Latest / Scripture Central / How to Ruin Your Life (David’s Fall) | 2 Samuel 11-1 Kings 11 | Come Follow Me 2026 | John Hilton III

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How to Ruin Your Life (David’s Fall) | 2 Samuel 11-1 Kings 11 | Come Follow Me 2026 | John Hilton III · Scripture Central

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Is there someone that tells you it's no big deal, Just live your
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truth. Everyone does it.
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That's the trap, right? It's always the trap.
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If only I had this, then I'd be happy.
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The way to fill the hole in your heart isn't through sin, it's
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through Christ. Because sin promises intimacy
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but delivers emptiness. When we remember Jesus Christ,
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when we go out and serve as He served, that fills the emptiness
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in our hearts. John by the way, once wrote a
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book it was called How to be Totally Miserable, a self hinder
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book. I don't know if any of you ever
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saw this book. Steps for Misery in the book
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include think about your problems, worry about things you
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can't control, and always want more.
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It's obviously a satire, but if you actually followed his advice
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in the book, you'd wreck your life in no time.
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We smile at these rules for misery, but then we open our
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scriptures and see that in the second-half of Second Samuel, it
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could also be called How to be Totally Miserable.
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In these chapters, we see multiple people who ruin their
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lives and the lives of others. So at the risk of hindering our
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happiness, today, we're going to find seven ways from Scripture
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that we can make our lives totally miserable.
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And we'll see these through five stories, David and Bathsheba,
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Amnon and Tamar, Absalom, Shima and David and Solomon.
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Now I still remember the first time that I really understood
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the story of David and Bathsheba.
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I was sitting in the back of a Chapel and the speaker began
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with the last verse in Second Samuel Chapter 11, which says,
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But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
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And I wondered what was it that David had done?
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The speaker then went to the beginning of the chapter which
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says, in the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David
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sent Joe about with the King's men and the whole Israelite
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army. They destroyed the Ammonites and
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besieged Raba, but David remained at Jerusalem.
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So it was the time when kings should be going out to battle.
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But David was home. He was in the wrong place at the
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wrong time. And one evening he was walking
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along his rooftop and from the roof he saw a woman bathing.
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The woman was very beautiful. And at this point it's like
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you're watching a movie and you can see a character you love
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going someplace where there's danger and you're like stop,
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stop, turn around. But David doesn't turn around.
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He sticks around. He sent someone to find out
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about her. The man said she is Bathsheba,
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the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent messengers to
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get her. She came to him and he slept
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with her. The woman conceived and sent
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word to David saying I am pregnant.
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So you can see the evolution. David starts out in the wrong
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place at the wrong time. He sees temptation, instead of
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walking away from it, he walks towards it.
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And that's what led to David's tragedy.
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We can contrast King David with Joseph in Genesis 39.
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You remember his story when Potiphar's wife cornered Joseph
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on the roof. He refused.
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He said, how could I do such a wicked thing and sin against
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God? In Joseph's case, she was
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pursuing him day after day. On one occasion, she caught him
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by his cloak and said come to bed with me.
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But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
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You can see the contrast between David and Joseph.
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When temptation comes, do we linger or do we leave?
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The Apostle Paul said flee from sexual immorality.
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So do you want to make your life totally miserable?
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Step one, put yourself in the wrong place and linger when
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temptation comes. Now, as the story continues, we
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see another way to ruin our lives.
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At this point, David has a big decision to make.
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Will he confess? Will he repent?
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No. Instead, David tries to cover up
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what he's done. He calls Bathsheba's husband,
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Uriah, home from the battle, and he's hoping that Uriah will go
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spend the night with his wife so that people will think that the
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baby is Uriah's. But Uriah is more honorable than
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David, he told David. The Ark and Israel and Judah are
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staying in tents camped in the open country.
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How could I go to my house to eat and drink and Make Love to
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my wife? As surely as you live, I will
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not do such a thing. You can see the irony.
