THE IMMUTABLE LAW OF REAPING

INTRODUCTION

There is a principle taught in Scripture that would save us a great deal of hurt if only we would heed its wisdom

Galatians 6:7 KJV 1900

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

This principle is an immutable law of God. What you sow – you reap!This principle is stated in other forms in the Bible:

Eliphaz stated…

Job 4:8 KJV 1900

8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow wickedness, reap the same.

Hosea stated…

Hosea 8:7 KJV 1900

7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: It hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: If so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

This is a principle that is worth talking about, because it could save you and me a world of hurt

There is a story in the Old Testament that shows this immutable law in action. It is the tragic story of the consequences of David's sin with Bathsheba

In 2 Samuel 11 we have the story of David’s sin

The adultery, the pregnancy, the murder, the cover-up

The cover-up ended, when God sent Nathan to expose David using a parable – it was effective

2 Samuel 12:13 KJV 1900

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.

Notice how quickly the response of God’s forgiveness came once the confession was made

That should be an encouragement for us not to delay in our confession of sin

But notice, even though we can be forgiven of sin, we may still have to suffer the consequences.

This is that immutable law of sowing and reaping

2 Samuel 12:10–12 KJV 1900

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 neighbour, 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.

Even though forgiven, we still must reap what was sown

Notice in these verses that David reaped in kind what he had sown.

In David’s family, from then on, there would be adultery (someone close to David would lie with his wives in broad daylight) and murder (the sword would never depart from his house)

Don’t miss that word “never” in verse 10. David would be reaping the crop he had sown the rest of his life

So that we can get the full impact of these implications, let’s trace the consequences of David's sin through the next few chapters.

There are eight separate consequences that David had to deal with

DISCUSSION

David’s Own Wives Were Violated

2 Samuel 12:11 KJV 1900

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 neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

Absalom rebelled and took control of the palace

Ahithophel gives Absalom advise…

2 Samuel 16:20–22 KJV 1900

20 Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. 21 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. 22 So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

Notice where the act took place – on the roof, the same place where the sin with Bathsheba took place

The reaping of what was sown was reaping in kind

Death of the Child Conceived in Adultery

Notice another of Nathan’s predictions regarding what David would have to reap due to his sin

2 Samuel 12:14–19 KJV 1900

14 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. 15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

Perhaps the thing to notice here is the earnest plea of David to spare the child.

He didn’t eat for seven days! He slept out on the cold hard ground.

Yet, God did not spare the baby.

Why? Why didn’t God spare the child? Certainly David was sincere in his plea. The answer is found in...

2 Samuel 12:14 KJV 1900

14 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.

It is important to understand that no amount of pleading can take away certain consequences of sin – this should be a strong deterrent to sin

The Rape of Tamar

Tamar was David’s daughter who was raped by one of David’s sons – Ammon

2 Samuel 13:1–2 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.

Ammon was love sick for his sister, and his cousin suggested that he play sick as a plan for getting Tamar into bed

The result of the plan is seen in...

2 Samuel 13:11–14 KJV 1900

11 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. 12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. 13 And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. 14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.

The irony of all of this is that David did nothing about it – notice David’s reaction...

2 Samuel 13:21 KJV 1900

21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.

This is all David did, got mad

Well … how could he do otherwise?

He was also guilty of a sex sin.

Ammon could have easily frustrated David’s discipline by saying, “But Dad, I learned it from you.”

Parents we need to practice what we preach, or discipline in our home will be meaningless

You see, the field in which all the seeds David had planted came up in his family

The Hatred Between Brothers in David’s Family

2 Samuel 13:19–22 KJV 1900

19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. 20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. 22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.

This hatred went on for two years

What do you suppose it would have been like to visit the palace in those days?

What do think it would be like to be in a house full of hate

Where did all this hatred come from?

It was all the fall out of David’s sin with Bathsheba!

The Murder of Ammon

You don’t hold the kind of hatred Absalom had for Ammon inside very long.

Sooner of later it comes out.

And in this case, it came out in murder.

2 Samuel 13:23–29 KJV 1900

23 And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. 24 And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. 25 And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him. 26 Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee? 27 But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. 28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. 29 And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.

I firmly believe that, had David known what a few moments of passion was going to cause him in heartache to follow, he would never have sinned with Bathsheba.

That was the problem – he didn’t think ahead

Many today are not considering the consequences of sin

Two of David’s sons are now dead because of David’s uncontrolled passion for women

Runaway Son

2 Samuel 13:37–39 KJV 1900

37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. 39 And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.

Absalom runs away and ends up at his grandfather’s house

Notice what this caused David:

Misery from mourning – that went on for days

The missing of his son – this went on for three years

Joab Kills Absalom

Absalom returned home after 3 years, but he and David were never close – the bitterness was never resolved.

Unresolved bitterness comes out in due time

Absalom led a rebellion against his father

David’s son was killed in battle

David was devastated by the news…

2 Samuel 18:33 KJV 1900

33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

There is no greater mourning than the mourning of a loss that you know was your own fault

But this wasn’t the end. There was yet one more loss for David to bear before he died…

The Death of Adonijah

David was getting old and near death. It was time to make known his successor – it was Solomon.

1 Kings 1:28–31 KJV 1900

28 Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. 29 And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30 Even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. 31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.

Under normal circumstances that would have been the end of it.

But that sword that Nathan had predicted still had not departed from David’s house.

Adonijah was David's oldest living son, and he thought he should be king…

1 Kings 1:5–6 KJV 1900

5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.

David had Solomon, though, hurriedly anointed king

Adonijah knows he could be put to death as a rival

He begs for mercy ... the response...

1 Kings 1:52–53 KJV 1900

52 And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. 53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.

Later, after the death of David, Solomon has his brother put to death...

1 Kings 2:23–25 KJV 1900

23 Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. 24 Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. 25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.

This is fourth son David loss to death

CONCLUSION

Remember, after Nathan’s parable, David’s response?

2 Samuel 12:5–6 KJV 1900

5 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: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

He demanded a fourfold restitution, which was what the law of Moses required

Now count the sons whom David lost in death: the child born to Bathsheba, Ammon, Absalom, and Adonijah.

A fourfold restitution. An exacting punishment.

The immutable law of reaping