Num 32:23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.
Genesis 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 44:16 And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.”
Psalms 90:8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
Psalms 139:11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
Proverbs 13:21 Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.
Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Romans 2:9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
But if ye will not do so,…. As they promised they would, and Moses insisted on it that they should: behold, ye have sinned against the Lord making such a request, and not fulfilling the conditions on which it was granted: and be sure your sin will find you out; fly in their faces, accuse them in their consciences, charge and load them with guilt, and bring deserved punishment upon them: sin may be put, as it often is, for the punishment of sin, which sooner or later will find out and come upon the impenitent and unpardoned sinner. (Gill)
“The language is striking: it is not just that their sin will be discovered but that their sin will be an active agent in discovering them.” (Allen)
“Sin is like the boomerang…it comes back on the hand that has launched it forth. The brethren accused Joseph of being a spy, and cast him into the pit; and on the same charge they were cast into prison. King David committed adultery and murder; so Absalom requited him.” (Meyer)
“The guilt will haunt you at heels, as a bloodhound, and the punishment will overtake you” (Trapp)
Spurgeon suggested several ways in which our sin might find us out:
· We become ill at ease.
· We feel ourselves to be low and despicable.
· We become weakened by our own inaction.
· We have little joy in the progress and prosperity of the church.
· We lose our appetite for the gatherings of God’s people. (Spurgeon)
How much hidden sin do we entertain in our hearts and minds? Lust, greed, pride, grumbling, anger, fear, and complacency, to mention a few of those hidden sins that have the opportunity to ensnare us. They are ever present in our sinful nature and can be stumbling blocks in our witness and testimony of Jesus Christ. What or how is it that there are hidden sins of the heart and mind that seem to allow us to have a heart and mind void of knowing that we are harboring these sins? Knowing the answer does not take much reading or understanding of Scripture. Peter said it like this: 1 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Growth – There is no growth when there is no nourishment. Do you hunger for God’s Word or do you just snack at it?
Work – God’s Word is to be put into practice in our thoughts, words, and actions. How can it be put into practice when it is neglected?
Purpose – Our purpose on this side of eternity is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. How can this purpose be fulfilled if His Word is neglected and our ability to do it is blind and deaf to it?
Obedience – How are we to know and obey the things of God when His Word is not hungered and thirsted for?
Reliance – How are we to rely on God when there is no communion with Him, or there is no heart-deep desire to honor and glorify Jesus
Oh that we were made aware of the sinfulness of our Sin in the light of the Holiness of God!
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.