Taking Dominion
Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.” (Psalm 19:12b-13)
How do we rate sin? Every say it is a “little lie”? If I think in my own logic levels of sin, I
would say telling lies, presumptions and unintended hidden faults are least and
intentional sins like theft, blaspheming God, then torture, and premeditated
murder are the absolute worst. But here
we see David call “presumptuous sins,” a great transgression.
It goes without saying that presumptuous
sins are rooted in presumption. Presumption
is an assumption without facts. According to multiple dictionaries, it is believing
something without proof and the rudeness of assuming too much. It is the act of believing something is true
without having any proof.
It is the Hebrew word zed
Strongs #2086, and it means to be arrogant, proud and insolent. According to
Strongs, it is described in Proverbs 21:24 in “a haughty insolent one (zed),
scorner is his name.” It is derived from the root word zadad
meaning to boil over or act proudly.1 In this sense it is boldly rude or disrespectful,
contemptuously impertinent or insulting.2
Ever boil over? It just may have presumption behind it. You may be assuming some things and making
judgements that cause you to boldly act rude and disrespectful, insulting and
causing harm to others in your wake. And
this, according to David, is not just a mistake, but a great
transgression.
A great example of a presumption
is found in the story of Jesus healing the blind man from birth. People had assumed that this man’s blindness
was due to his or his parents’ sins (presumption). Jesus corrected them and told them it was so
the glory of God could be displayed and healed the blind man on the Sabbath.
When the Pharisees heard the testimony
by the blind man of his own healing, some of them responded, “This man
[speaking of Jesus] is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath
[presumption].” Others argued with this
and asked, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” (John 9:16)
As a result, they called the man a
second time and said, “We know this man is a sinner [presumption].” (John 9:24) The healed blind man tells them, “We know
that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and
does his will, God listens to him…. If this man were not from God, he could do
nothing.” And they answered him with another presumption, “You were born in
utter sin, and would you teach us?” (John 9:24-34)
Finally, in a conversation with
Jesus he tells the healed blind man while the Pharisees are listening in, “For
judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those
who see may become blind.” The Pharisees ask if they also are blind and Jesus
responded, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, ‘We
see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9:39-41)
They thought they were seeing
rightly and were therefore guilty of a great transgression in judging Jesus as
being a sinner for healing on the Sabbath and the blind man a sinner for
thinking it was God’s judgement in being born blind.
We have all heard the saying that
to assume makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me.’ To Presume just adds evidence to it. In both these cases, the people read the
evidence (the man being blind and Jesus healing on the Sabbath) and made assumptions
from it.
Ever been there? All the evidence points in a certain direction
so you think you are right?
As kids learn in Sunday school
when they are asked questions, the answer must somehow be Jesus. I love Bing’s
answer to this. It writes, “Avoiding
presumption involves a conscious effort to seek God's guidance in all aspects
of life, recognizing human limitations and the need for divine wisdom. It
requires humility, a willingness to submit to God's authority, and a commitment
to follow His commands faithfully.”
Presumption happens because we are
looking at our circumstances and making judgements without consulting God. We think we are right because we are
evaluating the circumstances based on our own judgement. Jesus says in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
The Word of God is our answer to
presumption. If we want to know God’s
will for our lives, we need to hear from Him.
While He is speaking continually all around us, one of the surest ways
to hear Him speak is through His Word.
If we are genuinely listening to
God and seeking His will, He will provide us with the direction we need to make
the best choices. Instead of presumption
which is rooted in our own pride of self-effort, we will grow in dependence and
humility.
And even if we do presume, if we
turn and repent when we realize it, God can make it all work for our good. We see this with the people from Gibeon who
tricked Joshua and the other Israelite leaders into thinking they, as a people,
lived a long way away when they really lived in the area. They became subject as servants to the Israelites
as their woodcutters and water carriers. (Joshua 9:23)
Presumption damages relationships,
shifts us away from the guidance and purposes of God and makes us judgmental. It causes us to live by accusations and
judgements. Watching the House of David,
you can see presumption getting Saul into trouble in keeping the demonically
possessed king alive and the sheep. It
results in him becoming tormented by a demonic spirit himself that constantly spits out accusations against others. As he listens to this voice of accusation, he is further derailed
from his purpose. It eventually explodes in his
life as fear, suspicion, and a murderous rampage that is out of control,
destroying everything that God placed in his life to bless him—including his
relationship with David.
The enemy would try to destroy us by tempting us to live in presumption. As we operate out of presumption, only destruction can come from it. We feel above judgement but throw our judgements and blame at others. It grows as we feed it. However, if we follow this voice down the path of destruction, all it can lead to is the need to repent and turn around, or like Saul, see our purposes completely derailed.
Lord Jesus, keep us out of the hands of presumption. Help us to lean into you and be guided by Your Spriit. Free us from judgements, pride and self-effort and give us humility and dependence upon you. Help us to evaluate things based upon your guidance and not the voice of presumption.
1. 1. Strong's
Hebrew: 2086. זֵד (zed) -- Arrogant, proud, insolent
2. 2. Dictionary.com
Comments