ISAIAH 41
LORD setting up court verse 1
Keep silence before me – O islands
and let the people renew their strength
let them come near
then let them speak
let us come near together to judgment
LORD the one who sets up a ruler verse 2- 4
WHO raised up the righteous man from the east
called him to his foot
gave the nations before him
and made him rule over kings?
HE gave them as the dust to his sword
and as driven stubble to his bow
He pursued them and passed safely
even by the way that he had not gone with his feet
WHO has wrought and done it
calling the generations from the beginning?
I the LORD – the first – and with the last – I am HE
Nations trust in false god verse 5- 7
The isles saw it – and feared
the ends of the earth were afraid – drew near – and came
They helped everyone his neighbor
and every one said to his brother
BE OF GOOD COURAGE
So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith
and he that smoothes with the hammer him that smote the anvil
saying
It is ready for the soldering – and he fastened it with nails
that it should not be moved
LORD encourages Israel verse 8- 10
BUT you – Israel – are MY servant – Jacob whom I have CHOSEN
the seed of Abraham – MY friend
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth
and called thee from the chief men thereof
and said unto you
You are MY servant – I have CHOSEN you
and not cast you away
Fear you not – for I am WITH you – be not dismayed
for I am your God
I will strengthen you – yea – I will help you
yea – I will uphold you
with the right hand of MY righteousness
LORD defends Israel verse 11- 14
BEHOLD – all they that were incensed against you shall be
ashamed and confounded – they shall be as nothing
and they that strive with you shall perish
You shall seek them – and shalt not find them
even them that contended with you
they that war against you shall be as nothing
and as a thing of nought
For I the LORD your God will hold your right hand
saying to you
Fear not – you WORM Jacob – and you men of Israel
I will help you – says the LORD – and your REDEEMER
the Holy One of Israel
LORD made Israel into a threshing instrument verse 15- 16
BEHOLD
I will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth
you shall thresh the mountains – and beat them small
and shall make the hills as chaff
You shall fan them – and the wind shall carry them away
and the whirlwind shall scatter them
and you shall rejoice in the LORD
and you shall glory in the Holy One of Israel
LORD promises provision for Israel verse 17- 20
When the poor and needy seek water – and there is none
and their tongue fails for thirst
I the LORD will hear them
I the God of Israel will not forsake them
I will open rivers in high places
and open fountains in the midst of the valleys
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
and the dry land springs of water
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar – shittah tree – myrtle – oil tree
I will set in the desert the fir tree – pine – box tree together
that they may see – know – consider – understand together
that the hand of the LORD has done this
and the Holy One of Israel has created it
LORD asks heathen to present case
before the court verse 21- 24
Produce your cause – says the LORD
Bring forth your strong reasons – says the King of Jacob
Let them bring them forth – and show us what shall happen
let them show the former things – what they be
that we may consider them
and know the latter end of them
or declare us things for to come
Show the things that are to come hereafter
that we may know that you are gods
YEA – do good – or do evil – that we may be dismayed
and behold it together
BEHOLD – you are of nothing – and your work of nought
an abomination is he that chooses you
Judgment of the LORD verse 25- 29
I have raised up one from the north – and he shall come
from the rising of the sun shall he call on MY name
and he shall come upon princes as on mortar
and as the potter treads clay
WHO has declared from the beginning – that we may know?
and beforetime – that we may say – HE is righteous?
YEA – there is none that shows
YEA – there is none that declares
YEA – there is none that hears your words
The first shall say to Zion – BEHOLD – behold them
and I will give to Jerusalem one that brings good tidings
For I beheld – and there was no man – even among them
and there was no counselor – that
when I asked of them – could answer a word
BEHOLD – they are all vanity
their works are nothing
their molten images are wind and confusion
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Keep silence before me, O islands, and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. (2498 “renew” [chalaph] means to come by turns, to change, replace, to reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new, to pass through, to come on or up; hence to revive or flourish as a plant, or to be changed.)
DEVOTION: Here we find that those who are followers of God are standing before HIM to be tried for their thoughts and actions. It is a time to rethink how God deals with men who claim to be HIS followers.
