“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, ESV)
King David sinned greatly. He saw Bathsheba, who was beautiful. Lust pulsed through his veins. David wanted her badly. David sent his servant to get her. David had sex with her. But Bathsheba was a married woman. Their act was pure adultery. It was an obvious sin. Any person who knew God would know this was an act against everything that is right, even against God. What did King David do when committing such a heinous act? He covered it up. And then, Bathsheba was pregnant.
David did multiple things to conceal the pregnancy and his sin. First, David arranged for Bathsheba’s husband, the soldier Uriah, to come home. David hoped that Uriah would sleep with his wife. That didn’t work. Then, David got Uriah drunk, hoping Uriah would have sex with his wife and thus cover up their affair. That didn’t work either. Finally, David sent Uriah back off to war and arranged for his murder. That worked well enough. When Uriah died at the front of the battle, David took Bathsheba for his own. All this was done so that David could conceal his evil actions. All this was done by David to bury his own responsibility for adultery, murder, and more.
People will go a long way to conceal their sins and mistakes and shortcomings from others. Like David, they may even use murder to cover up their own evil.
When speaking with a marriage counselor, I was surprised by our exchange. He knew I was a pastor. I knew he was a marriage counselor. I could tell he was having a bad day. He could tell that I was not only a caring man but someone who could keep confidence. In the middle of our conversation, he whispered, “I have heard hundreds of stories during counseling where people tried to justify their wrongful actions. I’m sick of people who want me to tell them that they didn’t do something wrong, that they weren’t at fault, that they aren’t responsible for their marriage falling apart.” From his words, I could see the reality that in marriage counseling, too many people don’t want to make things right or change their ways. They want to be told they were right. They want to hear the counselor say the problems in marriage were all the fault of the other spouse. Most people desire their own failings buried, hidden, concealed while the spouse takes the blame for everything!
Jesus noted this tendency to want to hide one’s faults while blaming others for any problem. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus questioned those in attendance, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3, ESV). With these simple words, Jesus was expressing a truth as old as human relations. People want to blame others. People also want their own errors concealed. The sinner believes that the truth doesn’t matter as much as covering up who is responsible. Jesus would have none of the lies. He wanted the truth. He advocated for people to see the specks in their own eyes; their own failures, their own sins, their own shortcomings. Only then could they confess and be cleansed... only then.
The scripture for today gives a stark reality to this discussion. Proverbs 28:13 states that, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” This scripture lays out two ways of dealing with evil, sins, failures, and shortcomings. You either “confess and forsake them” to “obtain mercy” from God. OR you “conceal your transgressions” and fail to “prosper”, thus failing God. Every sin, every failure on your part, requires you to go down the path of confessing or the path of concealing. Depending on which path you choose, you will receive failure or you will receive mercy. It is up to you which path you choose. Nobody can take the path for you. Added to this, the frightening truth is that others around you will pay for which path you choose.
When you choose to conceal your sin, often others pay a price. In the case of King David, Uriah paid the price for David’s concealing his sin. Uriah was murdered to cover up David’s adultery. Sadly, others paid a price as well. Bathsheba’s baby was born sick and later died (2 Samuel 12:18). Did stress from the affair cause Bathsheba to have a problem pregnancy? Did the death of Uriah deeply affect Bathsheba and her child? We will never know how much concealing their adultery affected the pregnancy. What we do know is that God would not allow the sin to go unnoticed nor the baby to grow up with such evil surrounding it (2 Samuel 12:15). God made clear to David that the death of the child was due to the concealed sin.
Concealing sin damages one’s own soul. It affects, hurts, and even kills those around. Why do such a thing? Why sin and then conceal it? Human beings have been doing this since the beginning of time. When God approached Adam and Eve about their sin in the Garden of Eden, what did they do? They hid themselves in attempting to conceal their sin (Genesis 3:10)!
Have you figured it out yet? The NATURAL tendency for every human is to conceal their sin! The GODLY tendency is for you to confess and forsake sin, so that you may obtain mercy. When you fail to do what is right, do something evil, or sin without thinking, your first inclination may be to conceal what you have done. As if God didn’t see it! Come on, you know God saw it! You just don’t want other people knowing of your sin. It’s a pride thing! Oh yes, a pride thing! You don’t want to admit you aren’t perfect. You want others to think you have no shortcomings! If you let pride have its way, your NATURAL tendency will be to conceal your sin, no matter who gets hurt by it. Or will you choose another way? Will you love God enough to confess and forsake your sin? That takes a lot! Your pride will be damaged. Your “image” will be tainted. But you will obtain mercy from the God who knows your weakness!
