10 People In The Bible Who Stated I Have Sinned - Part One
Almost 20 years ago (in April 2007), I did a word study on the phrase, I have sinned. There were 10 people throughout the Old and New Testaments that had made this statement as an admission of guilt. Another time it was declared as a statement about mankind in general. At the time (and in the margin of my Bible), I had written that there was 19 times that this statement was made. Recently, I realized I had missed two of the verses. That makes 21 times stated by 10 people - seven of these statements made by David himself, which I found very intriguing and interesting.
For whatever reason, I only ever wrote up a study for the first three people and saved the rest as a draft. Now I want to finish the study with all 10 people. Here is part one, edited and slightly changed with king Saul added to make the first eight statements (out of the 21 total). The next one will be king David and his seven statements, then followed by the other five individuals. When I have the full study written I will also post that on Buy The Truth, and link them together on this blog.
10 People In The Bible Who Stated I Have Sinned
Years ago, I looked up the phrase, "I have sinned" in my Bible program, tracing it through the Bible and noting how many times it was spoken, by who, and what kind of confession it really was: ie. sincere or hypocritical. Reading about Achan, the troubler of Israel, yesterday reminded me of that study, and I wanted to post those Scriptural statements as a gauge for all of us.
There were 10 different individuals that made that statement in the Bible as an admission of guilt (several stating it more than once), and once it was declared as a statement about mankind in general, for a total of 21 times altogether. It is interesting that there were 10 people, both saved and lost, making this confession - and 10 in the Bible is typical of the whole world. So here, in a sense, we have a picture of the whole world under sin, and their responses when that sin is revealed to them.
My question to you today is: are you like any of these Bible characters? Are there times when you were not sincere before God or others in acknowledging your sin? Are there times when you made this confession of error just so others would leave you alone or that the consequences were alleviated? Or were they sincere, repentant confessions of a broken, contrite heart that realizes that you have sinned against your Saviour, against your Heavenly Father, and you were confessing to make it right and restore that fellowship again, confessing your sins so that God would wash it away and cleanse you from all unrighteousness?
I have to admit, there are times - even as a believer - when I have been less than sincere in my confession of wrongdoing. Perhaps I was going through the motions to ease my guilty conscience when my heart was still not right before God; and other times maybe out of fear that if I didn't make this sin right, I might wander further astray from the Lord. God knows my heart better than I do - and it is passages like these that challenge me to make sure that my heart is always right before the Lord, and that I make it right when it is not.
Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace, and blessed forgiveness when I do truly confess those sins to Him. Confessing means to agree with, to be of one mind about - too often we wait for some feeling. We do not feel grieved enough, so we put off making the sin right, and find ourselves falling further into sin, further hardening our heart in a specific area. It is times like those I have to remind myself that repentance is a change of my mind that will result in a change in my conduct. I don't need to wait for a change in my emotions first. When I sincerely turn to the Lord to make my sin right, eventually I find that my emotions followed along - but the peace of God came immediately when the fellowship was restored, and that was what was important after all!
Before I list the statements made by 10 sinners in God's Word, I wanted to quote this promise, stated by Elihu, one of Job's friends:
A. Job 33:27-28 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
When we are truthful before the Lord our God, and sincerely confess our wrongdoing to Him, we will receive His mercy and deliverance in our lives.
For the sake of ease, I will cover these 10 individuals in the order they appear in our Bibles.
1) The Pharaoh, the insincere leader of Egypt:
There were 10 different individuals that made that statement in the Bible as an admission of guilt (several stating it more than once), and once it was declared as a statement about mankind in general, for a total of 21 times altogether. It is interesting that there were 10 people, both saved and lost, making this confession - and 10 in the Bible is typical of the whole world. So here, in a sense, we have a picture of the whole world under sin, and their responses when that sin is revealed to them.
My question to you today is: are you like any of these Bible characters? Are there times when you were not sincere before God or others in acknowledging your sin? Are there times when you made this confession of error just so others would leave you alone or that the consequences were alleviated? Or were they sincere, repentant confessions of a broken, contrite heart that realizes that you have sinned against your Saviour, against your Heavenly Father, and you were confessing to make it right and restore that fellowship again, confessing your sins so that God would wash it away and cleanse you from all unrighteousness?
I have to admit, there are times - even as a believer - when I have been less than sincere in my confession of wrongdoing. Perhaps I was going through the motions to ease my guilty conscience when my heart was still not right before God; and other times maybe out of fear that if I didn't make this sin right, I might wander further astray from the Lord. God knows my heart better than I do - and it is passages like these that challenge me to make sure that my heart is always right before the Lord, and that I make it right when it is not.
Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace, and blessed forgiveness when I do truly confess those sins to Him. Confessing means to agree with, to be of one mind about - too often we wait for some feeling. We do not feel grieved enough, so we put off making the sin right, and find ourselves falling further into sin, further hardening our heart in a specific area. It is times like those I have to remind myself that repentance is a change of my mind that will result in a change in my conduct. I don't need to wait for a change in my emotions first. When I sincerely turn to the Lord to make my sin right, eventually I find that my emotions followed along - but the peace of God came immediately when the fellowship was restored, and that was what was important after all!