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Uriah refuses comfort while his brothers are out on the
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battlefield. When David should have been on
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the battlefield, he sought comfort from Uriah's wife.
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David tries again, this time getting Uriah drunk, hoping to
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lower his resolve. But Uriah won't go home.
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So David writes a letter to his general Joab, seals it and gives
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it to Uriah. The letter says put Uriah out in
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front, where the fighting is fiercest, then withdraw from him
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so he will be struck down and die.
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The plan works. Uriah is killed in battle.
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Bathsheba mourns. David quickly marries her, and
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for a time he breathes easy. He thinks the matter is closed,
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but nothing is hidden from God. The Lord sends Nathan the
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prophet to speak to David with a parable.
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Nathan says there were two men in a certain town, one rich and
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the other poor. The rich man had a very large
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number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except
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1 little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it and it grew up with
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him and his children. It shared his food, drank from
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his cup, and even slept in his arms.
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It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich
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man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep
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or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler.
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Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man
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and prepared it for the one who had come to him.
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David was outraged at the injustice of this story and said
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the man who did this must die. Then Nathan said, You are the
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man. David finally confessed saying I
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have sinned against the Lord and Nathan replies the sword will
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never depart from your house because you despised me and took
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the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.
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Forgiveness is real, but so are the consequences and David will
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never recover from this. Unfortunately, David follows a
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pattern like many others we've seen in the Old Testament where
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he has a strong start but a weak finish.
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David's household is going to be marked by tragedy.
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The sword will never depart from his house, all because of
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lingering at a rooftop when he should have been somewhere else.
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Want to make your life miserable?
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If you do make a mistake, don't confess your sins, try to cover
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them instead. Now when the very next chapter
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we'll see the Lord's words fulfilled, the sword does not
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depart from David's house. And this takes us to the tragic
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story of Amnon and Tamar. Just a warning, this is a very
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challenging story. There's probably a reason why
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this chapter is not included in the Come Follow Me curriculum.
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Amnon is David's first born son. He's the Crown Prince of Israel.
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He has everything you could possibly want except for the
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fact that he's obsessed with his half sister Tamar.
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Now just to be clear, in our day in society you should not fall
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in love with your half sister and that was true of their
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society as well. This is just wrong in all
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societies. But still we read Amnon became
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so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself I'll.
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She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do
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anything to her. This isn't love, it's totally
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wrong, Amnon thought. If only I could have her then
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I'd be satisfied. And unfortunately, he has a
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clever friend with evil ideas. This is Jonah Dabb.
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Jonah Dabb comes to Amnon one day and says, Why do you, the
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King's son, look so haggard morning after morning?
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Won't you tell me I'm in love with Tamar?
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My brother Absalom's sister Amnon says so.
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Jonah, Dad proposes a plan. Go to bed and pretend to be ill.
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When your father comes to see you, say to him, I would like my
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sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat.
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Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and
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then eat it from her hand. The plan was simple.
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Get Tamar alone with you and then do what you want to do.
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Now pause on this story for a second.
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Is there a Jonadab in your life? Is there someone that tells you
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it's no big deal? Just live your truth.
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Everyone does it. In a previous class, we talked
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about Jonathan, who strengthened David's hand in God.
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Jonadab's the opposite. Instead of pulling Amnon back
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from the brink, he pushes him over it.
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So Amnon puts the plan into action.
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He's finally alone with Tamar. He grabs her and says, come to
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bed with me. My sister Tamar resists.
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No, my brother, don't force me. Such a thing should not be done
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in Israel. Don't do this wicked thing.
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What about me? Where can I get rid of my
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disgrace? And what about you?
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You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel.
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Tamar is so courageous. Scholar Suzanna Larry notes.
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Tamar becomes an advocate for herself.
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She refuses to even pretend that Amnon's harassment is wanted or
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acceptable. She bears witness to the reality
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that our bodies are sacred and our own not for the taking.
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Tamar names the sins. She's the voice of reason in the
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room, but her voice is ignored. Amnon refused to listen to her,
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and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
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Amnon thought that this would satisfy him.
