Tag: Sin

Posted on

Division and Decline – Generational Sin

Rehoboam said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier.” When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? 1 Kings 12:14, 16

The dedication of the temple was the highest point in the Old Testament, and things went downhill fast from there. Solomon’s son was a guy named Rehoboam, and he was a jerk. He was prideful and told the Northern people of Israel he would treat them harshly. So, they rebelled against him and split the kingdom in two. The northerners created their own country which they called Israel and built a new capital in a town called Samaria. Meanwhile, the southerners started calling their Kingdom Judah and their capital was in Jerusalem. For the rest of the kingdom period, the north and south were divided and in conflict with one another.

When the two kingdoms first split apart, those in Judah wanted to go to war against their kinfolk in the North. However, God intervened and told them not to go. God chose to allow the kingdom to be divided but doesn’t want further wars to be fought about it.

The split of the Kingdoms is a symptom of generational sin within the family of David. A generational sin is a flaw or weakness handed down from parents or members of our family. Even though sin is personal, humans can inherit patterns of thinking from family members that can keep us trapped in destructive rhythms. Rehoboam was the third member of his family to be king, and he had witnessed his father Solomon and his grandfather David abuse their power out of pride. Rehoboam followed their example in abusing his power and being cruel to the Northern people. The two kingdoms never reunited.

Maybe you are vulnerable to generational sin. Perhaps you have seen destructive habits in your own family like substance abuse, verbal or physical violence, or being a workaholic. With God’s help, we can always rise above the sins of others, but it takes humility, intentionally, and faith. Reflect on the sins to which you feel most tempted and ask God for strength to see you through.

Posted on

Kings and Prophets – The Sin of David

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to David: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul… I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?” 2 Samuel 12:7-9

Even though King David was a great king, he was still a human king. He ruled over Israel for forty years, and eventually he messed up, and messed up bad. While his army was away defending the country, he decided to take the wife of one of his soldiers. Her name was Bathsheba. When she became pregnant, David arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle.            

David had become greedy and prideful. He was the most powerful and privileged person in the entire country, and he decided to abuse that power and privilege to satisfy his own desires. What is crazy about this story is not just David’s greed and evil actions, but the way God responds. God says, “if everything you had was too little, I would have given you even more.” God is disgusted by the evil he has committed against Uriah and Bathsheba, but God is also offended that David was not satisfied with everything already given to him.

David’s lack of gratitude is underscored in the story by the name of the prophet sent to correct his actions. When David took Bathsheba from Uriah, God sent the Prophet Nathan to set him straight. Nathan’s name literally means “he has given.” So David is reminded of God’s generosity whenever he says the name “Nathan.”

David committed theft and murder against the people of his kingdom, and David also spurned God’s generosity and abused God’s goodness. What we learn from this story is that every sin committed against other people is also committed against God. Our Heavenly Father takes our sin personally. To be faithful disciples, we must spend time reflecting on our own sin and confessing it to our God who is eager to forgive us.