Bible Study: 2ND
Samuel 24, 2 and 9 to 17. And Mark 6, 1 to 6.
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus went
to his own country and his disciples followed him. There is a saying that
charity begins at home. I think this must have spurred Jesus to go to his own
house, the very place where he grew up to spread the message of salvation but
the people there prevented him from doing much because of their unbelief. As
Mark tells us: “THEY TOOK OFFENCE AT HIM.” This is serious!
Don’t we also take offence at God at
times? Don’t we pick up quarrels with God by refusing to trust him completely? Aren’t
there times we have given up prayer or even questioned whether or not God
really exists? This was exactly what his own people did to Jesus, they
questioned his divinity; they did not believe he could be anything more than a
mere carpenter’s son.
God is All-powerful. There is nothing
he cannot do. He does not need our faith to be God. But then, he does not force
his way into our lives. The book of Hebrews says: “And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11, verse 6.
The Israelites suffered so much in
the wilderness because of their lack of faith. At every slightest instance,
they complained and raised their voice against Moses saying they would have
preferred to die in Egypt than to have been taken out. They took offence at God,
and as a result spent forty years on a journey that should have lasted only
forty days.
Unbelief in God also manifests itself
in sinfulness. At the heart of every sin we commit is a statement to God that “I
do not believe you have authority over my life to tell me what I should do or
not.” Every sin is an act of rebellion, it is a declaration to God that we know
better than him; that we are stronger or wiser than him. From the very first sin
of Adam and Eve, the only reason why we fall into sin is because we listen to
Satan who makes us believe God is keeping something away from us or does not
want us to be completely happy. For instance, God says, “do not steal.” By going
ahead to steal, we are telling God that we do not believe we can survive only
with what is genuinely ours.
David sinned by taking a census of
the people. He had prior knowledge that this was wrong. God’s people were not
to be numbered as God said to Abraham, his children would be a numerous as the
stars and the sand on the seashore. But then, by going ahead to number the
people, David showed unbelief in God. For his action, the whole land of Israel
suffered a three-day pestilence that saw seventy thousand people die.
Lack of faith in God not only
prevents God from blessing us, it also exposes us to danger. Lack of faith
makes us sin and every sin contains within it a punishment.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, may I never become a
victim of familiarity. Deepen my faith in you and may my faith translate into
obedience to your commands. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you.
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