2 Samuel 12:24-25 So Let Him Walk!

 ”Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.“ ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 

a. David comforted Bathsheba his wife: This is the first time the biblical writer called this woman Bathsheba except for the mere reporting of her name in 2 Samuel 11:3. Each time before this she is called the wife of Uriah. Only now, after the chastisement for sin, is she called Bathsheba his wife.

b. Went in to her and lay with her: This shows that God did not command that David forsake or leave Bathsheba, even though his marriage to her was originally sinful. He was to honor God in the marriage commitment he made, even though it began in sin.

i. Paul commands the same principle in 1 Corinthians 7:17: As the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. In part, this principle in context warns us against trying to undo the past in regard to relationships. God tells us to repent of whatever sin is there and then to move on. If you are married to your second wife, after wrongfully divorcing your first wife, and become a Christian, don’t think you must now leave your second wife and go back to your first wife, trying to undo the past. As the Lord has called you, walk in that place right now.

c. So she bore a son…. the LORD loved him: Here is the great forgiveness and tenderness of God. He did not hold a grudge against David and Bathsheba. The days of blessing and fruitfulness were not over for David.

i.  “David’s best sons came of Bath-sheba; because they were the fruit of their humiliation.” (Trapp)

d. He called his name Solomon: Remarkably it is this son– the son born out of a marriage that began in adultery – that will be heir to David’s throne. God chose this son among David’s many sons to be heir to the throne and the ancestor of the Messiah to demonstrate the truth that God forgives repentant sinners.

i. People may not forgive; we may refuse to really believe that we are forgiven. But God forgives repentant sinners.

e. So he called his name Jedidiah: The name Jedidiah means, “loved of the LORD.” It was God’s way of saying that He would love and bless this son of David and Bathsheba. (Guzik)

So Let Him Walk!

1 Corinthians 7:17 is an important principle, we can’t undo the past but we can repent and move on, move forward and the Lord will bless us just as He did with David and Bathsheba! 

Walk in humility, ”But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”“

‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

May we repent when we need to and “so let us walk” and move on humbly with our God!

Blessings 

2 Samuel 12:15-23 A Price Is Paid!

 ”Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”“ 

II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The LORD struck the child: This is hard for many to accept. Sadly, often the innocent suffers because of the sin of the guilty. Since the sickness came immediately after the words of Nathan the prophet, it was received as from the hand of God.

i. “The biblical writer does not hesitate to attribute directly to the Lord the sickness of this child, in accordance with the prophet’s word.” (Baldwin)

ii. This was far more tragic for David and Bathsheba than it was for the child himself. Their young son suffered for several days and we may trust that God’s comfort was extended to the child in the midst of suffering. At the end of his suffering, the child went to eternal glory. Though the child died, the chastisement was really upon David and Bathsheba and not upon the child.

iii. “God’s mercy to his erring and repentant children will be shown in converting the results of their sin into the fires of their purification.” (Meyer)

iv. This illustrates an important principle: even when sin is forgiven a price must be paid. God does not simply pass over or excuse our sin. It is forgiven, and a price is paid. Often an innocent party pays the price for forgiveness.

b. That Uriah’s wife bore to David: Though Uriah was dead, and David was legally married to Bathsheba, the biblical writer still referred to Bathsheba as Uriah’s wife. This is because when the child was conceived Uriah was alive and Bathsheba was Uriah’s wife. It is God’s way of saying, “Uriah’s death and the subsequent marriage doesn’t make everything alright.”

c. David therefore pleaded with God for the child: David was right to take the announcement of God’s judgment as an invitation to earnestly seek His mercy. When God’s judgment is announced or present, we shouldn’t receive it passively or fatalistically. We should cry out to God in repentance and ask for His grace and mercy.

d. David fasted…. the child died: This shows that extraordinary prayer and fasting do not change God’s mind. It put David in the right place to receive what he must from God, but it did not “force” God to change His plan.

i. Extraordinary prayer and fasting are not tools to get whatever we want from God. They are demonstrations of radical submission and surrender to God’s power and will.

e. He went into the house of the LORD and worshiped: This shows that David’s extraordinary prayer and fasting were answered. He had a sense of peace when the child died, knowing he did all he could to seek God’s mercy in a time of chastisement.

i. The ability to worship and honor God in a time of trial or crisis is a wonderful demonstration of spiritual confidence.

f. I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me: David was confident that his son would meet him in heaven. This is an indication that babies and perhaps children who pass from this world to the next will go to heaven.

i. 1 Corinthians 7:14 is an additional promise of assurance that the children of believers are saved, at least until they come to an age of personal accountability (which may differ for each child). However, we have no similar promise for the children of parents who are not Christians.

ii. If the children of non-Christian parents are saved and do go to heaven – even some of them – it is important to understand that it is not because they are innocent. As sons and daughters of guilty Adam, we are also born guilty. If such children go to heaven, it is not because they are innocent and deserve heaven, but because the rich mercy of God has been extended to them also. (Guzik)

A Price Is Paid!

Don’t miss this important principle! Out of mercy, God forgives our sin through His Son Jesus but because the Father loves His children discipline follows, so a price is paid for our sin. 

