Past / Present / Future, Part 3: Scars, Not Wounds

Grant Fishbook, Lead Teaching Pastor

2 Samuel 12:1–10 (God’s Word Translation)

So the LORD sent Nathan to David. Nathan came to him and said, “There were two men in a certain city. One was rich, and the other was poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cows, ³ but the poor man had only one little female lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up in his home with his children. She would eat his food and drink from his cup. She rested in his arms and was like a daughter.
        ⁴ “Now, a visitor came to the rich man. The rich man thought it would be a pity to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler. So, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared her for the traveler.”
          ⁵ David burned with anger against the man. “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this certainly deserves to die! ⁶ And he must pay back four times the price of the lamb because he did this and had no pity.”
          ⁷ “You are the man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and rescued you from Saul…I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if this weren’t enough, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise my word by doing what I considered evil? You had Uriah the Hittite killed in battle. You took his wife as your wife. You used the Ammonites to kill him. ¹⁰ So warfare will never leave your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.”

“I have sinned against the LORD” –2 Samuel 12:13

Steps to healing from our past:

Acknowledge the wound of

Appropriately grieve the past with

The words of Jesus concerning the ash of your past:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me
       to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
       to proclaim freedom for the captive
       and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
       and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
       and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
       instead of mourning
and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair. – Isaiah 61:1–3

There comes a time when you have to move forward:

So David got up from the ground, bathed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the Lord’s house and worshiped. – 2 Samuel 12:20

If God says your past sin has been removed,
why are you still ?

Revelation 5:6–14
⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
       and to open its seals,
       because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
       persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom
       and priests to serve our God,
       and they will reign on the earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
       to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
       and honor and glory and praise!”

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
       be praise and honor and glory and power,
       for ever and ever!”

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Jesus kept his !

The transformation of David’s past from Psalm 30 (God’s Word Translation)

¹¹ You have changed my sobbing into dancing.
      You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy
¹² so that my soul  may praise you with music and not be silent.
      O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Small Group Questions

1. How did you spend the snow days last week?
2. Do you have a scar? What’s the story behind it?
3. The Hebrew people used sackcloth and ashes to show their grief and sorrow. Can you think of any modern equivalents to this tradition? What do you do to handle your grief?
4. What does it mean to you that Jesus kept his scars?
5. God transformed David’s heart toward his past. What can you do today to exchange the ashes of your past for God’s grace?
6. How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?