Consequences

David loved God. There is no doubt anywhere in the Bible about that.

Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (2 Samuel 7:22 KJV)

David said these words shortly after the prophet Nathan shared a God-given vision of the future of David’s house. Yet a short time later Nathan stood before David with a different message.

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 Samuel 12:1 KJV)

Thus begins the story of a rich man who took from the poor the man’s one beloved lamb. The story incensed David:

And 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: (2 Samuel 12:5 KJV)

David was not prepared to hear Nathan state:

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. (2 Samuel 12:7a KJV)

After Nathan listed all that God had done for David, and the sin David committed, David was ashamed – but punishment was still to come:

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. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. (2 Samuel 12:13-14 KJV)

A similar sin is mentioned by Paul:

Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. (Romans 2:23-24 KJV)

As examples of God’s power, mercy and grace, Christians are judged by non-Christians. Their sins become the hypocrisy the unsaved deride. “Look at that,” they say. “My life isn’t nearly as bad as what he did!”

Then we look at David’s punishment. Why the child? Why the innocent child who had no part in the sin? That decision was within God’s sovereignty. David’s repentance included accepting God’s decision.  After a week of prayerful intercession that the child’s life be spared, servants were unprepared to tell David of his death. Yet, David accepted it as God’s sovereign will, a consequence of his sin.

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. (2 Samuel 12:23 KJV)

Are we prepared to not only acknowledge our sins, turn away from committing them again and accept their consequences? Two out of three is not sufficient. Often, we ignore the first two and must live with the third, without benefit of the forgiveness David received.