David & Bathsheba: Repentance & Consequence

Background

David saw Bathsheba and committed adultery (and rape) with her

He murdered her husband in order to cover up the affair

The child has already been born, so at least 9 months have passed since the affair

God Intervenes

David knows what he’s done is wrong (Conscience & Spirit) he’s not listening, so God’s intervention is gracious

God sends Nathan the prophet to confront David:

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! 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.’

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.”

Forgiveness Is Instant

David confesses he has sinned

Nathan: The Lord has taken it away

Good news: God wants reconciliation, not retribution

“If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(I John 1:9)

Sin need not distort our relationship with God. Genuine confession restores that relationship

PSALM 51

Saul was rejected - but his future behavior suggests his repentance was insincere

But Forgiveness Doesn’t Mean no consequences

If I set fire to your house, and I apologize, you still have no house, and I’m still an arsonist.

While God has taken away David’s sin, he hasn’t made everything like it never happened.

Often, consequences are just natural effects of things we do

David acts like a hypocrite

His children see the hypocrisy and it discredits God’s law

like a parent who claims faith, but doesn’t live it and children reject faith

His children loose their moral compass b/c of his work

Amnon rapes Tamar, Absolam murders Amnon, Absolom rapes David’s concubines,

When we sin, we open possible Pandora's box that even confession can’t always put right

Sometimes God allows consequences b/c they can be used for good

Solomon is a result of David’s sin - he is Bathsheba’s son - line of Kings from which Jesus comes

Forgiveness and Consequences are Separate

Don’t expect no consequences when forgiven

Don’t interpret consequences as sign of God withholding forgiveness.

Summary

Sin is serious - when we choose the way of sin, we may be choosing an irreparable harm

At the same time God is gracious - he will restore our relationship with him - the worst consequence is averted

But sin has consequences. It affects the sinner, their victims, the loved ones, the world

An ethic that says sin doesn’t matter b/c of grace is ignorant of the horrors caused by sin