Daily Devotions – The Scandalous Plan

Daily Devotions – The Scandalous Plan

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart: 

2 Samuel 12:13-20 (ESV)

13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,[a] the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.

David’s Child Dies

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.

Did you see the Gospel in this passage? It is scandalous. David repents, but his sin has cost the life of his descendant. This is one of the hardest passages in the Bible, but it is Gospel. An innocent person suffers and dies because of the sin of a wicked person. David is not going to die because of his sin, but his son does. In the same way, we are not going to die because of our sin, but God’s son did. The plans that we make without God, lead to suffering and death, but because of the scandalous plan of salvation, we will not suffer the consequences! Jesus sets us free to live… and make plans! Make plans to be a blessing to God and to everyone you encounter. Think of every person you meet today. Maybe God has planned for you to be a blessing to them!