Repentance and Brokenness
I have been dwelling on the relationship between repentance/forgiveness and brokenness. It is amazing how much being broken induces repentance/forgiveness. At it’s very basic or fundamental nature, salvation is the recognition of my sin/inadequacy/humanity in the light of who God is, and allowing Him to forgive me and make me whole again.
I am reminded of a story in the Bible: “David & Bathsheba”. Lets look at a few passages and see the relationship between brokenness and repentance. I want to look at the part where Nathan came to rebuke David after he sinned. Here is that passage. Read the whole story for yourself. I have some thoughts but I want to let this linger! He..he!!
2 Samuel 12:5-13
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 ”This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ “
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.
Hint: You can’t make yourself be broken… someone must break you…
The question really is : Who do you want to do the breaking? How much do you resist the breaking? Why be broken in the first place?
One last food for thought: Was King David broken before or after?
