Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong and thought that you got away with it, only to discover that you hadn’t? Have you ever admitted that you were wrong and expected there not to be any consequences, only to find out there were still consequences? That is what David is going to experience in our text today.
David has committed adultery and to make matters worse, he arranged for the woman’s husband to be killed in battle. In a display of bad character, David didn’t even really care about how his strategy to cover his sin would affect others who were fighting to protect his kingdom. David did everything he could to cover up his sins. However, it was impossible to cover them up from God. God sent a prophet named Nathan to confront him. In the face of being confronted, David immediately confessed he had sinned against God. In a show of mercy and grace, Nathan informed David that God had already put away his sin, that is God had forgiven David. Can you imagine the relief that David had to feel? After all, he had seen firsthand how God could and would rip a kingdom away from the king for blatant sin. What came next from Nathan’s lips, David didn’t see coming. 2 Samuel 12:13-14 says, “So David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.'”
Wow, that’s heavy isn’t it? I want to be straightforward here, not every parent who has a child die in infancy committed some sin against God and God is punishing them. It’s important to remember that we live in a fallen world infected by sin. However, this was a specific punishment from God for what David had done. It is also important to know that God still loved David as evidenced by the fact that God had forgiven David for his sins. However, just because we are God’s child and forgiven by God, doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for our sinful actions. This was a lesson that David and Bathsheba had to learn the hard way. For God, this wasn’t just about David committing adultery and murder. The bigger issue was that David had given the enemies of God reason to blaspheme God. I believe there are several important points we can see in this text.
- Take your sin seriously because God does. We may not think our sin is a big deal, but we can clearly see that God does.
- There are consequences for our actions. While we might hide our attitudes, thoughts, and actions from people; we are not hiding them from God. He sees everything and hears everything. We need to realize that there is no such thing as a victimless sin. What we choose to do will affect others in some way, even in ways that we didn’t imagine it would
- Forgiveness is available. One of the greatest lessons we can see in this text is on the character of God. We see His justice in delivering discipline to David. But we also see the love, mercy, and grace of God. God forgave David before David acknowledged His sin. God showed mercy is not killing David or taking the kingdom away from him. God showed love, as strange as this may seem, by disciplining David. Because God loves His children, Proverbs 3:11-12 tells us that God will discipline us for our sin. The interesting thing about Proverbs 3:11-12 is that it was written by David’s son, Solomon. Who knows if David taught Solomon about the discipline of the Lord years later because of this incident, but certainly the family had first-hand experience of God’s discipline.
The Bible is clear that we are all sinners and come short of the glory of God (see Rom. 3:23). We, like David, deserve God’s discipline because of our sinful decisions. Yet, God has demonstrated His love toward us, as Paul says because when we were still going our own way, God sent Jesus to die in our place (see Rom. 5:8). Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have the opportunity to surrender in faith to Jesus, to be forgiven of our sins, redeemed from our sins, and have a relationship with God that was not possible. The point of this story is God, not David. While David is the reason, the story reveals the person and character of God, as well as the desire of God. If you, like David, have sinned, God is calling you to confess it, and to come to Him in faith. He won’t turn you away. His love for you doesn’t depend on who you are, or what you have done, but it depends on who He is. You have not sinned so greatly that the grace of God cannot cleanse you completely. But you must confess it, turn from your sin, and in faith trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection as your only hope for salvation.
If you need to do this, don’t wait another moment. Today can be the day of salvation for you! If you would like to know more about it, or you have questions, please reach out to me at pastorjustin@westlakebaptist.org. I would love to pray with you, help you in anyway that I can, and celebrate the new relationship and life God has given you by His grace. Until next week, be safe and let’s seek the Lord. If you don’t have a place to watch church online on Sunday, I would encourage you to make your way over to YouTube, search for Westlake Baptist Church (our logo has an anchor), and subscribe to our page. We will be live streaming our service on Sunday at 9:30.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin