Pondering Questions God Asks in The Bible?


    SEARCH GROUP:

A Sin Worse than Murder?

QGA 24044
10
2Samuel 12:09
The Context: King David had taken Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, and made her pregnant. Seeking to cover up his adulterous affair, David had Uriah killed and taken Bathsheba as another wife. After ignoring his guilt David was visited by an advisor and friend, Nathan. Prompted by God, and loving concern for his King, Nathan challenged David with this question. Read the full story in 2Samuel 12.

God asks us: to David thru Nathan Why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in His sight?

jne: In our contemporary culture, adultery seems to not be such an "evil" thing. But "murder" still is, except in our entertainment. While our behaviors are open for all to see, our attitudes that produce the behaviors are often not talked about or even taken into consideration when describing bad behaviors. But God noticed David's attitude and Nathan talked about it. David's adultery was described as "evil." But notice that equal, and perhaps worse, was David's "despising the word of the Lord." Underlying any and all of David's sin (and mine too) was "despising the word of the Lord." In this specific instance David ignored, disregarded, belittled, several, if not all, of God's Ten Commandments. Obviously, David committed murder, adultery, told numerous lies, and coveted. Though we don't often consider it, David demonstrated that his personal pleasure was his god of the moments. And if during those days, weeks and months David claimed to represent God, he was using God's Name in vain.
God was hard on David. He allowed his baby son to die. He allowed disunity and tension to surround him all his days. Be sure to read Psalm 51 which describes David's response to God's merciful, loving discipline.
The story should be familiar because it is the story of our human nature to "
despise the word of the Lord." Each and every one of our evil deeds, no matter whether heinous or mild, is rooted in the attitude that says my way is better than God's way. This was the attitude of Adam and Eve and it is the attitude that you and I demonstrate whenever we sin. But God graciously brings Nathans and His Word, the Bible, into our lives. We choose over and over again every day whether to despise God and His Word or to bow before Him, like David did in Psalm 51.
Perhaps this brief article is a Nathan from God to you. If so, it is God's merciful love to prompt you to more seriously think about your attitude toward God and His Word to you.

WHY GOD ASKS QUESTIONS?

It is easy to read the Bible and see only stories and rules. Even if a person can see the Bible as a revelation of Who God is and what He is like it can be difficult to fully realize that in the Bible God invites us to the amazing adventure of an eternal and perfect relationship with Him.

How often do we wish we could ask God questions and have Him give us a plain answer? God, why did You let my father die? God, why am I not getting well? God, why aren’t my plans working? And the questions go on and on and on. The questions aren’t always doubting or complaining, but sometimes simply curiosity. I assume that it is a surprise to most of us that in the Bible God asks us more than 500 questions.

Why does God ask us questions? Surely if God is GOD He knows the answer to all His questions. God does not need us to inform Him of our circumstances, thoughts or motives. God’s questions are always in a context and the reason for them is to prompt us to think more seriously about our lives. So really, the reason God asks us questions is because He cares so much about us.

More than just seeking to probe what we know or think, God's questions can:
>> motivate our curiosity.
>> prompt us to reevaluate the way we think and behave.
>> help us see things from a different perspective.
>> help us dig deeper into really important issues.
>> help us discover what we truly believe.
>> demonstrate that God is dynamically interested in us.
God asks us questions because He wants us to grow.
How important are God’s questions to you?

BACK TO TOP

all content by J Neil Evans
Rapid Weaver - Foundation 6 — ©2025