The Sin - The Repercussions

“So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this ^[a]shall surely die!  And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.  I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!  Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. – 2 Samuel 12:5-9

2 Samuel 12 begins with the Prophet Nathan coming to David.  He was sent by God to talk to David about the repercussions of his sin.  David had taken the wife of Uriah in adultery while Uriah was at war, and then caused the death of Uriah and several others by having him killed at war.

Reading this passage this morning, God spoke to me about what He truly hated about this act.  It’s the same thing I believe He hates about every sin.  This sin hurt someone innocent.

Notice that even in David’s reply to Nathan, David sees the sin in the heart as “he had no pity”.  David didn’t recite a law not to kill another man’s sheep, but directed attention to the root cause.

Jesus spoke in Mathew 22:37-40 about the greatest commandments of all.  They’re not actions that God hates, such as adultery.  It’s the effect they have on others.  The passage reads: “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.””

These two commandments were the basis of all 613 laws given in the Old Testament, meaning if you follow these two – you won’t break the others.  At the core of both are one thing – LOVE.  Love is from the heart, and God looks upon the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Without love, you can do some terrible things, things that hurt those around you!  But with Love, the kind of love God demands from us, we can only do good by others. 

Friends, if God looks upon our hearts, shouldn’t we carefully examine the love we have for others?  Our lives are happier when we live as God has asked us to, instead of dealing with the repercussions our sins can create.

What was David’s repercussions into his own life?  The child born out of that adulterous night died.  God promised that “the sword would never depart” from David’s family.  Murder plagued David’s ancestry. His many wives were taken by other men – just as David had taken Bathsheba – and not secretly has he had done but in broad daylight.  Enemies were raised against his house.  It’s and eye-for-an-eye kind of punishment David received. 

What would eye-for-an-eye punishment be like in our own lives?  Think about that for a while.  Meditate on it.  If that troubles you, ask forgiveness from those you harmed and from God.  God is ready and waiting to offer mercy and forgiveness.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8

“…but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13