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The Commandments of Jesus - 101
Wrong Place, Wrong Time...
There is a story from Israel’s history during the reign of King David.
The one time shepherd boy, the youngest of his family, had gone on to fame and
fortune as Israel’s second king. He had
led the nation into their “golden age” and for a time, Israel was at peace
(more or less) and at the brink unblemished greatness.
This tale, as the scriptures tell it (II Samuel 11), happened at the time
of year when armies go out to war.
Normally the king would be at the head of his forces but David did
something that appeared out of place; he stayed behind in Jerusalem. Though David had many capable military leaders
and advisors, his place was with his army. Yet David did not go and shortly thereafter
found him in a place where he should not have been. It happened that, while standing on an upper
porch of his palace, the king looked out and saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, the
latter being an officer in the army, bathing at her home. David gave in to his desires and by the time it
was all over, Bathsheba was expecting the king’s child, her husband had been
betrayed by his king and subsequently positioned at the front lines where his
death was a hoped for and foregone conclusion.
David had the woman of his choosing, her husband was not longer and
“impediment” and all loose ends were eliminated. However, this episode of David’s reign concludes
with this ominous pronouncement: “But the thing that David had done displeased
the Lord”. (II Samuel 11:27b)
However this was not the end of the story. In the very next court we hear how the prophet
Nathan had become privy to all the actions of David and was directed by God to
help the king perceive the situation as it truly was. To achieve this, Nathan told the king story of
a man who had a lamb he and his family cherished and treated more as pet than
livestock. His rich, powerful and unjust neighbor however decided that the lamb
would make a perfect main course at a feast his was giving. When the tale of
cruel injustice had had the desired effect upon David, it was then that Nathan
made the pronouncement against the king; “YOU are that man!” It was then and only then that King David
faced the ugly truth and recognized his complicity in it all; he was the treacherous neighbor.
Adultery – When the
Eye of the Beholder Begins to Smolder
There is much to be learned from this incident but most of all remember this; it was David who instigated
his steep descent the moment he saw what he wanted and started the whole
process rolling. Jesus spoke of the crux
of the issue when he said this in Matthew 5:27-28
“You have heard that it was said to
those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But
I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already
committed adultery with her in his heart….”
Humans want to push the envelope when it comes to what fidelity means
and just how far a person can go and still “technically” be faithful. After all, thinking about another person,
about having them and enjoying them physically isn’t the same as infidelity is
it? Yet it was this type of thinking that
had been used by the religious leaders during Jesus’ time to find ways to get
around other inconvenient portions of the law and traditions.
In the letter of James (1:14-15), he describes a process whereby thought
becomes act:
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn
away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
As long as gasoline is kept in a gas can, there is little chance that it
will cause a fire. However when hatred,
bitterness, lust, a desire for revenge, etc., are nursed along in our minds
(NOT a safe and approved container for such things), they have the potential to
ignite and quickly engulf others and us in the process. Situations like those described
in Matthew 5:26-30 teach us that it is better to “Think Jesusly” than to allow
our minds and bodies free reign to wander.
When thoughts about murder and adultery are harbored in the heart, from
God’s perspective, they are as harmful to us as if we had committed the
ultimate acts.
NEXT POST – Divorce; An
Inconvenient Truth
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