2 Samuel 11:9-14
Verse 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
The Lord was speaking to David though the prophet, Nathan, and the king was trying to come to grips with all it meant. The prophet was asking how he could do the thing he knew would displease God. His using the Ammonites to kill the innocent husband of Bathsheba showed David was acting in his own interest and not caring what God would say about his evil deed. Nathan told David even though his sin was done in secret his wives would be desecrated in view of the people of Israel.
Because he had used the sword of the Ammonites God told David his family will not escape violent situations. No one in their right mind likes violence and so it must have been hard for David to hear that his family would always know violence. He couldn’t begin to understand the ways it would reveal itself in his own children and their children after them. He was hearing some of the same news that Hagar had heard about her son, Ishmael. He would be someone that was wild, always ready for a fight and not well liked by others (Genesis 16:12).
It isn’t easy to hear things like this about our children but what David was about to hear would be much more devastating. Bathsheba was in a position where she could be stoned if people found out and David could be charged in Uriah’s murder. They had both done wrong against Bathsheba’s husband, but more importantly they had both sinned against God. The Lord was angry with them and had every right to strike them dead like as He had many people in the past, but He knew there was something which would hurt even more.
Hearing all of this David can’t help but repent. He had sinned and had led Bathsheba to sin as well. The king knew he deserved any punishment the Lord would decide to give him, even if it mean death. But killing the man which He had placed in power over His special people was not what God had in mind. David and his new wife would not suffer death but their new born son would die instead. It is hard enough to lose a child, knowing you will never hold them in your arms again, but to lose them because God is punishing you for sin would have been one of the hardest things that David and Bathsheba would have had to deal with in life. Each thought of the child would remind them of their sin and each memory of the sin would remind them they had a son who had died for it.
Making It Personal
How has someone else’s sin affected your life? Have you caused another person to suffer because of your sin? Why is it important you understand the pain caused by your sin?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever had something happen to you because someone else did something wrong? Has anyone ever had to suffer because you did something wrong? Is it important to understand the hurt sinning can cause?
Closing Prayer
Father, it is so easy for us to forget how our sins can affect other people. We can become so caught up in our sins which we are enjoying and forget there are consequences. Please help us come to hate our sin as much as You do by remembering what our sins cost You. In Jesus’ name, amen.