HE wants them to gain new strength, in order to, serve HIM better. HE wants us and Israel to realize that we or they can only continue to move forward IF they gain more strength to face the trials that are coming their way.
Each day we need to realize that we are going to face the enemy who wants us to not serve the LORD. We are fighting the world, the flesh and the devil every day of our life as we try to serve the LORD faithfully.
As we come before the LORD HE wants us to “keep silent” before HIM because we have no defense except it comes from HIM alone. If we try to defend ourselves, we will fail or if we think that we can move forward on our own we will fail.
Once the children of Israel in the Old Testament and the Christians of the New Testament realize that it is only in HIS strength that we can gain new strength to fight our enemy that we can have victory.
Without the LORD we can do nothing but fail! With HIS help we can move forward to a better relationship to HIM and the world and the flesh.
CHALLENGE: We have to ask ourselves if we are daily gaining new strength that comes from HIM through our close relationship with HIM. We need to remember we can’t have victory with our this renewed strength.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (8551 “uphold” [tamak] means to grasp, make secure, hold, support, lay hold of, or hold fast.)
DEVOTION: This is a great verse as we face the challenges of life. Isaiah writes this for the children of Israel. They were going through a rough time in their history.
They were not obeying the LORD. They were not following the LORD. They were about to be taken into captivity. They are told that the LORD is going to raise up a ruler to deliver them back into their land. Isaiah was encouraging those who were trying to be faithful to the LORD.
This verse is the LORD speaking to Israel through Isaiah. The LORD is encouraging them not to fear. This is repeated at least seven times in the next three chapters. HE is instructing them not to be dismayed.
Why? Because the LORD is their God. HE is going to strengthen them. HE is going to support them. HE is going to cause them to succeed. They are in HIS hands.
We live in a nation that is getting farther and farther from the teachings of the Word of God. This verse is one that should encourage us. We are not to be dismayed at what is happening around us. WHY? We have a God who promises to be there right beside us while we face the challenges of each day.
We have a God who will strengthen us. We have a God who will help us. We have a God who is supporting us through every trial. We are going to go through the trials but we don’t have to face them alone.
HE also promises never to send more than we can take. Some days it seems like we are stretched more than we can take but that is not true. HE keeps HIS promises. Isn’t HE great???? Fear NOT!!!
One question we have to answer if we are living in fear is: Who are trusting in? If we truly trust in the God of the Bible we would have the joy of the LORD in our heart each day. We would be able to give a witness to HIS past victories in our life and tell others that we expect future victories with HIM. Too often we look like we serve a weak God who is unable to settle each issue that comes our way. I struggle with this at times.
We need to get to the point where we turn only to the LORD for direction in our lives. When we struggle be honest with the LORD and tell HIM you are struggling. But we think that HE already knows we are struggling. That is true but HE wants us to show HIM that we are depending on HIM for our answers.
CHALLENGE: Pray the prayer that HE wants to hear. Once we have done our part HE can do HIS. Without faithful prayer it is impossible to please HIM.
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:13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). עָזַר [ʿazar /aw·zar/] – to help, succour, support.
DEVOTION: In the midst of a terrible storm a little child lay in bed and cried. Listening to the wind and the pelting rain made the child think the roof would rip off. In the darkness the tree limbs and the forest sounds made the child convinced that the night would never end! Then a gentle voice spoke in the darkness and the caressing hand of the father laid gently on the covers comforting the child. Soon all was well and the child slept through the remainder of the storm. Israel was in the midst of a storm and Isaiah was repeating a promise God had given to Israel.
Israel’s God would strengthen, encourage, and help His people. He would stand with them while He defended them because He was Yahweh their God (cf. Exod. 20:2).
So fundamentally Israel need never be afraid. Her God is the living God; and it is the living God who is even now holding her by her right hand. The faithfulness, or reliability, or rock-like quality of God is thus conveyed to Israel whom God holds.
This truth is repeated in the New Testament to the believers of Jesus Christ. We are to fear not and to be assured that the Lord is holding our hand and providing for us regardless of the gale that is blowing around us.
2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.” Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Be not afraid, the Living God is faithful to those who are His own!
