EFFECT OF SIN 
2 Samuel 12

Carrying out the act of sin is the emergence of evil preoccupation of the eventual sinner. It does not take forever for an act of sin to take its ground, but the effect of sin (the consequence of sin) can take forever manifesting itself. Consequences of sin can be exceedingly destructive, and painful. Consequence of sin most times last longer than a sinner could imagine. King David violated Bathsheba while her husband Uriah was at war. David’s attempt to cover up his sinful act led to the death of Uriah. The Bible recorded in 2 Samuel 11:27, “…But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”  God forgave David because of David’s repentant heart and confession, “So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14) David was forgiven, the Lord put away his sin, but the consequences remained in his household. After the death of his first child that Uriah’s wife bore to David one would have thought the effect of his sinful act was over, but it was just the beginning of consequences for David’s sin. God is a just and merciful God. Before Him there is no excuse for any evil act. There is also no evil act that can be hidden from Him. As a believer you might have enjoyed a sinful act, and yet to enter into the consequence of your sin. Today as you set eyes on this, ask God to help you terminate the act of sin that is displeasing God in your life. The consequences of David’s sin passed on to his children. Absalom, the son of David revived the role that King Saul played in the life of David. Absalom was reacting to the violation of Tamar (his sister) by Amnon his brother when he killed Amnon. At that juncture, the effect of David’s sinful act against Uriah unfolded itself from one situation to another situation in David’s household. Among God’s message to David after his evil act against Uriah stated, “…I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.” (2 Samuel 12: 11) When the act of sin rings your bell, know that an open door to it will accommodate a painful and agonizing effect that could last for much longer than you can handle.

Prayer for today: Father, lead me and guide me from opening a door to any evil act that could violate Your word in my life. Deliver me from every generational curse. O Lord, let me not be a cause of painful consequences of sin to the children you have put in my care.  

NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER
2 Samuel 6

Excuse will not prevail when good intentions provoke the violation of God’s command. Uzzah’s good intention was to stabilize and keep the Ark of God steady during transportation. “…Out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab drove the new cart.” (2 Samuel 6:3) The Bible describes the route of transportation: “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:6-7) The threshing floor was a place of processing grain, separating kernels from the chaff. In the case of the transportation, it was not just a threshing floor but was also a hill ground. The putting out of Uzzah’s hand to prevent the Ark of God from stumbling was a good intention but was in violation of God; it provoked instant judgment of Uzzah. God struck Uzzah and Uzzah died of error from his good intention. Is there anyway that you are carrying out a good intention in act against the Word of God? In all of your service, get understanding and avoid any violation that could violate life. God warned earlier in Numbers 4:15 about death as the sentence for touching any thing that is holy and the Ark of God is holy. Uzzah’s intention was to help God where God had not called for help. At all times, God needs no man for attainment but rather man will always need God for attainment. Uzzah’s situation demonstrated the fact that God will never violate His word by not bringing it to pass. He is a consistent God, His Word will not go void and you cannot violate His Word and avoid being violated out of this world. The fear of God is in the manifestation of the power in His Word. By virtue of what happened to Uzzah, the Bible records that, “David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, ‘How can the ark of the LORD come to me?’ 10 So David would not move the ark of the LORD with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.” (2 Samuel6:9-10).Great is the Lord God and He is greatly to be feared. Thank God for the coming of Jesus for He is the evidence of God’s goodness and mercy. He has lifted us up to the days of grace. However, despite the grace of God, the apostle Paul declared, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) Shall we continue in sin? Think of it and give it the right answer.
Prayer for today: Father, deliver me and preserve me from every evil work for Your kingdom’s glory.

