consequences – Me From the Inside Out

Bathsheba, part 2

Posted on January 27, 2026January 28, 2026 by

Adapted from the study ‘She, volume 1, pp 17-18

Read: 2 Samuel 12; Ps.51

She lost her firstborn son

“…she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon…”

Oh, how I love the hope from this passage of our journey:

Repentance makes a difference. (1 Jn 1:9)
- “Our mistakes do not have to ruin our entire life.”
  - We can instead use the lessons we learn to encourage others to refrain from the same faults.

Bathsheba’s story, through David’s prayer of repentance in Psalm 51, confessing his sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah, serves as a beautiful picture that God offers us true forgiveness when we repent of our sins. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9

According to God’s mercy and loving kindness, He “blots out” our transgressions. The words of Isaiah confirm this in Isaiah 43:25
- I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake; your sins I do not remember.
Bathsheba is included in Matthew’s account of the genealogy. Note: She is referenced not by her name but as being the wife of Uriah. (Matthew 1:6)
It is said by some commentators that Bathsheba is the mother of King Lemuel, and therefore, perhaps the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. I find joy in contemplating the very idea of this, but nowhere is this confirmed in the Scriptures. See: https://www.gotquestions.org/King-Lemuel.html

In the account of David and Bathsheba, we find many lessons.

Secret sin will be found out.
God will forgive anyone who repents.
The consequences of our sin remain even when the sin is forgiven.
God can work even in difficult situations.
1. In fact, David and Bathsheba’s next son, Solomon, became the heir to the throne. Even in bad situations, God has a plan that serves His sovereign purpose.

“Bathsheba’s story reminds me that God has a plan, and that He can and does work even through difficult situations with imperfect people to bring about something good. Queen Bathsheba, despite the unsavory events surrounding her coming to the palace, became the mother of the wisest and most successful king ever to grace the throne.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Bathsheba-in-the-Bible.html)

Reflection and Application:

How important is repentance in your life? Are you quick to confess your sins, or do you let them pile up until the end of the day, week, or month…? What is/are the benefit(s) of confessing our sins to God?
What stood out to you in today’s journey?

I invite you to leave a reply below or at today’s Journey Through The Word post @ https://www.facebook.com/share/g/17nAoUC7AY/

Bible study, Devotion, From the Beginning to Forever, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study

Marred by Sin

Posted on September 30, 2025September 30, 2025 by

based on the LGG Bible Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w1d3

Friends, I realize that this passage is not only familiar but long. However, it is a beautiful part of the Love Story that God has written for us. Pray for fresh eyes, an open mind, and yielded heart to the characters, the good – the bad – and the ugly. Study the enemy’s ways so that they do not trip you up – because he is still prowling around like a lion, looking for someone to devour. Let yourself imagine the innocence and true joy of those first days before sin entered the picture, then choose to look forward with hope to the eternity that awaits us – because Christ triumphed over the grave, not only striking the head of the enemy but securing his doom!

The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him …
A Mighty Fortress is Our God/Martin Luther

Read: Genesis 3:1-15; SOAP: verse 15 (for further reading – Gen 3:16-21)

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

²“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵“God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. ⁷At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

⁸When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. ⁹Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

¹¹“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

¹²The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

¹³Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

¹⁴Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed
    more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
    groveling in the dust as long as you live.
¹⁵And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel.¹”
Genesis 3:1-15 NLT or (KJV)

What a story this portion of our journey tells. We meet a talking serpent, believed by most commentators to be Satan.² We get a first hand look at his cunning and deceptive ways to steal, kill and destroy God’s people/creation. We see not only the first temptation but the subsequent sins of Eve and Adam. Sin that brought death to the life they had enjoyed. Their innocent, beautiful lives and relationships with each other and with God, were marred by sin and turned upside down. The couple that once knew no shame or fear were now hiding themselves from God because as Adam told God, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” We also see the first blame shifting as Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. We also witness the first consequences of sin first hand as God confronts each of the guilty parties.