CHALLENGE: Today allow the Lord to help you in the area where you are fearful! He promises and that will come to pass! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion. (4639 “works” [ma‘aseh] means acts, labor, deed, product, course of action, or achievements.)
DEVOTION: People depend on different things to keep them going. There are workaholics. There are sports enthusiasts. There are lovers of nature. There are family individuals. There are people who love their cars. There are people who love their collections.
In the world in which Isaiah lived there were people who loved their idols. They encouraged each other with their religious activities. Some made the idols for others to worship. Each part of the idol might have been made by people with certain skills.
In verse 7 we find individuals who were encouraging one another in the craft of making false gods. The carpenter encouraged the goldsmith. There were individuals who were encouraged in their soldering. Someone else was able to put them all together to make sure they didn’t move. They even used nails to make sure they didn’t fall down. These were the types of false gods the people worshiped.
As Isaiah concluded his thoughts concerning these false gods he stated that everything related to false gods was worthless or vanity. The people were religious. They had their god but the gods could do nothing for them. They were praying to a god who could produce no good thing for them. This caused confusion.
The confusion was in their thinking that their false god was helping them in their daily battles. They thought if they bowed down to them they could help them produce more crops in the fields. They thought they could help them have more babies. They thought they could protect them from their enemies. They only had false hope.
Isaiah was conveying the fact that the only hope in our world is through the God who created our world. HE promised to provide and protect HIS people. HE promised a future hope as well as present hope. HE promised counsel that the false gods could never give.
The LORD provided HIS counsel through the authors of the different books of our Bible. If we are faithful in reading and following the advice given in HIS Word we could have the hope all individuals need. We are responsible for our part and God will provide HIS part through the Word and HIS Holy Spirit.
CHALLENGE: Even those who claim to be followers of Christ could be religious without being followers. We are to have no false gods in our world. Even religious gods!!!
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
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)
Call upon the name of the LORD verse 25
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Rejoice in the LORD verse 16
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Judge verse 1
Raised up the righteous man verse 2
Nations are before HIM verse 2
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 4, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21
Called the generations from the beginning verse 4
First verse 4
Last verse 4
I AM verse 4
Casts not Israel away verse 9
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 10, 13
Gives strength verse 10
Helps believers verse 10, 14
Righteous verse 10
LORD your God verse 13
Redeemer verse 14
Holy One of Israel verse 14, 16, 20
God of Israel verse 17
LORD will hear HIS people verse 17
Not forsake Israel verse 17
HE opens rivers verse 18
Makes wilderness a pool of water verse 18
Makes dry land springs of water verse 18
HE will plant verse 19
Hand of the LORD verse 20
Creator verse 20
King of Jacob verse 21
Righteous verse 26
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Righteous man verse 2
Redeemer verse 14
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)
Nations verse 2
Kings verse 2
Ends of the earth draw near verse 5
Neighbor verse 6
Brother verse 6
Carpenter verse 7
Those who are incensed against Israel= nothing verse 11
Those who strive against Israel shall perish verse 11
Poor and needy verse 17
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Idol makers verse 7, 29
Dismayed verse 10
Incensed against Isael verse 11
Ashamed verse 11
Confounded verse 11
Strive with believers verse 11, 12
gods verse 23, 29
Evil verse 23
Abomination verse 24
Vanity verse 29
Confusion verse 29
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Keep silent before the LORD verse 1
Renewed strength verse 1, 10
Come near the LORD verse 1
Righteous verse 2, 26
Fear of the LORD verse 5
Help verse 6, 10, 13, 14
Good courage verse 6
Encourager verse 7
Servant verse 8, 9
Chosen verse 8, 9
Friend verse 8
Called verse 9
Fear not verse 10, 13, 14
Be not dismayed verse 10
Presence of the LORD with believers verse 10
Strengthened verse 10
Held verse 13
Not to fear verse 13
Helped of the LORD verse 13
Redeemed verse 14
Rejoice in the LORD verse 16
Heard verse 17
Not forsaken verse 17
Produce your cause to the LORD verse 21
Bring forth strong reasons verse 21
Declare things to come verse 22
Do good verse 23
Call upon HIS name verse 25
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Israel verse 8, 14, 16, 17
Servant of the LORD verse 8
Jacob = chosen verse 8, 14, 21
Seed of Abraham: friend verse 8
Called of God verse 9
Servant of God verse 9
Chosen of God verse 9
