84. PURPOSE DESPITE A SHAMEFUL PAST OR A SHAMEFUL BEGINNING

Tweet Pin Like Share Email

There are some people in the Bible that had a shameful past or shameful beginning but the Lord still used them. Some of them had been discarded by men, discounted and dismissed even but the God of heaven and earth, still purposed in his sovereignty to use them.

JEPHTHAH is one such person. He was the son of Gilead but his mother was a harlot. The Bible tells us that Gilead’s wife bare him sons as well but it does not say if Jephthah was the firstborn, if he was born as a result of a fling that his father had with the prostitute woman before he got married to his wife or if he was the product of an extra-marital affair.

Whatever the situation was, Jephthah was the only one of his male siblings that was not the son of his fathers wife but had instead been conceived and borne by a woman, who slept with men for a living.

Admittedly, this was shameful, all the more so given that Jephthah was living with his father’s family, all of his brethren of whom shared a common identity, as children of both his father and his father’s wife. Jephthah was the only one who could not regard his father’s wife as his mother. Perhaps (although it is not known for sure), she parented him as a mother would her biological son and did not show any discrimination and perhaps the distinction between him and his brothers was not noticeable as a child. Perhaps his brothers even embraced him as one of them while growing up.

However, when they came of age and were able to better understand and reason, they apparently considered him to be lesser than them and not deserving of partaking of their father’s inheritance with them. They accused him and thereby reminded him of his shameful past, by telling him that he was the son of a strange woman, meaning not a woman that their father had been married to at the time of his conception and not their mother! As if this was not enough, they also thrust him out of the family arena, wanting nothing to do with him.

It is possible that this occurred after their father had died or else they may not have been allowed to do what they did but the scripture does not indicate whether this was the case or not.

In any event, Jephthah found himself forcibly evicted from the family house that he had had his upbringing, the only place that he had known as home. The brothers that he may have loved and fully embraced as part of his family as a child, had suddenly disowned him and decided that he would not benefit from their father’s inheritance. Jephthah was therefore cast out without a penny or any assets from his father, although he was his son. In fear of his brothers, he ran away, him possibly thinking that if they hated him enough to do this to him, that they would think nothing of killing him.

The Bible states of his story in Judges 11:1-3 that:

“Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.”

Yet, although Jephthah had been ostracized, disowned and put out by his brothers because of his shameful past, God did not hold this past against him but still desired relationship with him and loved him. His family considered him useless and wanted nothing to do with him but God still had purpose for him!

Despite his shameful past and the fact that he was the son of a harlot, the Bible describes him as “a mighty man of valour” (vs. 1). This his brothers could not deny, so much so, that when trouble came and the people of Israel were being threatened with war by the people of Ammon, they sought to find Jephthah and to bring him home again, to help them.

They therefore knew, despite how wickedly they threw his past in his face, that he had greatness within him, a greatness that God had put there and therefore, which they could never take away. Now, as opportunists, although they had wanted nothing to do with him before and had considered him a threat it seems, they wanted him to return, not due to filial love but because their lives were in danger and they knew that he had what it took to lead the people of Israel to victory in the war.

The scripture reads in verses 4-8:

“And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

That Jephthah had relationship with God although he had been expelled by his brothers and had been living in another land called Tob was clear in scripture. For example, in verses 9, Jephthah asked his brethren if they brought him home again to fight against the children of Ammon and the Lord secured the victory, if they would make him their head. In this statement, it was clear that Jephthah understood that his might and valour came from God, that without him, all of this would avail nothing, that God was ever present and all-powerful and that only God could deliver the Ammonites into their hands. When his brethren committed to do what Jephthah asked and Jephthah returned, the Word of God states that the people made him head and captain over them “and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh” (vs. 11). In verse 29, it states “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.”

Such was his relationship with the Lord and his dependence on him, that Jephthah even vowed a vow to him, stating, that if he delivered the children of Ammon into his hands, that whatever came out of the doors of his house to meet him when he returned in peace, it would surely be the Lord’s and that he would offer it up for a burnt offering.

