A Comparison ... Lust and Pride

[Shmanu YAH]

shalom mishpacha, baruk h'shem YHWH! I pray all is well with you all.

In this short easy to understand message I wanted to deal with two age old issues, LUST and PRIDE.

We know that both lust and pride are detrimental to our relationship with YHWH, always have been - always will be. Lets look at a example of each involving a man after YHWH's own heart - "melek Dawid" aka "King David".

We should be familiar with the lust issue as we read again 2nd Samuel 11:1-5, And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. 2 And it came to pass at eventide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

now I dont mean to disrespect that King of Yisrael, but why wasn't he out at battle leading like Kings are supposed to seeing how the Most High is with them?, Why is he hanging around his rooftop looking at naked womenz? .... huh?

3 And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned unto her house. 5 And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

in vs. 3 we see he was reminded she was already the woman of Uriah the Hittite (of the lineage Ham through Canaan) but still didn't care! ... what happened to torah specifically Exodus 20:17? - "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's WIFE, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's". After he learned she was "with child" he acted to cover his lustful tracks ... OH OH.

Even though the king himself had several wives of his own he let carnality get the mastery of him setting in motion several tragic events like vs.14-17

And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. ( mental note... sounds like a setup to me) 16 And it came to pass, when Joab kept watch upon the city, that he assigned Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men were, 17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people, even of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. this is not the end, in vs. 26-27, And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made lamentation for her husband. 27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and took her home to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased YHWH.

As we foward to 2nd Samuel chpt. 12:14-15, 18-19 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of YHWH to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die, 15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And YHWH struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he hearkened not unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead! 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said unto his servants, "Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead". .......- another tragic event brought forth by this wicked action.

No doubt this and the many bloodshed wars (1st. Chronicles. 22:8) also kept King David from being worthy to build YHWH's house, someting that was in his heart . Now lets look at a more detrimental problem - PRIDE ,

We read in 1st Chron. 21:1- 5 , And shatan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 2 And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them. 3 And Joab said, YHWH make his people a hundred times as many as they are: but, my master the king, are they not all my master's servants? why doth my master require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel? 4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.

in vs. 7 we read, And Elohim was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

King David obviously slipped away from the torah and forgot the teaching of his youth, lets look back at the book of b'reshyth .

In Gen. 2:16-17, a instruction \ torah was given: And YHWH Elohim commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (not meaning drop dead but meant separation from YAH and brought mortality into play). We read as we go along in Gen.3:1-5 we see a interaction between the serpent and "Chwah" aka "Eve" 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, Elohim hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die". 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die".

In vs. 13-19 we see the sentence handed down, at what point will mankind learn when we go against the direction of the most high it's a self-appointed death sentence? Never listen to the direction of h'shatan, nothing good can come from it then or now! By listening to the adversary King David did a very irresponsible thing recorded in 1st Chron. 21 he ordered a census at the request of a idiot that had no good intent. Even Joab his right-hand man tried to warn him against this because he could see where this was going, and there would surely be some retribution but leaders too often turn a deaf ear to wisdom or correction. You may wonder whats the big deal about a little census or numbering of the people, well simply put: You can number whats yours and what you own, but if you don't own the people then only the TRUE owner can tell you whether or not to number them. King David was so full of himself with PRIDE the adversary knew he could get him to do this wicked deed. We already saw the tragic effects of LUST now lets look at the damming effects of PRIDE!

This foolish act is also recorded in 2nd Sam. 24 but lets continue in 1st. Chron. 21:5,7- 8, :"And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. 8 And David said unto Elohim, "I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing: but now, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly".

Now look at this tragic effect, in vs. 9-12 it reads: And YHWH spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, 10 Go and speak unto David, saying, Thus saith YHWH, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, "Thus saith YHWH, Take which thou wilt: 12 either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before thy foes, while the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of YHWH, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of YHWH destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me".

Of the 3 volitions - he declined the famine, obviously didn't want himself or his people to go hungry ( how carnal ) he also declined 3 months of defeat, didn't want the pain or embarrassment of a beat-down by his foes ( how prideful ) so he opted for the short term 3 day punishment from YHWH ( hoping it would be merciful ), vs.13 And David said unto Gad, "I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of YHWH; for very great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man".

It is plain the tragic results of this leader's PRIDE turned out to be so much more damming than the effects of his lust especially to the inhabitants of Yisrael as we see in 1st. Chronicles 21:14, So YHWH sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. Maybe it's just me but 70,000 men seem like a lot of victims compared to the sum of Uriah, some of David's servants with him and the child born of adultery (all also innocent).

It is no doubt truth and wisdom that is written in Ecclesiasticus 10:12-13, The beginning of pride is when one departeth from Elohym, and his heart is turned away from his Maker, 13 For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that hath it shall pour out abomination: and therefore the Master brought upon them strange calamities, and overthrew them utterly. Maybe going forward as we look at leadership, we need to look inwardly and not outwardly so not to end up like these unknowing victims. No wonder his son Solomon later told us in Proverbs 4:7, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding."

..... selah