He said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,and in pain you will give birth.And you will desire to control your husband,but he will rule over you.”

To Adam, God said: “The ground is cursed because of you.All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.”

To the serpent He said, “I will cause hostility between you and the woman,and between your offspring and her offspring.He will strike your head,and you will strike his heel.”

The bottom line of God’s curse on Satan is this: He has been the enemy of humanity since the beginning. He can never be trusted. As Peter wrote, he continues to hunt and seek to devour humans to this very day (1 Peter 5:8), but the good news is he won’t be allowed to do so forever.
Bibleref.com

You see, God made a way where there seemed to be no way. So even though Satan would damage Christ³ and it would look like the cross and grave had the final say, the ultimate victory belongs to Christ on behalf of humanity; and those of us who are in Christ will celebrate the victory with Him for eternity!

Several songs come to mind here as I close out today’s journey: Up from the grave He arose, Victory in Jesus, and Mighty Warrior (aka: Satan has no authority here!) May our hearts rejoice and sing at the good news of the Gospel story From the Beginning to Forever!

The More We Know

Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Our God Who Pursues, Quiet Time

Nineveh~vs~Tarshish

Posted on March 9, 2025March 9, 2025 by

Read: Jonah 1:1-3 (SOAP: 1:3)

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: ²“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

³But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
Jonah 1:1-3

God’s Plan ~vs~ Jonah’s Plan

My journal entry today consisted of two columns on either side of the page, which contained the passage for today’s journey. One column included God’s plan, the other Jonah’s. When I finished the plans mapped out from the Scripture, I connected them with the words: Nineveh-vs-Tarshish. However, I could have easily written God’s plan vs Jonah’s or God’s plan vs man’s … or, for that matter, God’s plans vs mine. Regardless of the tagline we give today’s study, it is a clear reminder that we have a choice to make –> follow ‘our’ will/plan or align ‘our’ will/plan with God’s and faithfully follow where He leads/sends.

God’s Plan

God sent a very specific message to Jonah
The message included:
- a time frame: immediately
- a location/people
- a cause/purpose
  - God noticed their wickedness
  - to announce judgment

Jonah 1:1-2

Jonah’s Plan

Jonah’s plan was to escape God’s commission of Him for Nineveh
- he immediately headed to Tarshish
- by way of Joppa and a merchant ship
- he paid to get far away from the LORD

Jonah 1:3

God’s Call of His People

Throughout the Bible, we read of God calling His people to places or tasks or simply to trust Him. God called… Noah to build an ark¹, Abraham to leave all he knew and father a great nation², Moses to lead His people out of bondage³, Joshua to bring down the walls of Jericho⁴, and He called Hosea to “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her.⁵..”. The list of what God has called/led/sent His people to do goes on and on, but the greatest example of difficult and seemingly impossible callings/plans is the one God gave Jesus, His only begotten son, who was sent⁶ to save His people from their sins. God didn’t send Him in a hero’s cape or kingly crown, but as a baby born of a virgin. God sent Jesus to take on flesh, experience threats, troubles, and temptations of this world, teach, preach, heal and die on a cross for the sins of the world and rise again the third day – crushing the enemy! It was just as God had announced in the Garden (Genesis 3:15)⁷.

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15

The Importance of God’s Callings

It isn’t my point to contrast or compare these callings, but to help us remember the many callings of God throughout the Scriptures and see their importance. Jonah’s story is one of these and is equally a great example of the lengths to which He will go to pursue His people, reach them with the message of repentance, and save them from their sins.

More than a Whale

On our journey this week, we will follow Jonah from Tarshish to Nineveh. We will see that Jonah’s story is more than that of a whale. It is the saga of disobedience and revival. It is a beautiful picture of how our personal revival isn’t just about or for us but rather how God will be glorified and use our obedience to revive others from death to life.