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It was what he had wanted. It was what he had obsessed
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about. But what happened next?
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It's a tragic verse. Then Amnon hated her with
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intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than
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he had loved her. Immorality had led to hate, not
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love. And that's because sin promises
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intimacy but delivers emptiness. And then said to her, get up and
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get out. No, Tamar said, sending me away
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would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to
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me. But he refused to listen to her.
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He called his personal servant and said, get this woman out of
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my sight and bolt the door after her.
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Tamar put ashes on her head and toward the ornate robe she was
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wearing. She put her hands on her head
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and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
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It's a heartbreaking story. Like I said, there's probably a
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good reason why Come Follow Me skips this chapter.
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At the same time, I think there are some powerful lessons we can
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learn from it. So let's first focus on Amnon,
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and then we'll turn to Tamar. Amnon fell for one of Satan's
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classic lies. It's the lie that immorality
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will fill the empty spot in your heart.
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President Ezra Taft Benson warned about this.
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He said. I recognize that most people
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fall into sexual sin in a misguided attempt to fulfill
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basic human needs. We all have a need to feel loved
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and worthwhile. We all seek to have joy and
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happiness in our lives. Knowing this, Satan often lures
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people into immorality by playing on their basic needs.
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He promises pleasure, happiness, and fulfillment.
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But this is, of course, deception.
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Now, most of us won't commit Amnon's sin, but the pattern of
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trying to seek fulfillment in consensual sexual sin is
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prevalent. A person feels emptiness.
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They're trying to fill that hole in their hearts through sin, but
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it never works. I think of a young woman who had
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a boyfriend who kept saying to her, if you really love me,
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you'll sleep with me. She really liked him.
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She wanted him to stick around. So he eventually she gave in and
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he left her the next week. I wish that story wasn't true.
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I wish I was just making that one up, but it's true and it
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happens all of the time because sin promises intimacy but
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delivers emptiness. President Benson said do not be
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misled by Satan's lies. There is no lasting happiness
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and immorality. There is no joy to be found in
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breaking the law of chastity. Just the opposite is true.
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There may be momentary pleasure for a time.
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It may seem like everything is wonderful, but quickly the
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relationship will sour. Guilt and shame set in.
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Love begins to die. Bitterness, jealousy, anger, and
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even hate begin to grow. All of these are the natural
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results of sin and transgression.
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So what happened to Amnon? Shockingly, King David did
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nothing about Amnon's crimes. The scriptures say that David
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was furious, but he didn't do anything.
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And, and I guess as I think about it, it kind of makes sense
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because imagine David said to Amnon, why did you sleep with
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someone who wasn't your wife? What would Amnon say?
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I learned it from you, Dad. David's hypocrisy now makes it
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so he can't counsel his son or rebuke him the way that he needs
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to. But although David didn't do
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anything, he had another son, Absalom, who was Tamar's full
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sibling. Absalom waited for two years and
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then with the opportunity arose. He murdered his half brother
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Amnon to avenge his sister. This was the sword that Nathan
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had prophesied about. Do you want to ruin your life?
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Try to fill your inner emptiness by obsessing over what God
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forbids and #4 have friends who encourage your worst impulses.
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What if Jonadab had been like Jonathan, strengthening David's
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hand in God? What if Jonadab would have said,
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look, Evan, you're kind of struggling and you need to talk
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to your Bishop? Could have been totally
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different. Or what if Amnon, caught in his
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unhealthy desires, had realized that only Christ could fill his
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empty heart? 1000 years after Amnon Jesus was
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at a well, He met a woman who had also sought fulfilment in
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the wrong places. He said to her, everyone who
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drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever
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drinks the water I give them will never thirst.
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The way to fill the hole in your heart isn't through sin, it's
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through Christ. Now let's turn for a moment and
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look at Tamar. I think it should be clear to
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all of us that Tamar is not guilty of sin.
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She is a victim, and I testified that the Lord remembers victims.
