2 SAMUEL 12 - CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE

2 Samuel 12

There was a considerable time gap between David’s sins of adultery and murder and his confession and repentance. Uriah was buried and Bathsheba was nine months pregnant when David finally confessed to the Lord and repented – but this was only after a sobering confrontation with the Prophet Nathan.

David perhaps thought that time passed would cover over his sin, but time does nothing to clear the guilt of sin. Psalm 32 describes the state of David’s soul during that time of unrepentance, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”

Restoration from sin can only happen through confession and repentance, and even still there may be consequences for sin afterward. David confessed his sin when the Prophet Nathan told a story about a rich man stealing a lamb from a poor man. The story closely resembled what David had done in stealing the wife of Uriah. In a dramatic moment, Nathan said to David, “You are the man,” and David confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord.” (v. 1-7).

David came face to face with his own sin, and he could no longer resist God, so he made his confession (Read Psalm 51). Nathan then spoke the word of the Lord: God rebuked David for his lack of thankfulness for God’s blessings (v. 7-9) and God outlined the consequences of David’s sins (v. 10-14). These two things ought to keep a God fearer away from sin – thanking God for all of his blessing and dreading the consequences of sinning against God.

Nathan fulfilled his prophetic role and went home. King David was finally humbled in the sight of the Lord, and was glad to be back in fellowship with God. Blessings began to come to David again, but so did the consequences of sin. The first merciful blessing was that the Lord spared David’s life and allowed him to remain as King. However, the first consequence of sin was that David’s newborn child died in the first week of life. The death of a baby as consequence of sin might cause some to think that God is unmerciful, but the mercy of God still abounds in and through every consequence of sin (v. 15-19).

David had a keen ability to trust the goodness of the Lord even in that moment of terrible pain and loss. David knew that God’s heart was full of grace and mercy and that God was perfect and just in all his ways. When people were perplexed by David’s response to his child’s death, he confidently spoke about how he would be reunited with his child again. David would from then on live his life with a renewed hope of the life to come (v. 20-22).

With the comfort David had received from God, David was able to comfort his wife Bathsheba and he went into her. God mercifully blessed the grieving mother, and Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon. Nathan returned to prophesy and declared how much the Lord loved Solomon (Peace), so that he was also called Jedidiah (Beloved by God). (v. 23-25)

There is peace that comes when we know that we are loved by God. God loves us too much to let us stay in our sin. God loved us so much that he allowed his own Son to die for our sins. God understand the consequences of sin and he understands the death of a child. When David came out from his sin he returned to his calling as King and Champion - a responsibility he had shirked about nine months before. The Israelites finalized the victory at Rabbah, which has been at a standstill all during the time of David’s unrepentance (v. 26-31).

What victories might be missing in your life because of sin? What is the story that will grab your attention so that you say, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’? If you find yourself today holding onto your sin, cast yourself upon the mercy of God.  Look to Jesus who came as the savior through the line of David and Solomon. If God redeemed the life and lineage of David, by sending us the Savior of all sin, then God can and will redeem your situation today. Confess your sin to Jesus, turn back to him, and times of refreshment will come to you from the peace and love of God!