God honoured his prayer and granted him the victory, so that the scripture states that “the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.” (vs. 33). Him being a godly man, Jephthah knew the importance of keeping a vow made to God and so he did exactly what he had promised God that he would do if he delivered the Ammonites into his hands. This cost him more than he had anticipated but he kept it.

God therefore equipped Jephthah with what he needed, to be sought as the captain of Israel’s army. Although he was despised and rejected by his brothers because of his shameful background, God was still with him and purposed to use him to do a great work in Israel, which he did.

SOLOMON, the son of David was also born in connection with a shameful circumstance that had occurred. While he was not the direct result of that shameful situation, he was only afforded life as a result of it. Although his mother, Bathsheba, was married to his father David when he was conceived, something ugly had occurred before that. In fact, his mother had been the wife of another man, who, although he had been faithful to his father king David, his father had had him killed so as to protect an ugly secret.

See, his father king David had seen Bathsheba taking a bath one day and used his authority as king to send for her and then slept with her, unbeknown to her husband. When she later sent him a message that she was pregnant with his child, he tried to pass the child off as her husband Uriah’s by trying to get him to leave the war that he was in and to go home to sleep with his wife. However, the man refused, counting it more honourable to remain with the army to fight for the king and the people. David therefore orchestrated his death by giving instructions for him to be placed at a dangerous place in the battle. As a result, he was killed, which is what David wanted and David then took his wife and married her, hoping to cover up his shameful sin of adultery.

However, God remaining on the ultimate throne of heaven and having seen the injustice, he did not succeed and the shameful and sinful things that he had done were exposed. God also punished him by not allowing the child that was born to live. It got sick and then died, despite the fact that David genuinely repented when confronted and fasted before God, hoping that in his mercy, he would spare the child.

After all of this, although David had other wives and concubines with whom he had children and could have more children, God purposed to give him a son who would replace him as the next king on the throne of Israel and through the very Bathsheba! He told him about this son and what his name would be and when he was born, the Bible states that God loved him!

Imagine, despite the shameful events that had occurred involving Solomon’s parents before he had been conceived, God who gives conception, still purposed to place him in Bathsheba’s womb (and not the womb of any of David’s other wives or concubines) and to make him the next king and not any of David’s other sons!

In 1 Chronicles 22:9-10, David, in relating to his son Solomon what God had told him before he had even been conceived, stated that God had said:

“Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.”

In 2 Samuel 12:24, it states after David and Bathsheba had suffered the loss of the child which had been conceived as a result of David’s sin, that “David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.”

Later on his life, just as God had promised, he made him king and he had a loving relationship with him, him being so pleased at one point with what Solomon asked for when he told him to ask him for something, that he blessed him with both wisdom and riches.

1 Kings 4:29-31 states:

“And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men… and his fame was in all nations round about.”

Despite the shameful circumstances surrounding his past therefore, that his parents had once committed the sin of adultery and that his mother’s first husband had been indirectly but purposely killed by his father, God still chose to bring him into the world and through the very same two people. When he was born, God did not discriminate against him or consider him to be lesser than David’s other sons because of the shameful incidents. Solomon was still loved by God who put him on the throne and blessed him, so much so that in Nehemiah 13:26, Nehemiah the prophet stated of him that “among the nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel.”

RUTH’s past can be said to have been characterized by shame. For, she was a Moabite woman and the people of Moab had only come into existence due to a shameful incident where Lot’s daughters had duped him with alcohol and when drunk, had each slept with him, so as get pregnant. Lot having made the poor decision to go and live in Sodom and Gomorrah, his daughters had their upbringing there, an ungodly and immoral place. When God took Lot, his wife and two (2) of his unmarried daughters out of that place by force because he was about to destroy it, Lot’s wife looked back and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two (2) daughters then dwelt in the mountain of Zoar in a cave, by themselves.