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I love these words from the psalmist.
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The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are
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crushed in spirit. I'm grateful that Scripture
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preserves Tamar's voice for us. I honestly think it's important
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for us not to skip this story because we don't want to silence
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her voice. So what happened to Tamar?
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Well, I wish I could report that she had a happy ending,
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immortality, but instead we read her brother.
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Absalom said to her. Has that Amnon, your brother,
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been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister.
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He is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart.
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Now, perhaps Absalom's remarks were helpful.
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At least they were probably meant to be helpful, but they
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may have been hurtful. As Doctor Larry notes, Absalom,
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though he appears to want to act on behalf of his sister, ends up
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doing a lamentable job of being an effective ally.
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He tells to Mark to silence herself when perhaps vocal
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lament is truly what she needs to begin the healing process.
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Unwittingly, then, Absalom, who means to be a supportive older
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brother to Tamar and an ally to her in her vulnerable position,
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further contributes to her victimization.
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In the moments after her assault.
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He removes her agency in doing the one thing that she knows to
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do and the thing that feels right.
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Lament. The last thing we read of Tamar
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is Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate
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woman. It's painful.
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Now, those might be the last words about Tamar in the Old
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Testament, but there's another ray of hope we read a few verses
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later. Three sons and a daughter were
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born to Absalom. His daughter's name was Tamar,
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and she became a beautiful woman.
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I love this insight from Diane Jacobson.
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She said in the birth of her niece, Tamar is remembered and
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in this acknowledgement is heard the promise that violence will
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not have the last word. It's true.
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Jesus has the last word and Isaiah prophesied.
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The Lord will wipe away the tears from everyone's face.
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He will remove the shame of his people from the whole earth.
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The Lord has spoken. Now I have a challenging
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question for you to consider, and I don't have necessarily the
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right answer for it. But think about this question.
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Why do you think the writer of Samuel chose to include this
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painful story in scripture? These things even still happened
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today, and there's somebody out there that is in either one of
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these people's situations, whether it's the person who's
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about to commit the crime or somebody who's about to
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experience what Tamar unfortunately had to experience.
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And I think by having these stories in the Scriptures gives
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us an opportunity to perhaps either prevent it from happening
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or to feel seen by God. Thank you, I really appreciate
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these insights, Diane Jacobson wrote.
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The story is told insists that we do not look away from Tamar.
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Rather we are invited into her grief and shame and we know that
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God is with us there. God will not have us forget her.
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Now, I know many people are probably hearing the story for
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the first time and they're thinking, I did not even know
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that was in Scripture. It's a powerful story.
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And if you'd like to see Diane Jacobson's article or dig deeper
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into the story, I've linked to the article and some other
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resources on the course website. But for now, let's turn to the
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story of Absalom. And we've already seen the first
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part of this story. So he's Tamar's full sibling.
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He kills his brother Amnon, and then he flees into exile.
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After years in exile, Absalom returned home and David was
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happy, but Absalom wasn't, because Absalom also had an
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empty hole in his heart. He wasn't trying to fill it with
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lust, but with ambition. If Absalom identified as a
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Disney character, it would be Simba because he just couldn't
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wait to be king. Absalom was also one of the best
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looking men in scripture we read.
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In all Israel, there was not a man so highly praised for his
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handsome appearances. Absalom from the top of his head
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to the sole of his foot. There was no blemish in him
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whenever he cut the hair of his head.
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He used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy
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for him. He would weigh it and its weight
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was about 5 lbs. Wow, Can you imagine Absalom's
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Instagram profile? Absalom had everything a person
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could possibly want, and he was likely going to be king.
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But Absalom wasn't satisfied, he said.
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If only I were appointed judge in the land, then everyone who
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had a complaint or a case would come to me and I would see that
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they receive justice. That's the trap, right?
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It's always the trap. If only I had this, then I'd be
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happy. So Absalom positioned himself at
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the city gate. He shook lots of hands.
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He kissed babies. After doing this for four years,
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he led a revolt against his father, David.
