Sin is Not Static It Grows!
Reading: Genesis 33,34
My Verse: "The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah" (34:13).
This is a very sad and sordid chapter in the life of the Israelites. Jacob's sons not only use deceit here as their father and their grandfather, Laban, had done in the past but they take their sin a step further - to murder. Sin, is an ugly thing it does not stay static, it grows and becomes ever more ugly and horrid. Oh, LORD God, You tell us this over and over throughout Your Word. You warned us from the very beginning through your warning to Cain. "Sin crouches at your door, its desire is for you" (Gen. 4:7). Yes, the sons of Jacob "answered . . . deceitfully." From their deceitful answer they went on to commit murder, basically slaughter of a town.
Sadly, Jacob did not deal with this as he should have. It is obvious he did not teach his sons to honor You in all that they did. In fact his initial reaction is not one of horror at the awful sin they committed here. No, it is instead concern for his own safety and welfare. "And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi. You have ruined me, making me infamous and embroiling me with the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! And we are few in number, and they will gather together against me and attack me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my household" (34:31).
How often do we have this very same reaction to the consequences of our sin. We are more concerned with how to deal with those consequences than with the fact that we hurt You so horribly.
For it is against You that we have sinned. As David so eloquently states it in Psalm 51:3,4.
"For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight, . . .
It is always to You that we need to cry out for mercy not to people as Jacob was want to do here with the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
"Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1,2)
Yes, sin is not static, if left unchecked it is ever progressive. Psalm 1:1 shows this progression of sin in our lives if we are not careful.
"Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers . . .
Thank You, LORD God that I can hold onto You. Thank You that I can repent to You of my sins and You will not only forgive me but give me to the ability to do the right thing to right any wrong that I do. You in Your loving mercy will "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
Reading: Genesis 33,34
My Verse: "The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah" (34:13).
This is a very sad and sordid chapter in the life of the Israelites. Jacob's sons not only use deceit here as their father and their grandfather, Laban, had done in the past but they take their sin a step further - to murder. Sin, is an ugly thing it does not stay static, it grows and becomes ever more ugly and horrid. Oh, LORD God, You tell us this over and over throughout Your Word. You warned us from the very beginning through your warning to Cain. "Sin crouches at your door, its desire is for you" (Gen. 4:7). Yes, the sons of Jacob "answered . . . deceitfully." From their deceitful answer they went on to commit murder, basically slaughter of a town.
Sadly, Jacob did not deal with this as he should have. It is obvious he did not teach his sons to honor You in all that they did. In fact his initial reaction is not one of horror at the awful sin they committed here. No, it is instead concern for his own safety and welfare. "And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi. You have ruined me, making me infamous and embroiling me with the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! And we are few in number, and they will gather together against me and attack me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my household" (34:31).
How often do we have this very same reaction to the consequences of our sin. We are more concerned with how to deal with those consequences than with the fact that we hurt You so horribly.
For it is against You that we have sinned. As David so eloquently states it in Psalm 51:3,4.
"For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight, . . .
It is always to You that we need to cry out for mercy not to people as Jacob was want to do here with the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
"Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1,2)
Yes, sin is not static, if left unchecked it is ever progressive. Psalm 1:1 shows this progression of sin in our lives if we are not careful.
"Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers . . .
Thank You, LORD God that I can hold onto You. Thank You that I can repent to You of my sins and You will not only forgive me but give me to the ability to do the right thing to right any wrong that I do. You in Your loving mercy will "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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