His daughters however, desired to have children but there were no men around them. Them apparently having been shaped by the ungodly values of the people among whom they had been brought up around, they then hatched a filthy plan, to get pregnant by their father Lot. This plan, which was the idea of Lot’s older daughter, worked and of the shameful and disgusting incidents, the Bible states, “Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.”

The younger daughter also bare a son called Benammi, which the scripture states is the father of the children of Ammon.

Ruth therefore came from this shameful lineage and story, her being a Moabite. It was shameful that her ancestor Lot, although a godly man, had been living in such an immoral and wicked place of Sodom and Gomorrah, him having only apparently paid attention to the potential to prosper in that land materially, without any consideration given to the spiritual ramifications of such a choice. It was shameful that he ended up with just himself and his two (2) daughters, living in a cave in Zoar, which must have been a lonely life to live. It was even more shameful what his daughters did and that he was the father of their children.

Ruth being a Moabite woman, she was therefore from an inferior people to the people of Judah, her people having been conceived from shame. Furthermore, in Deuteronomy 23:3-6, the children of Israel were given an instruction from God through Moses, that:

“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.”

The people of Moab were therefore enemies of the people of Judah which were the people of God and God desired them to be separate from them. Notwithstanding, Ruth, a Moabite, got married to the son of Naomi and Elimelech, who were from Judah. This came about after Elimelech, although living in Bethlehemjudah among his own people, decided to take his wife and two (2) sons and go to live in Moab, due to a famine that existed in his land.

This did not seem to be a wise decision in light of God’s instruction and the Bible states that at some point after, Elimelech died, his wife Naomi being left with her two (2) sons in Moab.

While in Moab, her sons living among Moabites, it was not surprising that when they reached marriageable age, they did not go in search of women from among their own people but remained in Moab and chose Moabite women to marry.

After about ten (10) years of living in Moab though, the Bible states that both of these sons died. Whether the deaths of these three (3) men were punishment or a consequence of having aligned themselves with Moabites or some other reason, the Bible does not say but Naomi was left in this strange land alone with two (2) daughters-in-law who were Moabite women.

After hearing that the Lord had visited his people, her people, in giving them bread though, Naomi made the decision to return to her people and her daughters-in-law embarked upon the journey with her. However, after seeking to convince them to return to their mother’s house in the hope that they would find someone to get remarried, Orpah, one of her daughters-in-law, gave in and returned to Moab. However, Ruth clave unto Naomi and refused to leave her. She turned her back on her people in Moab and committed herself to go wherever Naomi was going, telling her, “thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” (Ruth 1:16). Whatever idols the people of Moab worshipped therefore, Ruth was telling Naomi that she was prepared to renounce them and to embrace the God of Naomi. This was a wonderful thing, as the God of Naomi was the only true and living God.

Shamefully though, Ruth and Naomi returned to Naomi’s people in Judah, destitute, having no man to provide for them, although back in that time, men were the main breadwinners. Naomi had nothing to show after all those years of living in Moab, her having apparently so aged during those years, that the people who knew her before she had left, did not recognize her. In Ruth 1:19-21, it states:

“So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, When they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?”

It was a disgraceful spectacle indeed. For, she, her husband and their two (2) sons had left in the hope of a better life in Moab but nothing but misery had befallen her. Her husband had died and as if this had not been enough, her two (2) sons had also died. They had not yet had children and so Elimelech’s whole line had been cut off, it seemed. Now, all she had to show were the visible signs of the ordeal she had been through and a daughter-in-law who was a Moabite!

Yet, in God’s mercy, Ruth had a good reputation among Naomi’s people, it having been published how good she had been to her mother-in-law. When she decided to go and glean in a field to gather food for her and her mother-in-law to eat and was noticed by the owner of the field, Boaz, he enquired of his servants as to who she was. He then approached her and spoke to her, delivering high commendation to her, based on what he had heard of her.

The Bible states in Ruth 2:4-12:

“And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.”

