David and Bathsheba Part 6
David has been confronted by Nathan, the prophet, about his sin. David has confessed and asked for forgiveness. God has forgiven David. So, it’s all over, right? Not hardly. Let’s backtrack a little bit. Look back at what David said should happen to the rich man who stole the lamb. David said the man should restore to his neighbor fourfold and then he should die. Fourfold means that he should pay his neighbor back 4x the amount that he stole. But on top of this, David thought the man should lose his life.
God tells David in verse 13 that he will not take his life. But He never says that there are not consequences. When David mentioned the repayment of 4x what was stolen, he was actually quoting God’s law as it was given to Moses. So, David is quick to use God’s law to condemn one man, while David has just finished violating at least four of the Ten Commandments in a very short period of time. Those commandments were:
1. Thou shalt not kill
2. Thou shalt not steal
3. Thou shalt not covet
4. Thou shalt not bear false witness
David had become so blind to what he had become. What we shall see is that God actually takes David’s suggestion of punishment. He will actually require payment by David of fourfold.
Consequence #1
“And Nathan departed unto his house, and the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died.”
2 Samuel 12:15,18a
The first payment for what he did for David was the death of the child that Bathsheba bore. The product of their infidelity was taken by God.
Consequence #2
“Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.”
2 Samuel 13:14
David’s son Amnon fell in love with his half-sister, Tamar. He let his feelings grow so strong that he raped her while pretending to be sick. In the aftermath of this happening, Absalom, Tamar’s brother finds out about what happened. He then kills Amnon in revenge for his sister. David’s second payment for his sin was very costly as he lost a son who also raped David’s daughter.
Consequence #3
David’s son, Absalom rebels against his father and attempts to overthrow his kingdom. 2 Samuel 15-18 reveals how devious Absalom is in trying to win the hearts of the Israelites away from his father. David’s people and family are torn apart.
Consequence #4
“Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.”
2 Samuel 18:14-15
David’s final repayment for his sin was the loss of a second son, Absalom. As we see, David did not escape punishment even though God forgave him of his sin. We need to remember that, while we may say I’m sorry to God, it still does not remove the consequences of our actions. Today’s society thinks that there should be no consequences for what we do. It thinks that there should be no ripple effect when the rock hits the water. We don’t live in a vacuum. Our actions and decisions have consequences. They can be good and they can be bad according to what we have done. The biggest consequence for our sins, is the fact that Jesus had to die in order for us to be able to escape hell. While David paid a temporary price for his sins that we have been looking at, Jesus paid the ultimate price for David. And He does the same for us.
I do want to point out that God did, once again, take a bad situation and bring some good out of it. David and Bathsheba did end up having another child. This child’s name was Solomon. He ended up being the wisest man who ever walked on this earth according to the Bible. He also is the line of David that God would use to bring the Messiah into this world. God is so merciful and gracious. He could have written David off. But, instead He chose to save the world through him.
Psalm 51 is a psalm that David wrote after being confronted by Nathan about his sin. You can feel the sorrow that David has for what he has done as you read this Psalm. David is truly sorry and heart-broken for what he did. This is an example of true confession and repentance. David was sorry for what he did. So often we are not really sorry for what we did. We are sorry that we got caught. One of my favorite verses is found in this chapter.
“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
Psalms 51:12
David never lost his relationship with God. He just got away from God to the point that he wasn’t able to enjoy the relationship. David knew that he was always going to belong to God no matter what happened in life.
Great series of messages!