Will you keep your pride by concealing your sin? Will you be courageous enough to confess your sin? This has been the main dilemma from the beginning of time. How you react to your sin will define you, affect those around you, determine your future. Will you follow your NATURAL prideful tendency to conceal your sin or follow your GODLY tendency to confess and forsake sin out of a love for God? Do you side with pride or follow God’s truth? In time, it will be obvious which path you take. I pray you will choose wisely!
David did multiple things to conceal the pregnancy and his sin. First, David arranged for Bathsheba’s husband, the soldier Uriah, to come home. David hoped that Uriah would sleep with his wife. That didn’t work. Then, David got Uriah drunk, hoping Uriah would have sex with his wife and thus cover up their affair. That didn’t work either. Finally, David sent Uriah back off to war and arranged for his murder. That worked well enough. When Uriah died at the front of the battle, David took Bathsheba for his own. All this was done so that David could conceal his evil actions. All this was done by David to bury his own responsibility for adultery, murder, and more.
People will go a long way to conceal their sins and mistakes and shortcomings from others. Like David, they may even use murder to cover up their own evil.
When speaking with a marriage counselor, I was surprised by our exchange. He knew I was a pastor. I knew he was a marriage counselor. I could tell he was having a bad day. He could tell that I was not only a caring man but someone who could keep confidence. In the middle of our conversation, he whispered, “I have heard hundreds of stories during counseling where people tried to justify their wrongful actions. I’m sick of people who want me to tell them that they didn’t do something wrong, that they weren’t at fault, that they aren’t responsible for their marriage falling apart.” From his words, I could see the reality that in marriage counseling, too many people don’t want to make things right or change their ways. They want to be told they were right. They want to hear the counselor say the problems in marriage were all the fault of the other spouse. Most people desire their own failings buried, hidden, concealed while the spouse takes the blame for everything!
Jesus noted this tendency to want to hide one’s faults while blaming others for any problem. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus questioned those in attendance, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3, ESV). With these simple words, Jesus was expressing a truth as old as human relations. People want to blame others. People also want their own errors concealed. The sinner believes that the truth doesn’t matter as much as covering up who is responsible. Jesus would have none of the lies. He wanted the truth. He advocated for people to see the specks in their own eyes; their own failures, their own sins, their own shortcomings. Only then could they confess and be cleansed... only then.
The scripture for today gives a stark reality to this discussion. Proverbs 28:13 states that, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” This scripture lays out two ways of dealing with evil, sins, failures, and shortcomings. You either “confess and forsake them” to “obtain mercy” from God. OR you “conceal your transgressions” and fail to “prosper”, thus failing God. Every sin, every failure on your part, requires you to go down the path of confessing or the path of concealing. Depending on which path you choose, you will receive failure or you will receive mercy. It is up to you which path you choose. Nobody can take the path for you. Added to this, the frightening truth is that others around you will pay for which path you choose.
When you choose to conceal your sin, often others pay a price. In the case of King David, Uriah paid the price for David’s concealing his sin. Uriah was murdered to cover up David’s adultery. Sadly, others paid a price as well. Bathsheba’s baby was born sick and later died (2 Samuel 12:18). Did stress from the affair cause Bathsheba to have a problem pregnancy? Did the death of Uriah deeply affect Bathsheba and her child? We will never know how much concealing their adultery affected the pregnancy. What we do know is that God would not allow the sin to go unnoticed nor the baby to grow up with such evil surrounding it (2 Samuel 12:15). God made clear to David that the death of the child was due to the concealed sin.
Concealing sin damages one’s own soul. It affects, hurts, and even kills those around. Why do such a thing? Why sin and then conceal it? Human beings have been doing this since the beginning of time. When God approached Adam and Eve about their sin in the Garden of Eden, what did they do? They hid themselves in attempting to conceal their sin (Genesis 3:10)!
Have you figured it out yet? The NATURAL tendency for every human is to conceal their sin! The GODLY tendency is for you to confess and forsake sin, so that you may obtain mercy. When you fail to do what is right, do something evil, or sin without thinking, your first inclination may be to conceal what you have done. As if God didn’t see it! Come on, you know God saw it! You just don’t want other people knowing of your sin. It’s a pride thing! Oh yes, a pride thing! You don’t want to admit you aren’t perfect. You want others to think you have no shortcomings! If you let pride have its way, your NATURAL tendency will be to conceal your sin, no matter who gets hurt by it. Or will you choose another way? Will you love God enough to confess and forsake your sin? That takes a lot! Your pride will be damaged. Your “image” will be tainted. But you will obtain mercy from the God who knows your weakness!
Will you keep your pride by concealing your sin? Will you be courageous enough to confess your sin? This has been the main dilemma from the beginning of time. How you react to your sin will define you, affect those around you, determine your future. Will you follow your NATURAL prideful tendency to conceal your sin or follow your GODLY tendency to confess and forsake sin out of a love for God? Do you side with pride or follow God’s truth? In time, it will be obvious which path you take. I pray you will choose wisely!