Indeed, God was merciful and kind to Ruth. For, although she was a Moabite and had come from such a shameful background and had entered Naomi’s land as a poor woman with no one to provide for her and her mother-in-law, God in his sovereignty, allowed her to eventually get married to the very same Boaz, a wealthy man, who was a relative of Elimelech.

As a result of this marriage, the people blessed Boaz, telling him in Ruth 4:11 “The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel; and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and famous in Bethlehem.” The Bible then states in verse 13, that “the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.” This son was called Obed and the Word of God tells us that he was the father of Jesse, which was the father of David (vs.17).

Although Ruth had undeniably come from a shameful past therefore and a shameful people, her having determined that Naomi’s God would be her God, he provided for her and purposed to use her, him choosing to take her, a woman from such a shameful lineage and include her in king David’s lineage, she being his great grandmother. Furthermore, given that David’s lineage was the one selected by God and out of which the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ would have his upbringing, a noble honour had indeed been bestowed on her by God, moreso than she could have ever imagined at the time. In Matthew 1, special mention of her was made. Verses 1 and 5 read:

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham…And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias…”

The genealogy continues right down to Joseph who was married to Mary, verse 16 stating “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

JABEZ was born in shame, his mother having apparently had a difficult delivery. Back in those times that Jabez lived, a person’s name was significant, it apparently often determining the course of their lives and whether they would be a success or a failure.

In Jabez’s case, his life seemed destined for failure because as if to pronounce a curse on him, his mother gave him his name, her stating that it was because she had borne him with sorrow.

This may have weighed heavily on Jabez’s mind, as he did not have the power to shake off an adverse life, when his name conveyed such negativity! Although he was helpless to change his circumstance though and could not erase the fact that his mother had borne him in sorrow, Jabez, seemingly desperate to live a fruitful and productive life, went to the only one who could reverse the curse, the only one that could help him. He went humbly to the Lord and poured out his heart’s request and thanks be to God, despite his shameful beginning, the God of heaven and earth heard him.

The Bible states:

“And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”

Jabez’s prayer can be summarized as him begging God to help him to escape the shamefulness of his past and what this meant for his future. Whatever curse had been placed on his life through his name by his own mother, he sought the Lord so as to escape it and God, having heard his prayer, turned his situation and granted him exactly what in faith he had asked for.

Despite the shame that characterized his birth therefore, not only did God reverse this by blessing and enlarging what pertained to him but he also saw it fit in his sovereignty, to give his life lasting purpose, by making noble mention of him in the Bible. Jabez’s name and his story were are recorded there for the beautiful, simple, humble and faith-filled prayer that he made to God and how God honoured him, despite his shameful beginning.

PAUL who was previously named Saul, had a shameful past, as he himself attested.

Although he had considered himself well-learned and zealous for the things of the Lord, he had gotten his theology all wrong and instead of doing God a service, had done a grave disservice to him. For, he had championed the cause of having persons who believed that Jesus was Lord and had resurrected from the dead, killed, him having genuinely believed that this was a false movement and therefore, that he was doing the will of God the Father.

He was wrong though and sadly, as a result of his actions, people were sent to prison and some were killed. As a result of his actions, he did much damage to God’s work and agenda but after he had had an encounter with the living Jesus Christ while on his way to Damascus to wreak more destruction, he realized his wrong because Jesus who had died, spoke to him from heaven!

Having had this experience, Saul was humbled. He realized the damage that he had done, Jesus Christ being the true and resurrected Son of the living God! He had not believed that he was the Messiah before but he knew for sure now, that he was. In repentance, he prayed and when God restored his sight which had been blinded by the great light that had shone from heaven when on his journey, he committed his life to the cause of Jesus Christ and sharing the truth of his gospel with others, who like he had been, were operating in darkness.

