2 Samuel 12:1-15
We have all sinned, and many times we have felt the weight of the consequences of something wrong that we have done. And because this is so, all of us have asked ourselves the question: “Does God remove the consequences if He has forgiven our sin?” The truth we discover in God’s Word is that every sin has consequences, and God desires to warn us and protect us from them. A very instructive example along these lines is the rebuke and the punishment of David for his sin against Uriah the Hittite. In the story of the meeting between David and the prophet Nathan, we see not only God’s justice, but also His tactfulness and His love for us.
GOD’S WAY TO OUR HEARTS
This happened about nine months after the king of Israel had committed that dreadful and ugly sin — to commit adultery with the wife of a man who at that very same time was risking his own life on the battlefield for his king and for Israel, and then to have him killed by ordering that he be placed at the most dangerous point in the battle. Throughout all this time David lived cut off from God because of his sin. Outwardly he was prospering, but inwardly he was dying. Later he described his experiences during this most difficult period of his life — the period of unconfessed sin — like this (Psalm 32:3-4):
3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. (Psalm 32:3-4)
Throughout all this time David was melting away, “wasting away,” suffocating. He could not sleep; he did not know where to turn. He had lost the God who loved him. Outwardly he went on being king, but inwardly he was crushed. God, however, did not leave him. If David could not find his way to God, then for God it was not impossible to find His way to David (2 Samuel 12:1-7).
1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:1-7)
Many times we regard a rebuke as punishment and as a display of harshness. But if we look deeper into it, we will see God’s love and mercy toward us. In Hebrews 12:4-13 it says:
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. (Hebrews 12:4-13)
The first thing that strikes me as I read the story of David’s rebuke is that God found the exact way to reach David’s heart. Perhaps, if Nathan had accused David directly of his sin, David would have hardened his heart, taken the accusation as an assault on his royal authority, and ordered Nathan to be executed as a traitor. If he had been attacked head-on, David could have cut Nathan off at the very start: “There are no witnesses, there is no evidence. So all your accusations are groundless.” But under the leading of the Holy Spirit, God’s man did not approach directly, but indirectly. God did not want to harden the heart of His anointed one, but to break it. He knows how to touch us! And today He finds His way to our hearts, in order to touch our conscience.
First of all, God finds ways to a person’s heart in order to humble him. From the account we see that at the beginning, when he heard Nathan’s story, David seemed almost proud of the chance to pass judgment, proud of what a righteous ruler he was. Like Moses and Solomon, David too served as a judge over his people. In this position of his, he took pleasure in dispensing justice. The Word says that his “anger burned” against the stingy and unjust rich man, who by force, abusing his power, takes away the beloved little lamb of the poor man. But once he understands that in this case he is not the judge but the accused, David humbles himself. We are often inclined to judge others. But we must guard against being too harsh, because the Lord Jesus said (Matthew 7:1-2):
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2)
In Romans 2:1-5 the apostle Paul says:
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:1-5)
Yes, God finds ways to a person’s heart — either indirectly, as in the case with Nathan, or directly, as in the words of the apostle which we have just read. But in both cases His purpose is to humble us and to bring us to repentance. Notice that when David heard the heavy words, “You are the man,” he did not deny it, he did not object, he did not begin to defend himself or make excuses. He simply fell silent. This is exactly what we do when we feel guilty — we keep silent, because there is simply nothing we can say in our own defense.
But even if we have committed the most terrible sins, God does not desire to destroy us, but to save us. Therefore, instead of keeping silent about our sin, God rebukes us. And this rebuke is a display not only of severity, but also of mercy and love. Why is a rebuke a display of God’s mercy? Because it leads us to humility and repentance. Humility helps us to acknowledge our sin and to confess it. Repentance saves us. And all of this is God’s work. In Acts 11:18 we read that when the Jewish believers heard Peter’s account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the house of Cornelius, they said: “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Notice, here it says that God gives the repentance. It is a gift from God, which brings us salvation.
