Cherished Sin
In the book of Daniel, the Babylonian King Belshazzar decided to throw a party and use the Holy Vessels, taken from the Temple of God by his forefather King Nebuchadnezzar, for wine and toasting his pagan gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. A hand came out of nowhere and wrote on the plaster wall of the king's banquet hall, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin (Daniel 5:25-28) v. 26 "This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. v. 27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. v. 28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." That night the king was killed and his kingdom taken over by Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:30-31).
Beth Moore in her Bible study, Daniel-Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy notes some of the following regarding the above section of Scripture on pages 98-101:
"Repentance of sin is one of the most wonderful privileges Christ has given us through His cross...We haven't repented, however, until we've experienced what 2 Corinthians 7:10 calls 'godly sorrow.' It's the kind that 'brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.'...Sometimes we lack godly sorrow because we still cherish the sin. In other words, we're not sorry we did it...Psalm 66:18-19 says, 'If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; and God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.' Unrecognized or cherished sin may still be a hindrance in your walk with God and your progress toward great fruitfulness."
The idea behind what Beth is speaking about is that King Belshazzar was arrogant in his behavior and even though he knew of his forefather's downfall due to being unrepentant toward God, he continued in his pride and it became his downfall as well. Sometimes the sin we're in is "just too good," we think we can't possibly give it up. We may even rationalize why God wouldn't want us to and how He might use it for a good purpose. That type of reasoning is from the flesh or Satan, not God. He would never want us to pursue evil, but instead flee from it. (2 Timothy 2:22) KT
Beth Moore in her Bible study, Daniel-Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy notes some of the following regarding the above section of Scripture on pages 98-101:
"Repentance of sin is one of the most wonderful privileges Christ has given us through His cross...We haven't repented, however, until we've experienced what 2 Corinthians 7:10 calls 'godly sorrow.' It's the kind that 'brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.'...Sometimes we lack godly sorrow because we still cherish the sin. In other words, we're not sorry we did it...Psalm 66:18-19 says, 'If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; and God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.' Unrecognized or cherished sin may still be a hindrance in your walk with God and your progress toward great fruitfulness."
The idea behind what Beth is speaking about is that King Belshazzar was arrogant in his behavior and even though he knew of his forefather's downfall due to being unrepentant toward God, he continued in his pride and it became his downfall as well. Sometimes the sin we're in is "just too good," we think we can't possibly give it up. We may even rationalize why God wouldn't want us to and how He might use it for a good purpose. That type of reasoning is from the flesh or Satan, not God. He would never want us to pursue evil, but instead flee from it. (2 Timothy 2:22) KT
A statue in Columbia that could easily be a god of stone for early citizens.
2 Timothy 2:20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
Comments
Post a Comment