1 Chronicles 20 … Consider Him Who Rewrites Our Story

Originally posted: 4/28/2020

Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the sons of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem… (20:1).

Oh, I’d read these words before, and I knew. I knew right where this was headed.

Then it happened in the spring, 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 sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem, (2 Samuel 11:1).

Yep, I knew…

Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. ³ So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (2 Samuel 11:2-3).

This was heading down one of David’s darkest hours. His great fall, his sin with Bathsheba. Lust that would lead to adultery, that that would lead to the great cover up, that would lead to the murder of Uriah, and ultimately end in the heartbreaking death of his newborn son.

Oh yes, I knew all too well. And while it saddens me to think of this man after God’s own heart falling into such depths, I guess if truth be told, there’s comfort. No one is perfect; and as the saying goes, “Misery loves company.” We all mess up, even when we love God and pursue Him with all our heart.

But wait… where were those horrid details? The lust, the adultery, the cover up, the murder? There’s not even one mention of any of it. And I was once again reminded of the audience of this book; chronicled for the returning exiles, once deported and now left wondering about their future with God, wondering if they even had a future with God. Hadn’t they had blown it so badly, perhaps even irreversibly?

And perhaps as they made their way back to the ruins of what was once their beloved Jerusalem, they felt like mangy mutts returning with their tails tucked between their legs. And as they read the words beginning this portion of David’s story, they also knew, all too well. They knew exactly what was coming; and perhaps they had the same reaction I did. Where is it? Where is the account of David’s sin? Where are those facts in David’s story?

Consider Him Who Rewrites Our Story

In this narrative of David’s past, his ugly past is left, well… in the past. And in this brief overview presented in Chronicles, we read of a man who very much resembles the David we first fell in love with, the shepherd boy who kills giants.

And it hit me. Perhaps this account of David’s story provided hope for those who were returning. And as they were reminded of the story they knew all too well, they would perhaps be reminded of the everlasting mercies of God, and find comfort in Him Who Rewrites Our Story.  

• He Rewrites Our Story as He Reveals His plan.
  • “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,” (Jeremiah 29:11).

• He Rewrites Our Story as He Removes our transgressions.
  • As far as the east is from the west,
    So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
    ¹³ Just as a father has compassion on his children,
    So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
    ¹⁴ For He Himself knows our frame;
    He is mindful that we are but dust, (Psalm 103:12-14).

• He Rewrites Our Story as He Restores our future.
  • “For I will restore you to health
    And I will heal you of your wounds,” declares the Lord,
    “Because they have called you an outcast, saying:
    ‘It is Zion; no one cares for her.’”
    ¹⁸  Thus says the Lord,
    “Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
    And have compassion on his dwelling places;
    And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin,
    And the palace will stand on its rightful place.
    ¹⁹ From them will proceed thanksgiving
    And the voice of those who celebrate;
    And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished;
    I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.
    ²⁰ Their children also will be as formerly,
    And their congregation shall be established before Me,” (Jeremiah 30:17-20).

Our Story, in such need of what only He can do. His Story, on the other hand, needs no revisions; His Story has been perfectly written. And when we place our faith in the shed blood of the sinless Savior, He Rewrites Our Story and writes us into His Story in Jesus Christ.

• He Rewrites Our Story in Jesus Christ, Who has Revealed His plan.
  • “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; ¹⁵ so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him,” (John 3:14-17).

• He Rewrites Our Story in Jesus Christ, Who has Removed our transgressions.
  • The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
  • You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin, (1 John 3:5).

• He Rewrites Our Story in Jesus Christ, Who has Restored our future.
  • In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory, (Ephesians 1:3-14).

How do we respond to Him Who Rewrites Our Story?

Sometimes, we too come before Him like the returning exiles, feeling the weight of our past transgressions, with our tails tucked between our legs. And while sin is not to be taken lightly, He promises His complete cleansing when we confess our sins in honesty and humility.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, (1 John 1:8-9).

And even though we know this promise, and even though we believe it is true, we can still wrestle with guilt over the sins of our past.

Today, we need to remind ourselves that He has Rewritten Our Story in the blood of Jesus. His plan is Revealed in Christ Who Removed our transgressions and Restored our future.

Let us pay heed to the example of Paul that we would grow to do as His Word instructs: intentionally forget the past and take hold of all He has for us, through faith in Him Who Rewrites Our Story.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. ¹³ Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 3:12-14).

Let’s Grow Together!