THE COVERUP
II Samuel 11:6-8
"Then David sent to Joab, saying, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.' And Joab sent Uriah to David....And David said to Uriah, 'Go own to your house and wash your feet.' So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food from the king followed him."
The rest of this chapter is one sordid coverup involving intrigue, deception, and murder. President Nixon's coverup of Watergate doesn't come close, and President Clinton's Lewinski affair pales in comparison. David's plan was to make it appear that Uriah was the father. So when Uriah was brought home from the war, David feigned interest in how the war was going (vs. 5), and then sent him home to Bathsheba. Perhaps in an attempt to assuage his guilty conscience, David also sent a gift to Uriah. But the conscience is not so easily cleared, even by trying to make up for the transgression by doing a good deed. How much differently this episode would have turned out if David had gone directly to his prayer of repentance in Psalm 51: "Have mercy upon me, O God ... Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:1-3). He would have saved himself and others a lot of pain and distress.
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: Covering up sin by doing good does not cleanse the conscience; only repentance can take care of guilt.
[end]
Have a "clear conscience" day. Love you.
II Samuel 11:6-8
"Then David sent to Joab, saying, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.' And Joab sent Uriah to David....And David said to Uriah, 'Go own to your house and wash your feet.' So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food from the king followed him."
The rest of this chapter is one sordid coverup involving intrigue, deception, and murder. President Nixon's coverup of Watergate doesn't come close, and President Clinton's Lewinski affair pales in comparison. David's plan was to make it appear that Uriah was the father. So when Uriah was brought home from the war, David feigned interest in how the war was going (vs. 5), and then sent him home to Bathsheba. Perhaps in an attempt to assuage his guilty conscience, David also sent a gift to Uriah. But the conscience is not so easily cleared, even by trying to make up for the transgression by doing a good deed. How much differently this episode would have turned out if David had gone directly to his prayer of repentance in Psalm 51: "Have mercy upon me, O God ... Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:1-3). He would have saved himself and others a lot of pain and distress.
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: Covering up sin by doing good does not cleanse the conscience; only repentance can take care of guilt.
[end]
Have a "clear conscience" day. Love you.
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