Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses
like we discussed last week. They criticized him because they were
jealous of him. They wanted more honor and glory for themselves.
But God exposed their true motives and punished them by giving
Miriam leprosy. They were quickly very sorry about their sinful
attitude that they had.
'Aaron cried out to Moses, "Oh my
lord! Please don't punish us for this sin we have so foolishly
committed. Don't let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed
at birth." Numbers 12:11, 12
They quickly saw how foolish they
had been and were very sorry. King Saul was also very sorry because
he didn't listen to the Lord. He was very sorry that he didn't
listen when he spared King Agag and the best of the sheep and
cattle instead of destroying them all as he was commanded by God to
do.
'Then Saul finally admitted (to
Samuel), "Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions
and the Lord's command, for I was afraid of the people and did what
they demanded. Oh, please, forgive my sin now and go with me to
worship the Lord." 1 Samuel 15:24, 25
Despite Saul's temporary remorse,
the consequences of his actions were that the kingdom was torn from
him and given to the lineage of David.
David sinned too and was also very
sorry afterwards. He had an affair with Bathsheba, got her pregnant
and murdered her husband. And when he was confronted with it by
Nathan the prophet, he confessed his sin and was very sorry. But
despite his remorse the baby of the affair died and the sword was a
constant threat to his family.
There are many other examples in
the Bible like Samson who lost his eyesight and died after being
seduced by Delilah, Jephthah who lost his daughter after making a
rash vow etcetera, but the point is we need to think before we act.
Our foolish actions sometimes look so appropriate and reasonable
when we act upon them, but afterward we can clearly see how foolish
and stupid they were. My Bible's commentary puts it nicely:
'Get rid of foolish ideas, before
they turn into foolish actions. This requires eliminating our wrong
thoughts and motives.'
I think that is one of the reasons
why Paul says:
'Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do
not think only about things down here on earth.' Colossians 3:2
It is when the earth and all its
pleasures fill our thoughts that we act foolishly. We need to
concentrate on Jesus and what He is planning for us and how He
wants us to live, only then will our actions become heavenly and
not foolish. I am positive that we will also have a better life
here on earth as we don't have to deal with all the consequences of
our stupid actions too.
Father please forgive our foolish
actions. We easily act foolishly. Please help us and warn us by
Your Spirit before we act like fools. We'd rather act like Your
heavenly people and have peace around us. Thank you Lord.
Amen