Good morning,
King David was a great man. He wrote many of the Psalms, was a leader of men, and God testified of him, “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill my will.” But David had a darker side. This week we will be looking at the circumstances that led up to David writing Psalm 51. Verses 10, 12, and 13 make up this week’s Scripture song.
Today we will look at David’s Sin Revealed (2 Samuel 12:1-13), Thursday, David’s Repentance (Psalm 51:1-12), and Friday, David’s Changed Focus (Psalm 51:13-19).
David thought he got away with his cover-up. Uriah is dead, Bathsheba is now David’s wife, and they have a child on the way. All is well.
God knew what David had done and now his sin was to be revealed. God sends Nathan to tell David a story. The story helps David realize his sin. Sin has consequences. Verses 8-13 tell what happens to David and his family.
DAVID’S SIN REVEALED AND PUNISHED
2 Samuel 12:1-13
Story of the rich man and the lamb (1-6)
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 5And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
Nathan declares, “…Thou art the man…” (7)
7And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
Punishment (8-13)
8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Amnon. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
If you believe that there are no consequences to sin, let’s look at what happened to David. First, the illegitimate child dies (12:18). Second, his daughter Tamar was raped (13:11-14). Third, his son Amnon would be murdered (13:28). Fourth, his son Absalom would rebel and lie with his father’s wives in public (16:22) and would be killed in the rebellion.
The penalty for the actions of David was DEATH. God shows forth His mercy by not requiring David’s life. Then God allows David to continue to reign as King.
That means that if we are willing to confess our sins, repent, God is NOT through using us. He still has a mission for us. Our service for God is never finished till we are dead. God uses all yielded vessels for His glory.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001
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