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When We Have Not Done It Right the First Time

Please read along in your Bible as you study this article.

It is so much easier when a job is done right the first time, isn't it? Whether it is a home repair or a business relationship, doing everything right the first time makes things run much more smoothly. However, we are people and we make mistakes. When we make our mistakes in areas of God's law, that is sin. When we sin, we need to correct ourselves (Matthew 21:28-29) and we need to apologize to those we have harmed (Luke 17:3-4). We need to resolve to do better and do it.

Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

When we do that, there will be positive spiritual results.

2 Corinthians 7:10-11 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Remember that Paul was speaking to Christians here, Christians who had been through a number of problems. When we truly repent of sin, we receive spiritual strength. Let's study a few examples of people in the Bible who did not do it right the first time. We want to learn some lessons about what may happen when we try to correct our mistakes.

One thing to notice as we look at each of these examples is that in almost every case, some consequences of the sin still had to be suffered. Often God does not take away all of the effects of the problems we sin our way into.

David and Transporting the Ark of the Covenant: Looking to God's Word

1 Chronicles 13:7-11 So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart... And when they came to Chidon's threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God....

The ark of the covenant, which Israel was supposed to keep in the tabernacle, had been captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). It had been away from where it was supposed to be for twenty years (1 Samuel 7:2). King David wanted to bring it back to its proper place, which was good, but he and his people brought it back the wrong way. They put the ark on a cart to be pulled by oxen, but God had told them to carry the ark on poles (Exodus 25:14). When the ark was in danger of falling, Uzza touched the ark, which was wrong. He died as a consequence of touching the ark as they transported it the wrong way..

1 Chronicles 15:12-13 He said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. "For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order."

We need to consult the LORD about the proper order through the study of His word! The next verses show that David and his people transported the ark the right way the second time, and they were successful.

Josiah and the Book of the Law: We Can Be Right Again

Later in history, King Josiah of Judah was trying to lead the people to worship God properly again. Many of the people had stopped worshipping God. Josiah led the people to repair the temple. As they did, they found the Book of the Law that had been neglected for a long time

2 Kings 22:10-11 Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king. Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.

Something similar could happen to us. Imagine that we had not picked up our Bibles for so long we had completely forgotten where they were. Obviously, God's people were not paying attention to what He had said. They had sinned, and they would need to be punished.

2 Kings 22:15-20 "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants-all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read- ... "But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Concerning the words which you have heard- "because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the LORD....

The people would have to be punished, but Josiah would be forgiven and spared. Josiah would not be able to stave off the punishment that was coming to Judah, but he would himself be justified in the sight of God because he had done what was right. He made a valiant effort and he was pleasing to God. Sometimes we might make such a mess that putting everything right seems impossible, but Josiah shows us that we can do it if we look to God's word (as David did) and do what is right.

David and Bathsheba's Son: Moving On When All Has Been Done

David was usually a good man, but for a time he did some evil things. He committed adultery with a woman and then had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11). Nathan the prophet confronted David about these things.

2 Samuel 12:7-9 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 'Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.

After that, Nathan told David of his punishment and David repented of what he had done.

2 Samuel 12:10-14 'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' ... So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. "However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."

David was sorry, but he still had to bear many consequences. He would have great trouble with his family, such as when his son Absalom would rebel against him (2 Samuel 15-18). Also, his child would die. Beyond that, Uriah, the man he had caused to be killed, would still be dead. Even though there were consequences to be suffered, David was truly forgiven of his sin by God.

2 Samuel 12:15-16 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

David continued to pray for his stricken son.

2 Samuel 12:18-23 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!" ... So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.... And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' "But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

Once the child was dead, David went on with life. We often have to suffer the consequences of our sin, but once we have done what we can do to set it right, we have to move on. Note that David worshipped God immediately after finding out that God had not granted him his request. In Philippians 3:13, Paul said that he was "forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead". Paul certainly had some things in his past which were painful, but he was determined to get beyond them. This does not mean we should be callous or uncaring about our sin; we need to apologize to others and give back anything we might have taken. Once we have done what we can to make things right, we need to go on instead of wallowing in our failures in the past.

Ezra's National Confession: It Can Take Some Time

Ezra lived in a time when the people of Judah were trying to rebuild their land. He came to teach them God's word. After initial success, he found out that many people had broken God's law about not marrying foreigners.

Ezra 9:1-3 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. "For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass." So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.

Deuteronomy 7:1-4 is one place where God forbid Israel from marrying with many of those nations. Ezra publicly took a stand against the sin and made a great prayer of confession to God. He then told the people that they must separate from the wives they had wrongly married.

Ezra 10:10-14 ... "Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives." Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, "Yes! As you have said, so we must do. "But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter....

The people agreed to do right again. They were willing to correct their mistakes, but it would take time. Ezra 10:16-17 seems to indicate that it took three months to separate all of the guilty people from their wives. It was not a fun job! Sometimes correcting mistakes does take time, but that is no excuse for not doing it. While we are not explicitly told of the consequences for the people, we can see that there probably would be consequences for those who had to divorce their wives, especially those with children. Also, it may have made it easier for the people to sin again the same way shortly afterward in Nehemiah's day, perhaps 15-25 years later (Nehemiah 13:23-27).

The Parable of the Prodigal Son: Some Will Not Forgive

Luke 15:25-32 ... "But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. "So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 'But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' ...

This parable started in 11. The younger son suffered as a result of his sin but was willing to come back and do the right thing. The older son still held a grudge against him, even though the younger son still had consequences to suffer (31). Some people don't want to forgive. Some people will hold onto their anger toward someone who wronged them until they die. Even if the people we have wronged by our sin feel that way about us, we still need to do what is right. God does not hold grudges and He will accept us when we truly repent, turning to Him.

What about those who will not forgive? Jesus told a parable about two servants who owed debts (Matthew 18:23-35). One servant was forgiven by his king of a huge debt (10,000 talents, perhaps 500,000 pounds of precious metal). That servant then mistreated another servant who owed him far less (100 denarii, or 100 days' wages). The king (representing God) punished him for his ungrateful actions. When we sin, we owe God ten thousand talents, a debt we could never repay. Any offense anyone else commits against us is tiny by comparison. We owe God ten thousand talents and we should not put ourselves in position to be condemned over one hundred denarii. Some people on earth may not want to forgive (such as the older brother in the first parable), but God (the father in the parable) does, and that is what really counts for eternity.

The Application to All of Us

We all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and we all need forgiveness. It is a debt that we cannot pay ourselves. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He causes the ten thousand talent debt we have to God to be canceled when we obey the gospel plan of salvation. If we will believe in Christ (Acts 16:31), repent of our sins (Acts 2:38), confess Christ (Romans 10:9), and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins (1 Peter 3:21), we will be forgiven and be pleasing to God.

Trevor Brailey

All Scripture has been taken from the New King James Version.