Before I list the statements made by 10 sinners in God's Word, I wanted to quote this promise, stated by Elihu, one of Job's friends:
A. Job 33:27-28 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
When we are truthful before the Lord our God, and sincerely confess our wrongdoing to Him, we will receive His mercy and deliverance in our lives.
For the sake of ease, I will cover these 10 individuals in the order they appear in our Bibles.
1) The Pharaoh, the insincere leader of Egypt:
Hypocritical confessions to cause Moses to remove each plague. Basically, it was a false confession to remove the consequences of his sin. There was no repentance there, just a bowing under the pressure of the destruction on his nation.
B. Exodus 9:27 - verses 27-30 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.
C. Exodus 10:16 - verses 16-20 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
It is clear from the whole account of the ten plagues upon Egypt, that Pharaoh was a stubborn unbeliever who would not accept that the God of Israel was the true God. His is the story of an unbeliever hardening his heart over and over until it is too late.
2) Balaam, the rebellious prophet hired to curse Israel:
B. Exodus 9:27 - verses 27-30 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.
C. Exodus 10:16 - verses 16-20 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
It is clear from the whole account of the ten plagues upon Egypt, that Pharaoh was a stubborn unbeliever who would not accept that the God of Israel was the true God. His is the story of an unbeliever hardening his heart over and over until it is too late.
2) Balaam, the rebellious prophet hired to curse Israel:
Made this hypocritical confession of sin to attempt to appease the Lord, but as the next few chapters reveal, he was still running after the riches offered to him and was still looking for a way to be a stumblingblock to Israel.
D. Numbers 22:34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
Balaam is an interesting case. He is a prophet that was against God's people, yet God spoke to him and his prophecies are recorded in the Word of God. Is his an account of a true believer that got so covetous he was willing to turn from what he knew was right in order to have worldly riches (the wages of unrighteousness - see 2 Peter 2:14-16), or was it simply the case of a religious man that the Lord used (ie. in regards to the prophecies) in spite of himself? Either way, we know here he was insincere in his confession of wrongdoing and was not repentant of his rushing into sin. Remember, Balaam was the one responsible for leading the nation of Israel into idolatry and fornication with the daughters of Moab in Numbers 25 (see also Numbers 31:16).
3) Achan, the troubler of Israel:
D. Numbers 22:34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
Balaam is an interesting case. He is a prophet that was against God's people, yet God spoke to him and his prophecies are recorded in the Word of God. Is his an account of a true believer that got so covetous he was willing to turn from what he knew was right in order to have worldly riches (the wages of unrighteousness - see 2 Peter 2:14-16), or was it simply the case of a religious man that the Lord used (ie. in regards to the prophecies) in spite of himself? Either way, we know here he was insincere in his confession of wrongdoing and was not repentant of his rushing into sin. Remember, Balaam was the one responsible for leading the nation of Israel into idolatry and fornication with the daughters of Moab in Numbers 25 (see also Numbers 31:16).
3) Achan, the troubler of Israel:
I believe he was sincere here, because this confession was still made in light of the fact that he knew he would be stoned to death for his sin. Being faced with his own upcoming death, as the punishment for his sin, he was honest about what he had done - he was not trying to find a way out or deceive Joshua at this point in time. According to Joshua's plea in Joshua 7:19, Achan gave God the glory and admitted the wrong that he had done.
E. Joshua 7:20 - verses 19-22 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
E. Joshua 7:20 - verses 19-22 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
4) Saul - the rebellious king of Israel:
King Saul knew he was rejected by the Lord God because of his continued sin and rebellion against Him. He knew God had chosen someone else to replace him, a new dynasty to continue ruling the kingdom of Israel. In his jealousy and anger, he kept pursuing David, and under extreme conviction by the Holy Spirit and torment by an evil spirit, he wavered back and forth in his evil intent towards David, the man God had chosen to replace King Saul one day. (See 1 Samuel 16:14-16) He knew he was doing wrong as a leader, various times going against the clear commandments Samuel the prophet had given him, and wrong as a persecutor of the man after God's own heart. I don't believe Saul was sincere, that there was any real repentance in his heart. Certainly none that changed his course or halted his evil intentions toward David.
F. 1 Samuel 15:24-29 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
Even though Saul went through the motions of confessing his sin to Samuel, he was more concerned with how he appeared to others rather than how he had offended God. We can see the same thing the second time he makes this statement as well.
G. 1 Samuel 15:30-31 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
H. 1 Samuel 26:21-25 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed. And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
It is possible Saul was now sincere in his confession of wrongdoing to David. This was the last time we see him pursuing the up and coming king. Not too much longer after this point though, Saul is killed on a battlefield with several of his sons. What a wasted life and what a tragic example his life makes for us.
Jerry Bouey
*For clarification: When a multiple of a number is used, it has the same meaning as the original number. For example, seven means perfection, completion, and is God's stamp on His Word. A multiple of seven has the same meaning, sometimes heightening or magnifying it, but the same underlying meaning. So 14, 21, 70, 490, etc. all have the same symbolic meaning in the Scriptures. There are so many sevens in the Bible, but you will often find many passages where a multiple of seven is used as well. Like here.
Running sevens count: 222
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