Shall seek those against them but not find them verse 12
Those who contend against them shall be
as nothing verse 12
LORD holds their right hand verse 13
Men of Israel verse 14
Made a new sharp threshing instrument verse 15, 16
Glory in the Holy One of Israel verse 16
Israel will know, consider, and understand
together the hand of the LORD verse 20
Zion verse 27
Jerusalem verse 27
No counsellor verse 28
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Perish verse 11
Know the later end verse 22
Things to come verse 22, 23
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QUOTES regarding passage
25–29 If, as we have argued (see comment at vv.2–4), this and the former passage are both about Cyrus; and if, as we have maintained in the Introduction, these chapters were written by Isaiah, the context of this passage is most significant. Cyrus was to emerge on the international scene at least a century and a half later. Here then is evidence indeed that what the gods of paganism could not do, the God of Israel could and did do. Here is prediction indeed! North and east (“the rising sun”) are combined (v.25), for, considered from the standpoint of Palestine, Cyrus originated in the east and carried out major conquests in the north. For the meaning of the words “one … who calls on my name,” see the comment at 45:4. The Babylonian idols might have been expected to predict Cyrus’s coming, for his activities would greatly concern the people who worshiped them; but they were silent. The prophet pressed home his point with quite exceptional emphasis, for vv.26–29 are given over entirely to different ways of underlining the great contrast between the true God who predicts and the false gods who cannot. The coming of Cyrus was, of course, a message of good tidings for Israel (v.27; cf. 40:9), because through him would come the release of the exiles. (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 251–252). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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41:25–29. In contrast with idols (vv. 21–24), which are man-made and unable to help people, God can and does tell the future. God predicted that a strong leader would come from the north and from the east (the rising sun) who would easily destroy many nations. This was Cyrus (see comments on v. 2). He was from the east (Persia was east of Israel) and also from the north as his conquests extended to the north of Israel. Only God could predict such a thing; no one else could even hint at it. Only He could tell Zion and Jerusalem that a messenger would give them good news about the Jews being released by Cyrus (cf. 40:1–5, 9–11). This proves that the Lord is the true God and all idols are false gods amounting to nothing. Those who believe in such idols have an empty faith; those images offer no more help than the wind and they confuse people’s minds. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1095). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The final picture is that of the courtroom (41:21–29). “Produce your cause!” means “Present your case!” God challenged the idols of the nations to prove that they were really gods. Did any of their predictions come true? What have they predicted about the future? Did they announce that Cyrus would appear on the scene or that Jerusalem would be restored? “No one told of this, no one foretold it, no one heard any words from you,” taunted the Lord (v. 26, NIV). Not only were the idols unable to make any valid predictions, but they were not even able to speak! The judgment of the court was correct: “See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion” (v. 29, NIV). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (p. 115). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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41:27–29 Idols were helpless in giving “good news” of future events (v. 27) and counsel to people (v. 28), and thus were useless. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 41:27–29). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 29. Behold, they are all vanity, &c.] Both the idols and the worshippers of them; in vain they claim the title of deity, to which they have no right; and in vain do men worship them, since they receive no benefit by them: their works are nothing; they can do nothing, neither good nor evil; nothing is to be hoped or feared from them, and the worship given them is of no avail; nothing is got by it; it is all useless and insignificant, yea, pernicious and hurtful: their molten images are wind and confusion; though they are made of cast metal, yet setting aside the costly matter of which they are made, they are of no more solidity, efficacy, and use, than the wind; and are like the chaos of the first earth, mere tohu and bohu, one of which words is here used, without form and void, having no form of deity on them; and therefore men are directed to turn themselves from them, and behold a most glorious Person, worthy of worship and praise, described in the beginning of the next chapter, behold my servant, &c. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 237–238). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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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!!)
