Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 2 Samuel 12:15-20
Today’s blog is not about abortion, but I need to say up front that abortion is wrong. I need to say that because today’s blog is on the matter of letting your perversion die, and considering the text, somebody’s liable to come away with the erroneous conclusion that abortion is okay when it is not. As a matter of fact ~and~ as it pertains to the baby in this story, we must take note that God took him and that he was not brutally murdered by the hands of men.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13
The deeds of our body refers of course to our sinful nature and the byproducts of our aberrant existence. Our Father has taken this historical event and used it to effectively illustrate that these things must be put away, as if dead and this dying child is a picture of David’s perverted lifestyle. The text is not suggesting that children born out of wedlock are evil things that must be destroyed, but rather that this baby is a type representing the evil deeds we do. I hope this is clear.
And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 2 Samuel 12:20
Prior to the baby’s death, David was emotionally distressed and his heartache is a picture of our grief when we struggled to give up our favorite sin(s). Now that the child has died, many are perplexed to see this turn around in David’s life, but hopefully not those who have reckoned their own flesh dead. Formerly, David was pleading to hold onto his sinful past, but now he’s worshipping. How come? Because when sin dies there is freedom! Perhaps you remember when this happened to you; when you finally realized that perverted thing in your life was dead. Remember the cleansing, the anointing, and the changed life? Remember how you went into the house of the Lord and worshiped?
That’s the message of the text. With David as our example we can see how difficult and painful a process it can be, but more importantly we can see that it doesn’t have to be that way. Example is the best teacher, but God has not mandated that it be our example; we can learn from others and in so doing bring honor, and glory, and blessing to Jesus Christ.
Nice post, David. I love Romans 8 – so many people don’t understand it. Verse 7 is a critical verse: Rom 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Pair that with 9-10: You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Together in these verses, we see a picture of our utter and complete fallenness and inability to choose the right things. Our flesh, as we are born, is hostile to God (the opposite of what many evangelicals understand.) Hostile! Our flesh, as verse 7 says, CANNOT submit to God’s law. Nothing we can do —nothing we choose will make our flesh be reconciled back with the Father.
BUT! Those of us in Christ are of the Spirit! We have life because of the righteousness of the God, which was poured out upon us when Jesus suffered on that cross — when God chose us to be His children before the beginning of time. God himself granted us even our faith in Him – a tremendous gift. A hostile flesh/nature cannot choose God. It will always choose the flesh. Thank goodness for God’s saving grace and mercy on our lives – so that the Spirit can live in us and guide us.
It is only with the Spirit in us that we can attempt to make such hard decisions such as NOT having an abortion, when our sinful nature tells us to go ahead…do it.
That’s why this Romans verse is also so important: Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Daily, moment by moment, we must be in the word, renewing our mind with his words and not our own, so that we can discern the will of God and not our own sinful will. His is perfect – ours is not.
Romans — an amazing book — so deep with the deep things of God!
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Precisely! That section of Romans is difficult to grasp and why (when coupled with the Old Testament illustrations) it is so much easier to receive! I love it when a Book comes together! Thanks for your comments and for stopping by today. God bless you!
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