The Bible often defines words through their associations. For instance, the words salute, saluteth, and salutation involve a greeting.
Man’s opinion concerning the sinfulness of sin very rarely reflects God’s holy, perfect, and righteous declarations. This is because man does not think like God. The Lord expressed these sentiments in Isaiah 55:8-9 when He said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Even a cursory study of rebellion verifies these truths as a man generally thinks of it more lightly than he ought. Man describes rebellion as strong willed or independent; however, God provides an accurate description as He states that “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Because God likens rebellion to witchcraft, the Old Testament punishment for rebellion was likewise death (Deuteronomy 21:18-23). There can be no doubt as to the seriousness of this sin from God’s perspective.
Most problems have multiple solutions, yet some of the solutions yield newer and greater problems. Abram and Sarai knew the Lord wanted to give them a son. All they needed to do was to trust God to accomplish what He had promised. The problem—Sarai bare Abram no children. Instead of seeking the Lord for the proper solution to the problem, Sarai conceived what she believed to be a good plan. She wanted her maid Hagar to bare a son for them. This solution was indeed a solution to the problem, but it was not God’s solution. Hagar had a son, but this son turned out to be a thorn in the flesh of Abram and Sarai’s son Isaac. The problems resulting from their solution have lingered for millennia and continue to this day.
In spite of the rebellion of others, David’s men remained loyal to their king. David’s followers honoured him with their loyalty despite Absalom’s rebellion which caused David and his men to flee from Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:13-15). David’s men wanted to protect the true king so much that they wanted him to avoid endangering himself by going into battle. David’s men were ready and willing to sacrifice their lives for him but wanted his life preserved at all costs. Their loyalty to David caused them to elevate his desires and needs far above their own needs, wants, and even safety. Unlike many kingdoms of the world, the soldiers were more concerned about the life of the king and the preservation of his kingdom.
Thoughts do not have to be wicked in order to be troublesome. Any thought contrary to faith will eventually cause a man to stumble. In Genesis 20:11, Abraham’s thoughts hindered his faith. He perceived that the fear of God was not in Gerar and decided to lie about the identity of his wife in order to insure his personal well-being. Rather than trusting God, he trusted his thoughts. Another example is Naaman. He refused to wash in the Jordan River because he thought that the prophet should have recovered his leprosy by coming out, calling upon the name of the Lord, and striking his hand over the place of leprosy (2 Kings 5:11). When a man trusts in his own thoughts over the words of God, that man shows a complete disregard for truth.
God made you! He either made you a male or a female (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4). As such, He expects each of us to act, look, and live like what He made us in every way. Ever more frequently, the world and the Devil have blurred the lines of distinction between male and female. One of the most grievous outcomes of the blurring of distinctions between male and female has resulted in the public’s acceptance of the sin which led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God condemned it then and condemns it no less today. The Lord wants men and women to be distinct and look differently in every possible way. As such, He created the genders with obvious physical differences. He even admonished each gender to bear clear and distinct differences in length of hair (1 Corinthians 11:14-15) and commanded them to maintain obvious distinctions in apparel (Deuteronomy 22:5). In other words, focus upon looking like what God created you to be.
If you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are no longer appointed to God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9); however, it helps to fully understand God’s hatred for sin. By understanding sin from God’s viewpoint, we can seek to emulate His love for righteousness while never abandoning His abhorrence of wickedness. In the days of king David, the Bible tells us that every man spoke vanity with his neighbour (Psalm 12:2). Men spoke with a double heart and with flattering lips (Psalm 12:2). They claimed that their lips were their own and that they possessed freedom to spew forth anything they chose to say (Psalm 12:4). God promised to rise up in judgment and “cut off all flattering lips” (Psalm 12:3).
David was a man after the heart of God (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). He loved the Lord and it repeatedly showed in his life. Even on the occasions when he failed the Lord, he repentantly sought the Lord. In fact, one of the greatest manifestations of David’s love for the Lord manifested itself in his love for the house of God. In our passage, David spoke of the overwhelming gladness he had when contemplating a trip to God’s house. He received great joy in knowing that it was there that he could meet and fellowship with God whom he so deeply loved. As born-again believers, we have many reasons why we should long to meet with the saints of God in worship. We too should rejoice when others say, “Let us go unto the house of the LORD.”