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How to Know the Truth
“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:17)
The apostle Paul, in his last epistle, wrote about certain philosophers who would be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). In the next verse, Paul makes it clear why such people, no matter how scholarly or well educated they seem to be, are still incapable of accepting real truth. “So do these also resist the truth,” he says (v. 8). They could not learn the truth because they were not willing to believe or obey the truth when they learned it. For example, a very vexing controversy among modern Christians is whether or not the Genesis account of six-day creation can be so interpreted as to accommodate the billion-year, geological-age system of Earth history.
Perhaps the difficulty, in this as well as in other such doctrinal controversies, is a basic unwillingness to believe doctrines plainly revealed in God’s Word when they conflict with doctrines based solely on human reasoning. When the Lord Jesus spoke the words of our text, He was speaking to arrogant religionists who regarded Him as nothing but an itinerant preacher, rejecting His teachings, even though they knew these teachings were fully biblical.
His rebuke of these hypocrites is truly a timeless criterion for recognizing God’s truth and knowing His will. Such a heart does not try to twist God’s Word to accommodate a human philosophy, nor does it try to accommodate one’s personal will by persuading himself that it is God’s will. God’s will is always consistent with God’s Word, which is written to be easily understood by anyone who is willing to believe His Word and do His will. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Watching Out for One AnotherShow mercy and compassion to one another. Zechariah 7:9Jose, a seventy-seven-year-old substitute teacher, had been living out of his car for eight years. Every night, the elderly man bunked down in his 1997 Ford Thunderbird LX, carefully monitoring the car battery as it powered his computer for his evening’s work. Instead of using the money earmarked for rent, Jose sent it to numerous family members in Mexico who needed it more. Early every morning, one of the teacher’s former students saw Jose rummaging through his trunk. “I just felt I needed to do something about it,” the man said. So, he launched a fundraiser and weeks later handed Jose a check to help him pay for a place to live.
Though Scripture repeatedly instructs us to watch out for one another, it’s sometimes difficult to see past our own concerns. The prophet Zechariah rebuked Israel who, rather than worshiping God or serving others, were “feasting for [them]selves” (Zechariah 7:6). Ignoring their shared communal life, they disregarded their neighbors’ need. Zechariah made God’s instructions clear: the people were to “administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another . . . [and] not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor” (vv. 9–10).
While it’s easy to be consumed with our own needs, faithfulness calls us to tend to the needs of others. In the divine economy, there’s plenty for all. And God, in His mercy, chooses to use us to give some of that plenty to others. (By Winn Collier, Our Daily Bread)
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Exodus 6
Moses is reassured by God.
INSIGHT
Throughout the Bible, God becomes more and more intimate with His people. By His official title, El Shaddai, God made Himself known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But now He tells Moses His name: Jehovah. Then in the Gospels, God becomes even more personal — as Jesus becomes incarnate. And in Acts and the Epistles, we discover that God comes to live in our hearts in the person of the Holy Spirit.
The final act of intimacy will be when God brings us home. Then we can fellowship with Him face to face and forever. (Quiet Walk)
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Sinning Against the Lord
“And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” (2 Samuel 12:13)
A basic truth is expressed in this confession of David’s: Every sin—not only the sin of blasphemy or of unbelief—is essentially a sin against the Lord and His nature of absolute righteousness.
This does not mean, of course, that sin hurts no one except God. In David’s case, his sin resulted in the murder of a faithful soldier, Uriah; the implication of Bathsheba in David’s adultery; and then the death of his infant son. It probably also contributed to the subsequent sins of two other sons of David, Amnon and Absalom. Furthermore, as Nathan said, it had “given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme” (v. 14).
Nevertheless, it was, above all else, a sin against God. God had chosen David as king and had blessed him abundantly, yet David was not content and elected to make his own decisions in rebellion against the will of God and the Word of God. But when he was made to realize, by Nathan, what he had done, he immediately repented of his sin, and thereby received forgiveness.
God, in His grace, has made a wonderful provision for forgiveness and restoration because “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Therefore, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7, 9).
Confession must be specific and sincere, of course, not general and superficial, to be effective. But if this is done, then we can exclaim joyfully with David: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,” because he first, as he said, “acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid” (Psalm 32:1, 5). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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