In remembering the shame of his past but by the grace of God, not allowing it to prevent him from moving forward as God desired of him, Saul who was renamed Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10:

“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

In 1 Timothy 1:12-17, he stated:

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

In Galatians 1:13, of his shameful past, he wrote to the Churches of Galatia, stating, “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past, in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure, I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.” He further stated in verses 22 to 24 of what had occurred after his encounter with Jesus Christ and his conversion to the truth, that he was “unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.”

Despite the shamefulness of his past, after Jesus had redeemed him from it to serve Him and told Ananias, one of his servants, that he was now a chosen vessel unto Him, Ananias welcomed him into God’s divine family, putting his hands on him and referring to him as “Brother Saul” (Acts 9:17).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the accounts given of the people we looked at which are mentioned in the Bible, remind us that, despite the shamefulness of our past or our background or our beginning, Jesus still loves us and is able to redeem us from it. He still desires relationship with us which is possible if we believe on him by faith in our hearts and surrender our lives to his Lordship. He does not discriminate. He cares not so much about our past, as he cares about our future and a good future with him at the helm is possible, if we would let him in.

Irrespective of who you are or the shame that surrounds your life or your past, Romans 10:9-13 states:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall NOT BE ASHAMED. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you are a Christian but made shameful mistakes, who hasn’t? David, mindful of his sinfulness, stated, “If thou Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” (Psalm 130:3-4) Indeed, despite how pious some people appear so as to give the impression that they never sin, in Romans 3:10-12, it declares otherwise. It states “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one…They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

This was clearly evident in John 8, when the people brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, telling him that under Moses’ law, she was to be stoned to death. As the perfectly righteous one, Jesus told them “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (vs. 7). The Bible states that: “…they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst” (vs. 9).

1 John 1:8-10 says even of Christians:

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Irrespective of the shame of your past therefore, once you have repented of your wrong before God and turned away from your sin, his arms are open to embrace you. He can redeem you from your shameful history and do something great and honourable with your life still, once you allow him to have his way in it.

In Isaiah 1:18-20, he told his people:

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth f the Lord hath spoken it.”

The shame of our past may never be forgotten by people around us but God stands ready to forgive us, to cast our sins into the sea of forgetfulness and to redeem us, once we genuinely repent. In Micah 7:18-19, Micah the prophet stated:

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

When we seek God for deliverance from our shameful and sinful past, God is willing to give us a future where our lives are lived, no longer according to how we think fit but according to his divine will. He is able to give us purpose, despite how many people may have looked down at us in condescension, forsaken us, rejected us or dismissed us.

The people in the Bible that we looked at, all had shameful pasts or were born out of shameful situations or circumstances, yet because they drew close to God, he drew close to them, reversed the shamefulness of their past and did great and wonderful things in their lives for all to see. James 4:8-10 states “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded…Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

This is exactly what king David and Peter did after they had shamefully sinned against God. Although David was a man of God, he gave in to his flesh and committed adultery and was responsible for a man’s death. Peter in the New Testament, also denied knowing Jesus when confronted, on three (3) occasions, so as to protect himself.

Yet, these men did not remain in their shame, stuck and unproductive for the rest of their lives. No. They repented of their wrong, were forgiven by God and went on to do great things for him, according to his continued great purpose for their lives.

You don’t need to remain in your shame. Whatever your past, whatever your wrong, whatever your background or the circumstances of your birth, there is no shame so great that God’s grace is not able, upon your coming to the Lord in prayer, to redeem you from it. The Word of God states that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21)

Go to God now. He is waiting. Pour out your heart and your story to him. Humble yourself under his mighty hand and confess wherever you and even your family may have messed up. Ask for his forgiveness and his cleansing. Ask him to redeem you from the shame of your past. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God if you didn’t before, that he rose from the dead, which is what the Bible testifies and confess with your mouth that he is Lord. Ask him to come into your heart and life and to save you from sin and eternal damnation. As him to be Lord over your life. Whether you have never come to God before by faith in Jesus Christ his Son or you are saved but are a backslider, “Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously…” (Hosea 14:2).

(Written on 16^th September, 2025)