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So now David's on the run, fleeing Jerusalem for his life.
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Absalom takes the throne. And what follows next is a civil
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war between followers of David and Absalom.
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In the decisive battle, Absalom's forces were scattered
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and Absalom was riding his mule. And as the mule went under the
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thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's hair got caught in the
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tree. I know it's kind of funny.
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It's funny, but not funny. He was left hanging in midair
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while the mule he was writing kept on going.
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The hair that he was so proud of became the very thing that
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trapped him, and David's army struck down Absalom.
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But David wasn't happy. When word reached to him of what
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happened to Absalom, David wept. Oh my son, Absalom, my son, my
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son Absalom. If only I had died instead of
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you. Oh, Absalom, my son, my son
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Absalom's life was ruined, and many others with it because he
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wasn't content. If you would have just been
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happy being the Crown Prince, he could have been king one day
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perhaps, But instead he lost everything.
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So do you want to be miserable? Follow this simple principle.
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Don't be satisfied with what you have.
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Attach your happiness to the next promotion, the next
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purchase, the next project. Contentment will always be one
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step away, so how about you and me?
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People often say if only I had a certain grade or certain job,
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relationship or recognition, then I'd be happy.
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Do you have an if only now? That's probably an easy question
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because the answer is likely yes.
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So here's a harder question. What's 1 practice that helps you
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stay grateful for what you have now instead of being restless
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for what you don't? I would just like to say that
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one simple practice that I have seen that helps me stay grateful
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for what I have now is focusing on God and His goodness and in
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my prayers, recognizing and acknowledging His goodness for
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everybody, His just His goodness for who He is.
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And then specifically His goodness in my life, what I see
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in my life, and that one thing, just focusing on God's goodness
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and power and being in awe of God is a little thing that can
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help me be grateful. Beautiful.
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One thing I think is turning yourself outward instead of
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looking inward at your own life. I think learning to or taking
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the opportunity to serve other people and not focus on your
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life, whether they be good things or bad things.
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But really just turning outward and serving others helps me to
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recognize the great blessings that I have in my life.
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Thank you. Often in this class we talk
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about how a certain scriptural figure prefigures Jesus Christ.
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Well, in some ways I feel like Absalom is the opposite of Jesus
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Christ. Christ flips Absalom strategy.
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Absalom couldn't wait to be king, But Jesus taught whoever
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wants to become great among you must be your servant.
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Greatness doesn't come from climbing the throne, but from
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kneeling with a towel. Contentment doesn't come from
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saying if only I were a king, but from deeply knowing that you
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are the child of a king. David couldn't die for Absalom,
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but Jesus did that for each of us.
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It might sound trite, but I really believe it when we
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remember Jesus Christ, when we go out and serve as He served,
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that fills the emptiness in our hearts.
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Now this next story is probably the least well known of any of
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the stories we're going to talk about.
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It's the story of Shemai and David.
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It teaches a great way to ruin your life.
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Here's the scene. Absalom has taken over and David
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and his men are on the run. As they're leaving Jerusalem,
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this guy named Shemai, who's a relative of Saul, stands up and
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starts throwing rocks at David and cursing him, saying get out,
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get out, you murderer, you scoundrel.
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The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the
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household of Saul. The Lord has given the Kingdom
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into the hands of your son Absalom.
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Now it's interesting that Shamay is accusing David of murdering
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Saul when David repeatedly spared his life.
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But sometimes when you're holding onto a grudge from the
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past, you don't see things clearly.
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So David's men were angry. They wanted to execute Shamay on
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the spot, but David said leave him alone, let him curse, for
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the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will
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look upon my misery and restore blessing instead of his curse
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today. So time passes and Absalom's
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rebellion collapses. Now David is back on the throne
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and she's like, oh, I just criticized the king.
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So he rushes back to apologize. He says, may my Lord not hold me
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guilty. I know I have sinned again.
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David's men say, let's execute him on the spot.
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But David said to Shemai, you shall not die.
