How do you respond when confronted because of sin? Let’s say your posture is regretful and remorseful (Numbers 14:39). How do you strive to mend your ways? Do you lean on your understanding and forget the God of your salvation, or do you entrust yourself to the God of your salvation? With reference to Numbers 14, I strive to show that you’re on your own when you try to rectify sin without God. I will also expose four common sin postures, their biblical examples, and remedies.
Confrontational
Are you one who chooses to retort when confronted because of sin? Do you go out of your way to justify yourself, even maligning the person confronting you? Or, do you go out of your way to justify the sin even though you have no concrete reason to justify it? If this is you, you aren’t exactly in good company. The people in Scripture known for being confrontational about their sins don’t have joyful endings.
Examples include Uzziah, who, as Scripture shows us, died miserably (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). He became angry when confronted because of his wrongful burning of incense instead of accepting that he had sinned. The reward for his unfaithfulness was leprosy until his death and exclusion from God’s house (2 Chronicles 26:21). We also see Asa, Uzziah’s sixth great-grandparent, imprisoning Hanani for confronting him for relying on Syria’s help instead of depending on God. A final example is the infamous couple, Ahab and Jezebel. They were confronted about their sin multiple times. However, their response was either wanting someone dead (1 Kings 19:2) or imprisoned (1 Kings 22:26-27). Their end was as they had warranted, without the glory they craved (2 Kings 9:20-27).
Dear reader, do you see similar patterns in your life in the stories I have highlighted? You probably wouldn’t have the power to imprison those confronting you about your sin, but do you wish you could? Do you wish them ill and desire their failure? If so, I pray that you may feel the weight of your sin and repent before it is too late.
Dismissive
You may not be confrontational when reproached about your sin, but you’re dismissive of it. You don’t see it as that big of a deal. You may tell yourself, ”As long as God’s grace is on me, I’m fine.” Or perhaps you see the sin and admit to it, but you’re not cognisant about its ripple effects due to ignorance. On paper, it may seem that being dismissive is better than being confrontational. However, it is not the case. As with being confrontational, there is a sense in which you know deep down the wrong you have done. Being dismissive may be worse because you admit to the wrong done, but don’t do anything to change your ways. You see the dirt, but sweep it under the rug instead of removing it.
In 2 Kings 20:12-19, we are given the story of Hezekiah and some Babylonian envoys. We are told that Hezekiah showed them everything (2 Kings 20:13). However, when Isaiah informed Hezekiah of his wrongdoing and what would come of his actions (2 Kings 20:16-18), Hezekiah is okay with it (2 Kings 20:19). This is because Hezekiah knew that he wouldn’t have be the one dealing with the consequences of his actions. As Hezekiah thought, all was well because he was to be okay. The dismissive sin posture usually results from a selfish attitude. The sinner doesn’t look beyond themselves. Using the rug analogy, sweeping dirt under the rug may make everything look neat; however, the dirt will still exist, and eventually, somebody else will need to deal with it.
Therefore, don’t dismiss the sin because you think all will be well. The truth is it won’t be. There’s good reason why the Bible doesn’t take sin lightly, no matter how small it may seem.
Self Reliance
Turning to Numbers 14, we are presented with something that had become commonplace for the Israelites: complaining. They were grumbling against Moses and Aaron because they feared going into Canaan because of the spies’ report (Numbers 13:25-33). This is despite Caleb and Joshua’s contrary report (Numbers 13:30-32). They grumbled and wanted to replace Moses with a leader who would take them “back to Egypt” (Numbers 14:4). Consequently, God wIshed to destroy them (Numbers 14:11-12). However, Moses pleaded with God (Numbers 14:13-19), and God, in his mercy, relented (Numbers 14:20). Even still, there are consequences. They would wander the wilderness for forty years, and many would die. Of all who came from Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb entered Canaan (Numbers 14:26-38).
When confronted, the Israelites would recognise their sin and want to make amends (Numbers 14:39-40). However, instead of looking to God for guidance, they decide, by their wisdom and strength, to attack the Canaanites and Amalekites. They had been told that Yahweh wouldn’t be with them (Numbers 14:42-43). However, they ignore the warning and suffer a crushing defeat (Numbers 14:44-45).
When confronted about your sin, do you turn to the God who confronts you, or do you seek to rely on yourself? It is unwise to turn to yourself since it is the very same you that sinned. God will only help those who turn to him for help.
Remorseful
Therefore, what is to be our proper posture when confronted with sin? David, in 2 Samuel 11, gives us helpful hints. Instead of going to war, David stays; a red flag, as the book author implies (2 Samuel 11:1). While idling around the castle’s roof, he saw Bathsheba bathing and thought she was beautiful. David sent for Bathsheba, slept with her, and then sought to cover it up. He worked to ensure Uriah, her husband, slept with her, having realised that Bathsheba had conceived to no avail. Once that didn’t go his way, he orchestrated the death of Uriah by purposefully placing him on the frontlines (2 Samuel 11:14-15). In the span of a few months, David broke at the very least four commandments. If it wasn’t for God’s grace and David’s remorsefulness, I argue elsewhere, he might have been worse than Saul.
However, as stated, the difference between him and Saul is how they respond when confronted by their sin. Saul, when confronted, is a weird amalgamation of the first three reactions (1 Samuel 15:17-31). David offered an exemplary response. When Nathan confronted him in 2 Samuel 12, we aren’t met with a man who reacted in one of the other three ways. Instead, we see a man who was remorseful (2 Samuel 12:13). He was so contrite that he wrote the most famous confessional prayer (Psalm 51).
That, dear saint, is to be our posture. A posture that has no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’, one that doesn’t justify itself. A posture that says, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). Only when we have such a posture can we ask the Lord to… “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Yet the Lord is faithful and gracious to forgive and to renew us. Run to him!