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| David and Bathsheba mourning their son |
Sadly, sin is not limited to the unsaved person, but
remains as an obstacle even in the lives of those who are born again by faith
in the death, burial and resurrection
of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6).
Only Jesus walked this earth without sin (2
Corinthians 5:21), but once He calls us home in our glorified
resurrection bodies, we will sin no more (1
Corinthians 15:42-57).
In the meantime, it is a daily battle between our old sin nature (Romans 7:5-13) and the born-again (John 3:3-8) new
creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians
6:15), who wants to follow the Holy
Spirit, yielding to Him rather
than quenching (ignoring) or grieving (rebelling against) Him (1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30).
Unless we mortify, or put to death, our sin nature daily, it is all too easy to
succumb to temptation (1 Corinthians
15:31).
Even the apostle Paul described his daily struggle between
the old law, or sin nature, in his
body parts warring against the new law
of liberty through Christ Whom he wanted
to follow, so that he found himself sinning,
doing things that he knew were wrong,
while failing to do God’s will (Romans 7:14-25).
King David, who was God’s anointed (1 Samuel 16:13), a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), and a wise patriarch, fell far from wisdom, knowledge and understanding, for no man is free of sin (Romans 3:23). As we have seen, his loss of focus on God’s plan for his life led to his flirting with temptation and then outright sins. When we decide to sin, it is a free choice born of our free will – we can’t blame God for not providing an escape from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13), or the devil for making us do it.
Consequences inevitably follow the decision to sin,
affecting our own well-being, that of others, and our fellowship with God. Sin never
occurs in isolation, but has casualties reaching far beyond those directly
involved. The disobedience of Adam and Eve brought about their own expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the curse of sin on all mankind, and separation from God (Genesis 3:16-24; Romans 5:12).
David’s desire to hide from the world his sins of lust (Job 31:1) toward Bathsheba, fornication (1
Thessalonians 4:3) and adultery
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Matthew
5:28) resulted in the death not only of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah, but also of Abimelech and other warriors,
whose lives he had recklessly endangered (2
Samuel 11:13-15).
When David learned that Uriah had died in battle, he apparently
was relieved rather than remorseful,
for he glossed over the other casualties
and encouraged Joab to keep
fighting. Bathsheba mourned when she
learned her husband Uriah was dead, but then David married her and she bare
him a son (2 Samuel 11:16-27).
But there can be no joy when we disobey God to get what we
want, for “the thing that David had done
displeased the Lord (2 Samuel 11:
27). When a child of God sins, our loving, just and righteous
Father must correct us (Hebrews 12:6;
Revelation 3:19), just as an earthly father deals with a rebellious
child (Proverbs 13:24) for his own good, for that of others, and to restore
their relationship.
If verbal correction
is ineffective, physical chastening
may be needed, or even casualties with
disastrous repercussions for the child’s testimony,
his ministry, and his family. God first corrected David,
showing him his sin by using the prophet Nathan to compare David to a rich man
who took a poor man’s only lamb to prepare a feast for a visitor. When David
expressed self-righteous indignation at the cruel behavior of the rich man in the
parable, oblivious to his own sin, Nathan said “Thou art the man!” (2
Samuel 12:1-7).
Despite David’s repentance, expressed so vividly in many of
the Psalms he wrote, Nathan
warned that God’s chastening would wreak havoc on David, his family, and
his kingdom. God’s message to David
was that He had anointed him king, delivered him from his enemy Saul, and blessed him beyond measure. And yet
David had despised God, rebelled against His commandments, and did evil in His sight. God’s judgment
against David was that the sword of
violence would never leave his household, his own family would betray him, and his wives would be sexually assaulted in plain sight of all Israel (2
Samuel 12:7-12).
When David repented, God forgave him and spared his
life, but would take the life of
David and Bathsheba’s firstborn son. God’s reason for this judgment was
that David’s adultery and its aftermath led God’s enemies to blaspheme Him (2 Samuel 12:7-13-14). This may be
one of the most terrifying and sobering consequences of sin – that our sin
actually encourages, aids and abets God’s enemies. Do we really want to be on the wrong side of
God? (Romans 8:31)
The ensuing maelstrom of deceit, betrayal and bloodshed was far worse than that of
any soap opera or murder mystery. David’s son Amnon raped Tamar, who was his half-sister and David’s daughter,
and banished her from his sight,
which infuriated their brother Absalom.
He was so enraged that he plotted for
two years and eventually conspired to
assassinate Amnon, after which he lived
in exile (2 Samuel 13:21-14:24).
David was distraught, more so over the absence of his beloved Absalom than over the death of Amnon or the shame
of Tamar. He no longer ruled
effectively until he pardoned
Absalom and returned him to
Jerusalem, initially as a commoner rather than a prince. Almost
immediately, Absalom began plotting David’s overthrow, first by convincing David to restore him as a prince,
then by openly criticizing David and
winning over his own supporters.
Ultimately Absalom’s betrayal of David was so vile, thorough and shocking
that he marched on Jerusalem with
his troops, forcing David to evacuate; publicly
raped David’s concubines; and considered murdering David but instead began a civil war. A string of deaths
ensued, not only troops in combat,
but also Absalom’s murder by Joab
and the suicide of Ahithophel, one
of Absalom’s advisors (2 Samuel 14:28-19:8).
David’s response to all this included agonizing heartbreak (2
Samuel 12:16), an attempt to
restore leadership while passing the reins to Solomon (1 Kings 1-2), and his intense need to renew his fellowship with God. He prayed (2 Samuel 12:16),
wrote and perhaps even sang in the Psalms that God would create
a clean heart in him, renew a right
spirit in him, and restore to him
the joy of his salvation (Psalm 51:10-12).
If we choose sin,
refuse repentance, and continue to rebel against God, His
judgment will demand correction, chastening and even casualties. Ultimately, He may turn His
wayward child over to Satan for destruction
of the flesh, to prevent further
damage to God’s kingdom, while preserving
his spirit eternally in heaven (1
Corinthians 5:1-13).
If a man such as David, a man after God’s own heart, could fall so far, and yet be restored and used by God, there is hope for all of us. May we heed this dire
warning not to linger in temptation,
lest we sin and fall into a downward spiral of ever worsening transgressions.
© 2017 Laurie Collett
