Get in the Lord's Way and Get Taken Out - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Chronicles 3:4-5,

"David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years, and these were the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. These four were by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel."

I note there was one other son born to David and Bathsheba in Jerusalem not listed here, an unnamed boy who died a few days after birth. This was the first child David and Bathsheba had. The death of the baby was a judgment from God for the sins of David when he took Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, and then murdered Uriah in an attempt to avoid the scandal the pregnancy presented. The baby was the result of David's initial adultery with Uriah's wife.

As I say, this first son was taken by the Lord as a judgment of David's sin. In 2 Samuel 12:15-16 we read, "... the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife [Bathsheba] had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground." In verse 18 we read, "On the seventh day the child died."

In the previous chapter, we have the documentation of Judah's offspring, two of which, sons, were taken by the Lord as well, Er and Onan. We are told in Genesis 38 that both were wicked in the sight of the Lord and so he put both of them to death.

What we see here is that the Lord can, and does, at times, take people out - brings about their deaths in what we might consider an untimely fashion. In the case of these three, two were wicked and one had done nothing wrong - his father, David had and the Lord set about to get his attention.

Does this kind of thing still happen? These accounts took place 3 and 4 millennia ago. How about in the church age? Would the Lord do such a thing during this age? Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. I'll let you look it up - but we see the Lord can and does take people out as he sees fit.

It appears to me that this can be the kind of action the Lord may take when individuals find themselves squarely at odds, or in his way as he pursues the building of his kingdom, his family. He will not allow anyone to stand in his path as he pursues his agenda, and it is not beyond what he may do in order to achieve it.

Although we are told Judah's first two boys were put to death because they were evil in the eyes of the Lord, this is different than his judgment of sinners for their sins. That comes at his great white-throne judgment when he casts all who refuse his offer of salvation into that fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 21:8. We are all going to die some day, and that day just might arrive sooner than later if we get in the Lord's way.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.