“You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.”
~ 2 Samuel 12:12
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you think that there is a time when it is okay for a guy to kill another guy? Your grandmaa and grandpaa from June of 1983 to May of 1986 administrated the rural resident Bible education and leadership training program in Concepción, Nuflo de Chavez, Bolivia. Twice during the three years when your grandmaa and grandpaa were the administrators of the rural resident Bible education and leadership training center in Concepción that a guy or that guys were killed in or near Concepción by a guy or by guys who lived in Concepción. Around 1200 guys, gals and kids lived in Concepción when your grandmaa and grandpaa lived there. When your grandmaa and grandpaa were living on the rural resident Bible education and leadership training center grounds in Concepción, your grandpaa would most every day play fulbito – which is played on a basketball size court with a soccer ball that is about the size of a 14” softball and which does not bounce, with guys who were Centro de Capacitación (Center of Learning) students at the rural resident Bible education and leadership training center in Concepción or your grandpaa would play volleyball on a team that was made up of Centro de Capacitación students that would play against a team of local Concepción guys who would come on the training center property to play volleyball. Two young guys who stayed with their grandpa and grandma in the house that was located next to the rural resident Bible education and leadership training center property would at times play volleyball on the Concepción community guys’ team that played against a team that was made up of your grandpaa and five Centro de Capacitación students. Concepción was on a route that was sometimes used by guys to drive contraband vehicles from Brazil to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. After a car that was in a small caravan of contraband vehicles was brought to the mechanic who had his shop across the street from the rural resident Bible education and leadership training center property to be repaired and after the car had been repaired, the two young guys who were staying with their grandpa and grandma in the house that was next to the rural resident Bible education and leadership training center property in Concepción told the guys in the caravan that they would – for a small fee, help them to get them past a non-existent checkpoint where they would have to pay a bribe to be able to go on to Santa Cruz. Instead of helping the caravan of cars get past the non-existent checkpoint, the two young guys led the caravan of vehicles to an empty house where they shot the guys who were in the caravan. While the vehicles’ drivers were sitting on the grass next to the rural resident Bible education and leadership training center property fence waiting for the car to get fixed, the two guys apparently thought that they heard the guys saying that they were carrying ‘white gold’ – ‘white gold’ being a name for cocaine. Your grandpaa one year – during an annual festival in Concepción, played basketball on Concepción’s selection basketball team against a basketball team from Santa Cruz. When Concepción’s soccer team lost to Santa Cruz’s soccer team, the coach of Concepción’s soccer team – who was the town veterinarian, shot and killed the soccer player who kicked the winning goal for Santa Cruz. Do you think that it was okay for the two young guys to kill guys who were doing something that was illegal to do or for a guy to kill a young guy for scoring a winning goal against his team?
Do you think that it was okay for David to have Uriah killed by the Amorite people group’s army, after what he impulsively did with Bathsheba – who was Uriah’s wife? Samuel – in 2 Samuel 12, details the consequences of David’s improper, inappropriate, immoral sinful action. David forgot one thing when he did what he did – which was to first invite a gal who was married to have an illicit affair with him and then after that clandestine encounter resulted in a pregnancy had the gal’s husband positioned on the front line where he for sure would be killed, that he had a witness to what he did. That witness was God. God waited until after the kid was born to Bathsheba before He sent Nathan – who was one of His prophet spokesmen, to explain to David through an upsetting tale of a rich dude, a poor guy, a pet lamb and a party to get David to clearly comprehend the consequences of his shameful, degrading moral lapse. What Samuel recorded in verse 12 about what God said to David through Nathan should be a reminder for all Christ-follower guys, gals and kids, “You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.””’ Everything that you do or not do and every word that you say or do not say is seen and heard by God. You can never escape the presence of God – as God the Spirit. God expects that you will always do what is right or else. David learned this lesson the hard way. Everything that Nathan had God tell him to tell David happened. The first kid that David had with Bethsheba died. Absalom – who was one of David’s kids, rebelled against his dad. Three of David’s kids – Absalom, Amnon and Adonijah, were brutally killed. When David accepted the dire consequences of what he did by confessing his sin and then by moving on with purpose, God blessed David with another kid with Bathsheba and with a desire – after a backdoor ruse from Joab, to go ahead defeat the Amorite people group’s army in a big way. David would end up from the victor spoils with an ornate crown that was too heavy for his head.
Your grandmaa and grandpaa recently read a book that is called The Shack. This book really challenged the thinking of your grandmaa and grandpaa regarding God. Besides having the key David type character in his book, William Young – who wrote The Shack, fleshes out three other characters – God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, in his book. The next time that you find yourself tempted to . . ., remember that God – as God the Holy Spirt, is there with you.
2 Samuel 12 (936)