Humility is especially important for salvation, because it not only helps us to repent, but also gives us the strength to accept the consequences of our sin. True repentance includes not only recognizing, confessing, and being sorry for the sin, but also a readiness to bear its consequences.
THE SERIOUSNESS OF SIN
Still, why were there consequences for David’s sin, when he repented? Why are there consequences for us as well, even after we repent? First of all, because sin demonstrates a very bad attitude toward God. In verses 8-10 of our text it says that by his sin David despised God and His Word.
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ (2 Samuel 12:7-10)
This is a truly merciless and relentless accusation — an accusation so well-founded that it leaves no room whatsoever for a defense. If David had defended himself against it, he might have said a few things in his own defense — arguments that we too use in our own excuses. But all these supposed arguments were rejected in advance. What do we say when we defend ourselves for our crimes?
First: “You have to understand that I come from a broken family. I was not raised well. I did not receive enough care and love. I am a product of my past, and it was not a good one. So if I have done this terrible thing, I am sorry, but the fault is not mine alone; it belongs to my parents, and to society as a whole…”
Nathan, however, says to David: “You have received everything a person could wish to have, but you are a man who does not know what gratitude is. God has given you protection, honor, position, wives, and everything, and if something is lacking, simply ask God for it, and you will have it. Name just one need that God has not met in your life. Name just one thing you have been deprived of. But since you cannot, then for your craving to have what is forbidden by wronging your neighbor, there is no excuse.”
The second excuse we most often use is: “But I did not mean to do exactly this; I did it ‘by accident.’ I did not understand what I was doing. Things simply slipped out of my control.”
What was Nathan’s unanswerable reply on this point? “Look here, David, if anyone knows anything at all in Israel, it is the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). One of the very instructions of Moses was that the king should make himself a copy of the law and read it every day (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). Although you know them perfectly well, by your sin against Uriah you broke several of the Ten Commandments — you coveted, you committed adultery, you killed, and you covered up your sin.” David could not say that he had committed his crime out of ignorance or lack of knowledge. In spite of his knowledge of God’s will, David decided to do whatever he pleased, to be a god in his own life, and so he offended the God of heaven. Is this not what we do as well when we sin?
The third excuse we most often use is: “I did not do it; it is not my fault.” David and Joab had devised the following version: “In war, people die. Perhaps Joab would have been killed by the enemy anyway. Other people die in battle too. In the end, David did not personally kill Uriah — the Ammonites did.” So David could say: “No one can prove that I killed Uriah. I was not even there when he died.”
Nathan, however, would not allow such a way of slipping out. He speaks the truth plainly, and the truth has power. “You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. The guilt for his death is yours, because his death came about by your command!” We can hide our sin from people, but not from God, because He is everywhere present and all-knowing.
After all this, David had nowhere to hide. The brave prophet of God had openly named the hushed-up things that David had been covering for such a long time. Hushed-up things that were separating him from God, his Creator and King. Nathan’s accusing speech to the king was truly beyond appeal.
