THE LORD SPOKE (May 19)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: I Kings 10-11

A foreigner, the Queen of Sheba, recognized that Solomon's glory did not come from any human source. She gave praise to God and attributed everything she saw to the Lord "who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel" (I Ki. 10:9).

Just as Samuel had predicted (I Sam. 8:11-18) and Moses had cautioned against (Deut. 17:14-20), King Solomon was enticed to excess in his personal life. He greatly multiplied his gold (I Ki. 10:14-22), his giddy-ups (I Ki. I0:26-29), and his gals (I Ki. 11:1-8) and this quickly multiplied his headaches (I Ki. 11:9-14). Worse, it drew God's anger and destroyed Solomon's legacy (I Ki. 11:9-11).

Possessions easily become idols to us and this was Solomon's great downfall. Rather than turning "to God from idols" as the Thessalonians (I Thess. 1:9), he went the opposite direction and had to cry out in old age, "don't forget God" (Eccl. 12:1), cautioning us to:

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Eccl. 12:13-14)

How refreshing that "One greater than Solomon" (Mat. 12:42) has shown us a better way. He gave up everything and "made himself nothing" (Phil. 2:5-8). Of Him the Father could say,

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Mat. 17:5)

From whom or from where do you draw your cues? From some human icon? from Hollywood? The Lord Jesus "humbled himself and became obedient". We can do no better than to follow Him.


New Testament: I Corinthians 6

Do you remember the olden days when we still used film in our cameras? Remember how sometimes it didn’t seem to advance properly and you wondered if you had gotten it engaged properly on the sprocket? After taking several pictures you finally decided to open the back of the camera, hoping to discover that the film tail was still disengaged and you could fix it. Remember your disappointment when you found that, in fact, it was properly fed and something else was causing the problem? But by opening the back of the camera you had let light in and ruined all those first pictures on the roll of film inside. Once exposed like that it was finished and could never produce the pictures you intended.

Pre-marital and extra-marital sex is like that. Once the film is exposed improperly, it can never be fully recovered. Something is lost forever.

Though any sin is evil and every sin will bring condemnation, all sins are not equal. Even one “little” sin makes you a sinner and God’s wrath abides upon you unless you are justified through the blood of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, all sins are not the same. Paul clearly tells us that sexual sins fall into a category of their own (I Cor. 6:18).

Yes, like any other sin, they can be forgiven. Also, like any other sin, sexual sins have consequences. But that’s what’s different. Sexual sins are “against the body”. Sometimes that is in a very real and physical sense. Sexually transmitted diseases are an immediate form of God’s judgment on sexual sin (see Rom. 1:24-27; esp. vs. 27).

But there’s more. God does forgive sexual sin when confessed and abandoned, but the exposing of that film brings permanent scars that cannot be removed. It you’re reading this and are being tempted in this are but have not yet yielded, consider it very carefully. Do not burn your film and enter a lifetime of regret and painful memories. It’s not worth it! Remain a virgin and enjoy proper marital sex at the right time as God intended it.

If you’ve already sinned in this area, confess your sin to God and ask for His for forgiveness and cleansing. Then, long for the day when your glorified body will no longer have those scars. Do everything you can now to warn your children and others of the permanent pain that this sin brings.