BREAKTHROUGH OF WATER
2 Samuel 5:17-25

2 Samuel 5:17-19, “Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?’ And the LORD said to David, ‘Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.’” Concerning David, the enemy was not at rest while David was at rest as he continued to wait on God. Resting on the Lord is waiting on Him by inquiring from Him on a regular basis and in every walk of life and the challenges of life. David, having waited on God, went to the ground of his battle. 2 Samuel 5:20, “So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, ‘The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.’ Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.” God backing up His word for David was the breaking power over David’s enemy at Baal Perazim. For David, the Word worked because he was able to inquire. David always gave to God his attention and those who attend to God are the ones who get God’s attention over every situation. God is a jealous God and the antidote for jealousy is giving attention to Him. Establishing a custom of approaching God is a demonstration of consistency. David’s inquiring of the Lord in his battle against the Philistines identified David as not being presumptuous. As a believer, the grace of enablement to be consistent in inquiring from the Lord should be a great desire because when there is desire, God deposits desire. Just like David, Daniel’s victory over the plot to terminate him for not worshiping a false God was a result of his established custom. Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Daniel overcame the plot because God acknowledged Daniel. David became victorious in his battle of Baal Perazim. In David’s victory, he testified that the Lord broke through his enemies before him like a breakthrough of water. Your battle of Baal Perazim will be won the same way like that of David if you will establish a custom approach to seeking God over every situation.

Prayer for today: I ask today O Lord my God; let every representative of enemy in my life encounter the power of God that will break them like a breakthrough of water.

LESSONS TO LEARN
2 Samuel 5:6-16

The beginning of every man’s fall is inhabited in the beginning of every man’s rise. God is set to bring up any of His children and not to keep him down while the enemy is also set to bring him or keep him down. Despite all the wicked devises that is in possession of the devil, the children of God will always prevail. David, having become the king for the whole land, began to build up for his own destruction. The Bible says, “So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David.” (2 Samuel 5:12-13) The later end of King David’s challenges started when he began to assemble concubines and wives. In the days of his running away from King Saul, David did not engage himself in taking up concubines but was engaged in ways and means to have his life protected. However, when he realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel he re-established himself with concubines and wives. Often times, whenever there is a sigh of relief from challenges and adversities, the tendency to shift focus presents itself in the life of believers. Shifting focus will not present itself directly but rather indirectly. It is a way by adding up extra responsibilities that are often uncalled for or the ones that are not necessary. As David began to add concubines and wives, he made himself vulnerable to traps of sin and sinning that eventually affected and disrupted him later in life. God had earlier warned the children of Israel against multiple wives when he laid down the principles governing kings. Deuteronomy 17:7, “Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.” In life it is easy to destroy than to build. All that David went through was a building process that was needed to maintain self at the top. God is building you up and what you see in your building process is for learning that will keep you and maintain you for His divine plans. Paying attention and avoiding the forces of distraction will keep a believer in line of God’s plan. The life of David was full of all kinds of lessons that are enough to keep a believer in line from repeated failure.
Prayer for today: Father, in all that I am learning and seeing in Your Word, let it add up in me that I may not become a victim of self destruction.  

GOD THAT PERFORMS
2 Samuel 5:1-5

God alone is God; He is the Great I Am that I Am. The Most gracious, Most blessed, the Ancient of Days. God alone has solutions in His hands. Lord my God and my Father I ask that You resolve all unsolvable situations in my life, in the Name of Jesus. The mountain that was before David, the one that King Saul created for him in attempt to deny him where the Lord was taking him, fell after Saul had died. David eventually became the king just as the Lord had planned for him to be. 2 Samuel 5:1-3, “Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, ‘Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’’ 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel.” King David was anointed the third time. The first time was when Samuel anointed David, the second time was his rule over Judah and the third was his rule over the whole nation. The Word of God came to pass in the life of David because God has never fail. All that the Lord has spoken into your life for your breakthrough will not fail but will come to pass to the glory of God. In spite of his challenges when the appointed time was there, nothing could possible relocate David to where God had not located him to be. The mountain that has refused to resolve itself and give way to your breakthrough will fall down at the Lord’s timing. 2 Samuel 5:4-5, “David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.” The time David spent in running and hiding for his life by the hand of Saul was nothing to compare with the years that he spent reigning and ruling as God ordained. The mountain that refuses to fall will fall, the pain will go and the gain will come. God is true to His Word. King David prayed, “Be pleased O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me! Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who seek to destroy my life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor who wish me evil.” (Psalm 40:13-14) The Lord God answered and delivered King David.

Prayer for today: As I set my eyes on David’s prayer, O Lord, let the prayer of David answer on my behalf that Your Name be glorified in my life.