Disobedience and revival are the key themes in this book. Jonah’s experience in the belly of the whale provides him with a unique opportunity to seek a unique deliverance, as he repents during this equally unique retreat. His initial disobedience leads not only to his personal revival, but to that of the Ninevites as well. Many classify the revival which Jonah brings to Nineveh as one of the greatest evangelistic efforts of all time.
gotquestions.org

What is God Calling You to Do?

Friends, God still calls His people to serve Him and share Him today. Do you know what He wants you to do? Are you doing it? Whether it is to serve as a greeter, a nursery worker, a teacher, preacher, musician/singer, encourager, accountant, or doctor… He has called all of His children⁸ to love Him, love others as Jesus loved us, and go and make disciples⁹.

Want to know why we should pay attention to God’s calling on our lives? Visit the links below and dig deeper into the purpose and importance of God’s commissioning of His people.

Prayer

Father God, Thank You for the story of Jonah and for the reminder that we are to be prepared with a faithful yes – regardless of what You call us to do or where You commission us to go. Help us to not run away from You but towards You, knowing that You will lead us, help us, and strengthen us for the tasks and trusting that You will be glorified in our obedience. As we continue throughout the week, may all those whose eyes fall upon this page be led to a personal revival and used to revive those around them with the truth of Your Word, love, and promises. – In Jesus’ Name ~ Amen!

The More We Know

For more insight into today’s journey, read Love God Greatly’s blog post

Bible study, From the Insideout, Quiet Time

Whatever We Do …

Posted on January 18, 2021January 19, 2021 by

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David ...
2 Samuel 11:1-4

It isn’t clear why, but in this story, David had stayed behind in Jerusalem. Perhaps there was nothing particularly wrong with this action. Maybe there wasn’t really a need for him to go out to war with his officers – but what happens because he chose to stay behind is something we must not miss.

“from the roof, he saw her“
“David sent someone to inquire about her”
“Sent some messengers to get her“
“he went to bed with her“
… he murdered

For whatever reason David “stayed behind”, for whatever reason he got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace – I am certain adultery … pregnancy …. and murder were surely not on the King’s agenda. However, they are exactly the events that transpired, and I believe we would be remiss to not ask ourselves why?

How could a nighttime stroll – which I imagine took place because he was home and couldn’t sleep knowing his men were out at war – end so tragically?

The answer is profoundly simple – but one that isn’t pleasant to face. Much like Eve, and all-to-sadly human beings throughout the centuries – including myself, David saw something he wanted and without any apparent thought or hesitation, he acted on his desire. To be clear, the first two actions – appreciating beauty and sending someone to inquire of that object – weren’t in themselves wrong. However, from there if we follow the story we read that the messenger reported to David not just her name but also that she was the “wife of Uriah”. Following this answer, David’s actions were clearly sinful. He took what belonged to someone else, used it for his pleasure, and set about covering up the evidence through deception and murder.

While you may not fall prey to adultery or murder what happened to David can happen to you – it can happen to anyone. We are, after all, all sinners. God’s Word is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword – and It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. We must wield it as such here or we will miss the underlying message of impulsive actions and their consequences. We will miss how God is training us to not act impulsively but to think about what we do. and not just gratify the desires of the eye/flesh. We must make sure that what we do won’t hurt someone else … make sure it is loving and kind … make sure that it is a faithful act or a gentle and encouraging word … and make sure it will not cause someone else to stumble into sin. Above all, we must make sure that it brings glory and honor to God.

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)

Clearly, David fell short of God’s glory here. Clearly, he thought of his desires alone. So then what? He was confronted, convicted, and repented and The rest of the story tells us that while David and others in the narrative suffered great consequences, David was forgiven by God and did not receive the punishment that his sins deserved. We have this same hope in Jesus Christ, whom God sent to take our punishment so that we are not punished as our sins deserve – but loved with unfailing love. Me-From the Insideout

He does not punish us for all our sins;
He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
Psalm 103:10-11 a Psalm of David

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