because we are holy, and that is the great New Testament appeal for sanctification.
So this second meaning is that God does a work within us—a work of purifying, cleansing, and purging; and this work is designed to fit us for the title that has been put upon us. We have been adopted, taken out of the world, and set apart, and we are now being conformed increasingly to the image, the pattern, of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may in truth be the people of God, in reality as well as in name.
So this is obviously progressive work. The first meaning involves something that is done once and for all, and it is because we are set apart that we are justified. God has looked upon His people from all eternity and has set them apart. He sanctified them before the foundation of the world, and because of that they are justified, and also because of that they are sanctified in this second sense.So the question is, which of these two meanings is to be attached to the word in John 17:17: “Sanctify them through thy truth”? It seems to me that there is only one adequate answer to that: Obviously both meanings are involved. Our calling demands that we must be a holy people since we cannot represent a holy God unless we ourselves are holy.
A Thought to Ponder: We are to be holy because we are holy.
(From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 10-11, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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