Blessings 

2 Samuel 12:13b-14 Deadly Cancer!

 ”And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”“

‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The LORD also has put away your sin: God’s forgiveness was immediate. God did not demand a time of probation. You shall not die meant that David would be spared the penalty for adultery commanded under the Law of Moses.

i. David believed the word of the prophet, “You are the man!” Therefore he could also believe the word, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”

b. You have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme: David did this by doing just what those enemies of the LORD would do in the same situation. What David did was not unusual among the kings and rulers of the world, but it should be unusual among God’s people.

i. “Hitherto all the king’s care had been to conceal his sin from the world, which yet he could not do with all his skill, for the enemies had got it by the end.” (Trapp)

c. The child who is born to you shall surely die: There is a difference in judgment for sin and judgment by sin. God forgave David’s sin, but He would not shield him from every consequence of the sin. David had to face the consequences of his sin, beginning with the death of the child born by Bathsheba.

i. This shows that God didn’t only want to heal David of the guilt of his sin; He also wanted to heal David of the presence of this sin. We never read of David committing adultery again because God used these chastisements to drive such impurities far from David. (Guzik)

ii. “Long before his sin with Bathsheba, there were various indications as to David’s special liability to temptation. That sin only threw out upon the surface the evil that was always within him; and now God, having him see that the deadly cancer is there, begins to use the knife to cut it out of him.” (Spurgeon)

Deadly Cancer!

My wife and I lead a twelve step bible study at our church and one thing I learned is that every human being has some sort of hurts, hangup’s or habits in their lives. It may not be readily identifiable to another person but it’s there. 

With David it was lust and I like what Spurgeon said, “God, having him see that the deadly cancer is there, begins to use the knife to cut it out of him.”

If you would allow God to use the knife, what deadly cancer would you allow Him to cut out of you?

Blessings 

2 Samuel 12:13a Cleanse Me!

 ”So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬a NKJV‬‬

a. I have sinned against the LORD: David’s confession is a good example. He placed the blame squarely on his own shoulders. He did not minimize his offense. David realized that he had especially sinned against God.

i. In the original Hebrew, David’s statement I have sinned against the LORD amounts to only two words: hata al-Yahweh. These two words, and the heart they reflect, show the fundamental difference between David and Saul. Confession doesn’t need to be long to be real and sincere. “The greatest griefs are not always the most verbal. Saul confessed his sin more largely, but less effectually.” (Trapp)

ii. “The words are very few, but that is a good sign of a thoroughly broken spirit. There is no excuse, no hiding, no concealment of the sin. There is no searching for a loophole, no pretext put forward, no human weakness pleaded. He acknowledged his guilt openly, candidly and without any denial of truth.” (Keil and Delitzsch)

iii. This was an exceptionally good response from a man of David’s standing in life. When confronted with sin, kings often say, “Off with their head.” David showed that God was working on his heart all along, and Nathan’s confrontation was just the last piece of that work.

iv. “In all this David was pre-eminently revealed as a man after God’s own heart. Other men who had been guilty of such failure might have defended their actions, might have slain the prophet. Not so with this man. He knew God, and he knew the wrong of his action, and he confessed his sin.” (Morgan)

b. I: David spoke of himself. It isn’t “we” though it was true that he was not the only sinner. Yet David knew that he had to deal with his sin. David showed personal responsibility for his sin.

c. Have sinned: David didn’t use elaborate or soft vocabulary. He sinned. It wasn’t a mistake, an error, a mess-up, an indiscretion, or a problem.

d. Against the LORD: This expressed the enormity of David’s sin. His sin against Bathsheba, against Uriah, against Ahithophel, against his wives and children, and against the nation were great. But his sin against the LORD was greatest of all. There are no small sins against a great God, and great sins are even greater.

e. I have sinned against the LORD: After meditation, David more eloquently expressed his repentance in Psalm 51.

i. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.... For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart – these, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:1-4; 16-17)

ii. David’s awareness of sin, desire for cleansing, recognition of God’s righteous judgment, and understanding of what God wants are each clear in Psalm 51. (Guzik)

Cleanse Me!

If we sin and if we repent, are we like Saul or like David?

”But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.“

‭‭I John‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Have you accepted the gift of His blood?

Blessings 

2 Samuel 12:11-12 Judgements

”Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”“

‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. I will raise up adversity against you from your own house: The Living Bible translates adversityas “rebellion.” God warned David that because he troubled another man’s house, God would allow trouble to come upon David’s house – from within the house.

b. I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor: As David violated another man’s wife, so another will violate his wives. This was fulfilled in 2 Samuel 16:21-22.

i. “Absalom abused his father’s concubines on the house-top: and haply on that same terrace from whence he first looked, liked, and lusted after Bath-sheba.” (Trapp)

c. You did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel: In these judgments, David will reap what he has sown – with interest.

Judgements

”Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.“ Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This is a hard truth! David will repent but he will still reap what he has sown. Unfortunately we are no better and one day we will all stand in judgement!

The question is, will Jesus be your advocate?

Blessings 

Jesus-Advocate

2 Samuel 12:10 Despised God!

 ”Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’“

‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The sword shall never depart from your house: God promised that from that day forward David would know violence and bloodshed among his own family members.

i. David demanded fourfold restitution for the man in Nathan’s parable. God exacted fourfold restitution for Uriah from four of David’s sons: Bathsheba’s child, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah.

b. Because you have despised Me: In 2 Samuel 12:9 God said that David despised the commandment of the LORD. Here Nathan explained that in doing this, David despised God Himself. We can’t despise God’s commandments without despising Him.

i. Many who live in either open or hidden sin seem to believe it has no effect or little effect on their relationship with God. But despising God’s commandment means despising God Himself, and we can’t have fellowship with God and despise Him at the same time. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:6)

c. The wife of Uriah the Hittite: God didn’t even use Bathsheba’s own name. He wanted David to consider Bathsheba not only as an individual but also as the wife of Uriah the Hittite. (Guzik)

Despised God!

“we can’t have fellowship with God and despise Him at the same time. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:6)”

Because of our human nature it’s easy to sin and walk in darkness and if we are truly are one of His then we should repent and walk in the Light.

What will David do now that he’s been confronted with his sins of adultery and murder?

Blessings