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And the king promised him with an oath.
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If we ended the story there, it would be a great positive tale
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of mercy and forgiveness. But just like Shemai held on to
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the past, so did David When David was on his deathbed.
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Among his final requests to Solomon were remember Shamay,
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who called down bitter curses on me.
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I swore to him I will not put you to death.
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But now, Solomon, you will know what to do with him.
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Bring his Gray head down to the grave in blood.
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This is scripture. It's like David was a mafia
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boss. He appeared to forgive, but
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inwardly he never let it go. He was always keeping score.
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And eventually Solomon carries out David's grudge by executing
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Shemai. Outward mercy, inward score
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keeping. If you want to be totally
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miserable, hold on to pass grudges.
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Be Shemai on the Ridge throwing stones because of something from
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the past, or be David on your deathbed, always keeping score.
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And there's lots of ways that this might appear today.
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Some may be serious, some more silly.
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Maybe you're in college and you have a roommate who's always
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playing K pop demon hunters when you're trying to sleep.
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Or maybe it's something more serious.
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But we always have a choice to hold on to or to release a
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grudge. Think about Jesus Christ as he
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was being crucified with no apologies from the soldiers.
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He still prayed. Father, forgive them, for they
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do not know what they're doing. Can you see Christ on the cross
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forgiving not only the soldiers, but forgiving you as well?
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If we can only see Christ forgiving others, then it almost
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can be a burden. Like I don't know if I can do
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what he did, but if you and I can really see Christ forgiving
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us, then that gives us the power to extend that mercy outward.
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There's an activity, maybe we could try it.
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It's called the scorecard surrender.
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It might be too personal or too deep to do just in in this short
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little time that we have. But you might try it now, or you
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might try it later. The first step, in one sentence,
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write down the score you've been keeping a grudge, you're
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carrying from the past. Step #2 surrender the scorecard
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in prayer. Father, because you forgave me
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in Christ, I released this debt, no strings attached.
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The third move forward by asking God, how can I look to you
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rather than staying rooted in the past?
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I wonder how Shamaya and David could have had different lives
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if they had lived what Paul taught.
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Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another,
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even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
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Now the last story I want to talk about today is the story of
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Solomon. When Solomon the son of David,
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became king, he started with humility.
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He's got a strong start. God appeared to him in a dream
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and said, ask for whatever you want me to give you.
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I mean, imagine that God offers you a blank check.
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What would you ask for your supply of Chick-fil-A instead?
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Solomon prays. Give your servant A discerning
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heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and
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wrong. God loved that request, so he
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gave Solomon wisdom that became legendary.
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And God added wealth and honor, too.
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When Solomon built a temple, his fame spread throughout the
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entire world, and if the story would have ended there, Solomon
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would have been one of the greatest Saints of all time.
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But just like his father, Solomon had a strong start but a
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weak finish. He shows us one of the surest
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ways to be miserable, and that's to get distracted from God.
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You see, Solomon loved many foreign women.
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They were from nations about which the Lord had told the
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Israelites. You must not intermarry with
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them because they will surely turn your hearts after their
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gods. As Solomon grew old, his wives
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turned his heart after other gods and his heart, it was not
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fully devoted to the Lord. Notice the subtlety.
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It's not like Solomon stood on the temple one day and said I
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renounce Jehovah. It was just slowly simply
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getting distracted. And after Solomon's death, the
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Kingdom fractures. It splits into the northern and
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the southern kingdoms and eventually will lead to the
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scattering of the 10 tribes and the captivity of Judah.
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All right, have a great day. Thanks for coming.
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Now I know to this point this lesson has been a little
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depressing, right? Seven steps to make your life
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miserable, but tucked inside is a way to make your life
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beautiful and it's found in the temple.
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David actually wanted to build the temple but God said to him
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you are not to build a house for my name because you are a
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warrior and of shed blood. But later, after a devastating
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plague struck Israel, King David sought to make peace with God
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and a prophet told him to build an altar.
