“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
Recently, we did an Easter egg hunt in a local neighborhood. We had not been there in a few years, as it had been closed for remodeling.
To tell the story of Christ, I use a set of 12 plastic eggs. Inside each one is a little item which illustrates the story of Jesus in His last week on earth. (Actually, the twelfth one is empty, symbolizing the resurrection!)
When I came to the part about Jesus’ suffering, particularly the whip and crown of thorns, one or two of the children looked astonished and asked: “Why did Jesus have to suffer?”
Good question! I felt led to explain it this way…
“Suppose you had done something wrong, and you were about to get a spanking. Just then, someone stepped up and volunteered to take your place, and they took the punishment for you.”
Jesus took our place… He suffered and died for our sins.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
Isaiah goes on to explain:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”
Isaiah 53:6-8
The Apostle Paul said:
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8
Jesus took our place so that we could have eternal life through faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ!
An old hymn says:
“Man of Sorrows,” what a nameFor the Son of God who cameRuined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! what a Savior!”
“The heavens declare the glory of God, And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”
Psalms 19:1-2
Go outside… Look up…
What do you see?
The sky, I hope.
This morning, there are little clouds in the sky. It’s as though God took his paintbrush, and made several small beautiful brushstrokes of white.
Sometimes he paints with dark colors just before a storm. Even those clouds are beautiful in their own way.
On a clear night, we can see stars twinkling in the distance. Too many stars to count…
I wonder what the sky looked like when the psalmist wrote these words…
“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”
Psalms 19:1-2
We can see the creative power of God day and night.
The beauty of creation is not just limited to certain locations. It’s available all over the world.
“There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them, He has set a tabernacle for the sun,”
Psalms 19:3-4
Next, the psalmist talks about the Sun:
“Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
Psalms 19:5-6
Caught up in the wonder of God’s creation, the psalmist turns his attention and worship to the LORD.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
Psalms 19:7-9; 14
Today we have a choice…
We can look down. We can look around. We can look inside…
Why not look up to God?
He’s greater than anything that’s going on…
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”
“Because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.”
1 Kings 15:5
This verse summarizes David’s reign. It’s a favorable report, except for one thing.
First, let’s look first at what David did correctly:
He did what was right in the Lord. David based his decisions on God’s word.
He didn’t turn aside from anything God commanded him to do. It doesn’t sound like David argued with God or told Him “I’ll do that later.”
“All the days of his life.” Consistency. David did the right things and obeyed God, not once in awhile, but all the days of his life. “EXCEPT in the case of Uriah the Hittite.”
2 Samuel 11 records what happened.
“Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.”
2 Samuel 11:1
David stayed at home while others were in the battle.
He took a nap, and got up that evening. David took a stroll on his roof and looked toward a neighbor’s house. A beautiful lady was taking a bath.
Instead of turning away, David looked… and he looked some more.
He started to develop a plan.
Finding out from his staff that the lady’s name was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, he told them to bring her over. It didn’t matter to him that she was married!
They have relations, and she becomes pregnant.
Instead of owning up to it, David tries to cover things up, and in the process, has her husband murdered.
David later repents of his sins. Psalm 51 is left for us as a great example of a penitent prayer.
This sordid affair is way outside of the character of David.
Why did this happen?
In a nutshell, David let himself get distracted.
It’s too bad he didn’t think of what he wrote is Psalm 119:
“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways.”
Psalms 119:37
The amplified Bible says it this way:
“Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine], And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.”
David was a man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22)
Even someone close to God can be distracted and tempted.
Remember to keep your eyes focused on the Lord, submitting to His Lordship, and resisting the devil.
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
If you do these things, your record won’t have a big blot on it!
