For a full description of the (Y4) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Num. 15
Throughout this chapter, God declares that there is one law for the native Jew and the same law for the alien among them. God’s way is the same for everybody. The same applies to God’s covenant of grace through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way” (from Jn. 14:6), and that applies to every single one of us.
Ps. 51
Funny…when I just read about “unintentional sins” in Numbers 15, I wondered if David’s sin with Bathsheba and Uriah qualified as being unintentional. And here I am reading David’s repentant prayer after Nathan confronted him regarding that very sin. So I’ll give the question some thought.
“Unintentional” suggests to me that a person didn’t realize what they were doing. The basic definition is, “not done on purpose, accidental, or unplanned.” I can’t say any of that applies to David’s sin. Then again, the stated alternative of defiance indicates an open challenge to God, either out of contempt or complete disregard of Him. I can’t say that fits either. But then I think about the conflict Paul describes in Romans 7. He wrote, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” (Rom. 7:15). So it seems to me that the difference comes down to the true desire of the heart.
Paul’s words tell us that even the most sincere desire to serve God sometimes fails to overcome our humanity. As Jesus pointed out to Peter, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41b). This means that even faithful believers sometimes make poor decisions, full well knowing they are wrong. I think, then, the true measure of unintentional versus defiant sin shows in our response to it. When Nathan brought David back to his good senses, David humbly poured himself out to God’s mercy in genuine repentance. A defiant heart would have justified, made excuses, shaken a fist, or reacted in some other pride driven way toward God. Therefore, I would say that, as obvious as his poor decisions were, David’s sin was indeed “unintentional”. And we can join him in grateful praise to our God who will never despise a broken and contrite heart.
Is. 5
Whatever man can do to serve his own interests, build himself up, and make himself happy, God will overcome. It isn’t that God doesn’t want us to succeed or be happy. It’s that He knows our own fruit is bad. What we see as success and happiness isn’t at all; it is a lie. In contrast, God gives us what is real, true, and good. Why do men so stubbornly refuse it?