© Matthew Tuel — 2025
Genesis 4:7 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”
Ecclesiastes 8:1-14 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
1 Who is a wise person? Who knows the solution to a problem?
A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance, and softens his harsh countenance.
2 Obey the king’s command,
because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.
3 Do not rush out of the king’s presence in haste—do not delay when the matter is unpleasant,
for he can do whatever he pleases.
4 Surely the king’s authority is absolute;
no one can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his command will not experience harm,
and a wise person knows the proper time and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.
7 Surely no one knows the future,
and no one can tell another person what will happen.
8 Just as no one has power over the wind to restrain it,
so no one has power over the day of his death.
Just as no one can be discharged during the battle,
so wickedness cannot rescue the wicked.
9 While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this:
Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.10 Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple,
and as they left the holy temple, they
boasted in the city that they had done so.
This also is an enigma.
11 When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime,
the human heart is encouraged to do evil.
12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes and still live a long time,
yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people—for they stand in fear before him.
13 But it will not go well with the wicked,
nor will they prolong their days like a shadow,
because they do not stand in fear before God.
14 Here is another enigma that occurs on earth:
Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve,
and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve.
Isaiah 45:22 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
22 Turn to me so you can be delivered,
all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!
For I am God, and I have no peer.
Acts 26:1-29 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
1 So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand and began his defense:
2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, 3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversial issues of the Jews. Therefore I ask you to listen to me patiently. 4 Now all the Jews know the way I lived from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They know, because they have known me from time past, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, Your Majesty! 8 Why do you people think it is unbelievable that God raises the dead? 9 Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were sentenced to death. 11 I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged at them, I went to persecute them even in foreign cities.
12 “While doing this very thing, as I was going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the chief priests, 13 about noon along the road, Your Majesty, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around me and those traveling with me. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by kicking against the goads.’ 15 So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and were trying to kill me. 22 I have experienced help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen: 23 that the Christ was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
24 As Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed loudly, “You have lost your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!” 25 But Paul replied, “I have not lost my mind, most excellent Festus, but am speaking true and rational words. 26 For the king knows about these things, and I am speaking freely to him, because I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. 27 Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe.” 28 Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” 29 Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.”
Today seems to be a unique day, in that both of the devotionals harmonize very well. In the first we see Cain running from the consequences of his sin instead of repenting of them, something he will only do more as his story unfolds in the following verses.
Your sin will find you out. This is something we see time and again throughout the Bible, and throughout history. David and Bathsheba is the first that comes to mind for me. Most people can think of a Pastor or Ministry that fell from grace. We are not without examples of this, unfortunately. To qoute a Marvel movie: "Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same."
The beauty happens when we stop running and embrace surrender. The only thing running ever does is get you into more sin. I can speak from experience on this one. We can look back at the example of David and Bathsheba as well. What started out as laziness then turned into an opportunity for lust to creep in. After the lust set in, then came the adultery. Then, in an attempt to hide from his sin, David tried twice to get Uriah to unknowingly cover it up and he failed. Then, what started as a simple choice of staying home and not going to war (or work) as he was supposed to, David ended up murdering one of his closest friends and confidants in an effort to hide his sin.
At the end of this story when David is confronted with his sin he repents and does a 180. We talked about this in the Bible Study I attend recently, with the contrast between Peter and Judas. Both men were similar, and each denied Christ during or after the crucifixion. The difference between the two though, is that where Judas fell and let his sin and remorse consume him, Peter stood up and repented for what he had done.
Your sin will always find you out, but if you are willing to repent and turn from your sin, grace and mercy are waiting on the other side.