Devotional | Erasing Offenses
Most believers are unaware of the severity of an offense, how to respond to it, how to protect their heart from offense, or how to overcome its effects.
Loving, understanding, and yielding to God’s Word can deliver us from the effects of an offense. For those who have been or maybe still are easily offended, this verse doesn’t seem possible. Nothing will offend you—how can this be? Let’s dig deeper.
Offenses can destroy marriages, friendships, business relationships, and our very lives. An offense can very quickly turn into unforgiveness—a deadly decision in a believer’s life. Unforgiveness turns into a root of bitterness, which Hebrews tells us has defiled many of God’s people (12:15).
Children can become offended with their parents, and parents can become offended with their children. Coworkers and their boss, church members and their pastor, the relationship possibilities are endless and Satan has a plan to wipe us out through offense. He wants to steal our relationships and distort our personalities until we are fruitless in the Kingdom of God.
God’s Word has many examples of people taking offense and the damage it creates. He allows us to learn from the mistakes of others without having to attend the ‘school of hard knocks’ where the tuition is extremely high. King Saul is someone we can learn from in the what NOT to do arena.
King Saul was Israel’s first king. He loved God and had a good heart in the beginning. However, he took offense at David (unnecessarily and unmerited), and his life began to unravel. Saul became so embittered that he was completely deranged and out of control.
‘So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul eyed David from that day forward.‘ 1 Samuel 18:7-9
David had served King Saul faithfully and loyally, and he was best friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. He was a good man and a good servant to the King. In this passage, David was simply returning from a battle and the streets were lined with people celebrating the victories he had won. It is good to note here that David did not write the song the women sang or ask for it to be sung, but jealousy, envy and a deadly offense took root in Saul’s heart. He never dealt with it and he was never the same afterward.
‘‘Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. And David became angry because of the Lord ’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.’ 2 Samuel 6:5-8
David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel and into Jerusalem. The Philistines had sent it back on a cart and David assumed he could move it the same way. But God had told Israel how to carry the ark—on the shoulders of the priests. David didn’t follow protocol and the Lord struck Uzzah dead. This offended David, so he parked the Ark at the nearby house of Obed-Edom and left—mad at God.
We must learn to process our offenses to continue being fruitful in the Kingdom.
David spent three months processing his feelings, reflecting on what he had done and hadn’t done, and what he needed to do to make things right. It didn’t hurt that he also kept receiving reports of the blessings Obed-Edom was experiencing while the Ark was in his home. So David went back to get the Ark, and this time he used the proper protocol. His joy in ushering God’s presence into the city was contagious and everyone was dancing before the Lord. Here comes the third example of an offense.
Michal, David’s wife and Saul’s daughter, got offended at his humble display of joy as he danced before the Lord. In her mind, this was not kingly protocol, nor appropriate in any other way. She sneered at David, who addressed her attitude and offense.
‘Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord ; and she despised him in her heart. Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.” Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.’ 2 Samuel 6:16,20-23
When you take offense, it is not truly about the offense. It’s about Satan robbing you of fruit. It’s about barrenness versus fruitfulness. Offenses function like a thief in the night preventing us from bearing fruit. Michal had no children for the rest of her life. God is showing us that an offense can make us barren in the Kingdom of God.
Do you know anyone today who is not productive or bearing fruit in the Kingdom of God? What happened? You can almost certainly trace their lack of fruit back to an offense that wasn’t processed. Satan’s plan to prevent believers from bearing fruit is to keep them offended about one thing or another. Then he can steal the seed of the Word of God from your heart and cause you to be barren ground, unfruitful and bitter.
For more information on recognizing, understanding, and processing offenses, get the book, “Erasing Offense.”
Watch the Erasing Offense Broadcast messages.
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