Psalm 51 and Numbers 14:13-19 Bible Study Notes

Bible Study Notes - Psalm 51:1-19 &

Numbers 14:13-19

Biblical scholarship holds that David writes Psalm 51 in response to the adulterous incident with Bathsheba and God’s overwhelming forgiveness and indescribable grace.  Consider the following thoughts as you study the psalm.

• David appeals for divine mercy in accordance with God’s “unfailing love.”  The Hebrew word, hesed, means an unconditionally loyal love which withstands any situation particularly the dastardly deeds of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murderous plot of her husband, Uriah.
• He further requests spiritual cleansing similar to baptism in that he wants God to wash all of his sins away.
• In the third verse, David respectfully accepts responsibility for his actions.
• In the fourth verse, David states boldly, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”  Should David consider that he sinned against others?  What about Uriah?  What about the infant son who dies after the Lord strikes him?
• The revelation of David’s sin justifies the laws and teachings of God.
• The sixth verse alludes to the necessity of honesty and integrity within one’s character as it relates to genuine spirituality.
• Verses seven through nine contain very poetic images of cleansing after repentance.  Let’s consider these rich metaphors.
• Verses ten through twelve are the heart and soul of David’s appeal to the Lord.  David desires a new heart and a steadfast spirit to enable him to persevere in faithful adherence to the laws of God.  He begs for reassurance that God will not abolish David from God’s presence or remove the Holy Spirit from David.  Were that to occur, David would assuredly have no chance of living in holiness.  Then, there are the immortal words of the twelfth verse.  Let’s recite them as we dissect them. 

The passage in Numbers 14 captures an instance of intercessory prayer.  Moses appeals to God to spare the people despite their sin of bickering, complaining and indicting the character of Almighty God.  Frankly, God appears to lose patience in extending His faithful provision to people who trample upon His grace and mercy.  Moses asks God to consider the aspersion that God would cast upon Himself in the eyes of the Egyptians and His other enemies if God were to consume His chosen in the fit of His rage at their unbelief.  Consider the following ideas as you study the passage.

• Moses says that the Egyptians will tell the inhabitants of the land that the God of the Hebrews is not reliable.  He led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt only to let them die in the wilderness like common wildlife.
• According to the fourteenth verse, how could a God who shows His face and glory and provides a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night do such a thing to the people that call upon His name and whom He leads?
• If God fails to spare the Israelites, then the surrounding nations will insist that God slaughtered His own people.  Who wishes to serve such a god?
• Moses then petitions for mercy on the basis of God’s holy name and character.  “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.”
• Additionally, Moses acknowledges that God does not leave the guilty unpunished.
• In fact, God visits punishment on the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him.  What exactly does this mean?  Is it fair?  Can the cycle be broken?
• Moses concludes his intercession with a reference to God’s “great love” and faithful forgiveness of Israel from the time of their liberation from Egyptian slavery to the present.