Of all David’s sins, the most serious was his contempt for God and His Word. To “despise” someone means to consider him pitiful, base, and unworthy. To despise the Word of the Lord means to consider it something small, insignificant, and undeserving of attention. Sadly, this is exactly our sin — hurling contempt at the Lord and His Word. Even when it is a matter of a sin committed not against God but against the people around us, this is still an offense against God. This is why, in Psalm 51, in which David writes his prayer of repentance, he says:
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. (Psalm 51:4)
THE SEED OF SIN AND ITS FRUIT
Deliberate sin is a hurling of contempt at God and His Word, and it cannot remain unpunished. God hates sin. When we repent, God will forgive us, but the punishment — that is, the consequences of our sinful actions — remains. Consider what would happen if everyone kept sinning and repenting, and then sinning and repenting again, and this were repeated over and over, and God simply forgave and forgave… Then our actions would have no significance. Then there would be no difference between good and evil, then there would be no change, there would be no sanctification. If we do not experience the consequences of our sin, we will not grasp its seriousness. This is why Nathan pronounced such a heavy sentence against David:
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ” 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. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” (2 Samuel 12:11-14)
When David listened to Nathan’s story about the wicked rich man who, because of his greed, took the one little lamb of the poor man, he judged that because of his crime the man deserved death and would pay for the lamb four times over. In this way he pronounced his own sentence. When we trace the story of his family from here on, we see that his newborn son fell ill and died; his daughter Tamar was raped by her half-brother Amnon; Amnon was killed by Tamar’s full brother Absalom. Then Absalom rebelled against David, and had it not been for God, he nearly took the kingdom from him. But in the end, he too was killed when he became caught among the branches of the trees and Joab pierced him with his arrows (2 Samuel 18:14). Later, even after David’s death, Adonijah was also killed. The newborn son, Amnon, Absalom, Adonijah — four lambs for one.
And not only this, but during Absalom’s rebellion his son went in to his harem and thereby dishonored him (2 Samuel 16:20-22).
20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?” 21 Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. (2 Samuel 16:20-22)
When God restored David’s kingdom, David never again went in to them (2 Samuel 20:3).
3 When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but had no sexual relations with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows. (2 Samuel 20:3)
What do we see here? Still more death and still more adultery… Do you see, sin is not only a hurling of contempt at God and His Word, but also a spiritual seed — a seed that gives birth to death. In Galatians 6:7-8 the apostle Paul says:
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
Not only Paul, but the apostle James says something similar (James 1:13-15), for by the mouth of two or three witnesses every serious spiritual truth is confirmed.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)
Do not be deceived! What is the deceit of sin that we so often fall for? That our sin will have no consequences. Perhaps it would be good if it were so, but sadly it is exactly the opposite. Sin is like a seed, and it yields abundant fruit — but not good fruit, not the fruit of life, but the fruit of death. If we sow sin in our lives, then we must be ready to reap its consequences.
RESPONSIBILITIES CORRESPONDING TO OUR PRIVILEGES
David deserved death. According to the Law, both adultery and murder are crimes deserving a death sentence, and this was also the sentence he pronounced upon himself after he heard Nathan’s parable. Nevertheless, God was merciful and did not take his life. When David heard God’s sentence for his sins, he confessed and said: “I have sinned against the Lord.” This repentance of his softened his sentence and gave God occasion to spare his life. Hearing David’s confession of sin, Nathan said: “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” Yet even so, he did not stop there. Yes, when we repent, God forgives our sin and saves our life, but the consequences of our sin remain. Nathan went on and said: “But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
David was the king of Israel. Because of this, he was responsible before the people for his actions. We are not kings of Israel, but we are children of God, “fellow citizens with God’s people and members of his household.” So our responsibility before God is no less than David’s. Moreover, we are responsible for how we represent God before the people with whom we live. I will not tire of repeating Paul’s words from Romans 2:17-24:
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:17-24)
David’s position and his rank were high, and therefore the punishment for his sin was great. The closer we are to God, the stricter He is toward our sin. Because, since we bear His Name, our sin brings reproach upon God’s name. As the Lord Jesus said in Luke 12:48:
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. (Luke 12:48)
And to us much has been given. The closer we are to God, the higher God’s standard of holiness is for us, and the greater the consequences for our sins. This is so because we who are closer to God know God and His Word better, we know His attitude toward sin, we know what grieves His heart and what makes Him glad. And if, in spite of all this knowledge, we still choose to sin, thinking that God will forgive us, then we must know that, yes, God will forgive us, but our sins will have consequences in our lives — and these will be consequences that are brought upon us not by God, but by ourselves. As we have seen today, God forgave David, but David bore the consequences — the death of his children and the loss of his concubines. If we sincerely repent, God forgives, but the consequences remain. They remain in order to teach us to be careful in the rest of our actions, and in order to bring us closer to God.