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And it was very specific where he was supposed to build the
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altar. It was on the threshing floor of
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a man named Aruna. So David arrived in Aruna
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offered to give him the sight and the oxen to sacrifice for
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free. But David replied, no, I insist
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on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord
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my God. Burnt offerings that cost me
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nothing. This is a beautiful point.
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Sacrifice that costs nothing isn't really a sacrifice.
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And so David purchases this place of land, and the spot of
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his altar becomes the very place where Solomon builds the temple.
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In fact, in Second Chronicles chapter 3, it specifies that
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Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem
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on Mount Moriah, the place provided by David.
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Now that name Mount Moriah might ring a scriptural bell in your
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ears. It connects us to another key
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event. Do you remember Abraham when he
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was about to sacrifice Isaac? Scripture tells us that that
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took place in the region of Moriah.
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So according to Jewish tradition, the location where
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Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac is the very place that David
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built an altar. It's the very place that Solomon
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built his temple is the very place where today the Dome of
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the Rock is standing. And that helps us understand why
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even now there's contention about this spot of land.
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This specific place, for thousands of years has been
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sacred to different religious groups.
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Now, we could spend a whole hour talking about Solomon's Temple
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and its majesty, but I just want to highlight three details.
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First, like the Tabernacle before it, the temple had three
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main sections. There was the outer courtyard
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where sacrifices were offered, the holy place where priests
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went into minister. This is where there was the
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lampstand, the table of bread, and the altar of incense.
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And then there was the most holy place, the inner sanctuary,
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where the Ark of the Covenant was placed.
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It's sort of like a visual parable.
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There's three main zones within the temple complex in increasing
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stages of holiness. We can see that same pattern in
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temples today. Another key feature of Solomon's
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temple was a massive bronze basin called the sea.
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The sea stood on 12 bulls, 3 facing north, 3 W, 3 S and 3 E.
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The sea rested on top of them and their hindquarters toward
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the center. This Great Basin held thousands
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of gallons of water and as far as we know it wasn't used for
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baptisms but for ceremonial washings by the priests.
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Think about this Great Basin of water sitting atop 12 oxen.
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It clearly has parallels in our temple today.
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And just as the oxen look outward to all directions,
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temple work today looks outward to all.
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Now a third and props most important part of Solomon's
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temple is it was the dwelling place of the Lord, the most holy
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place where the ark of the covenant was.
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This was God's place to rest on the earth.
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And when the temple was dedicated, we read the cloud
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filled the temple of the Lord. The glory of the Lord filled his
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temple and I testify that God's presence today is still found in
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the temple. In a gospel doctrine class I
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recently attended the teacher shared an experience that
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touched my heart. It was a Wednesday afternoon.
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She was in the temple. She had just come out of a
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beautiful session, and as she came out into the lobby, the
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area, she was surprised to see dozens of youth and young adults
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wearing casual clothes just walking around the lobby and the
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area just outside the temple, she said.
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I'll be honest, at first I was a little judgmental, wondering to
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myself, hasn't anyone told them that they should dress up in the
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temple? But as I listened to their
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conversations, I realized that there had been a shooting at a
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nearby university, and these people had rushed to the temple
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to find peace. I was so touched by these youth
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who came to the temple to find refuge.
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Today, we've seen seven ways to make your life miserable.
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But we've also seen there's a place where you can make your
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life better. Yes, there are seven ways to
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make your life miserable, but Jesus Christ reverses every
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single one. Instead of lingering in
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temptation, He banished it. Instead of hiding sin, He covers
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it with His blood. Instead of thirsting for what
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destroys, he satisfies with living waters.
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Instead of being a voice guiding you away from truth, He sends
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the Spirit to bring us into all truth.
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Instead of coveting position, He served.
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Instead of grudges, he forgave. And instead of distraction, He
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is the one thing that really matters.
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Jesus Christ is the key to not being miserable.
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Do you believe it? And the best part is, if you
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want to spend time with Jesus, you already know where to find
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Him.