While I hate the story of David and Bathsheeba, even at our best, this is such a depiction of our humanness and our bent towards sin. It would be great if we could always keep ourselves in check and resist sin, but that’s not how we were created. Even David, who God had given everything to, and would have given him more, still desired something that was off limits to him:
2 Samuel 12:7-8 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.’
This says a lot about the nature of our Lord. He loves us and he wants to bless us, but we must learn to keep ourselves in check. We must learn to resist the temptations that come our way, and trust that the Lord’s way always brings blessing, and that while sin and wrongdoing may bring short-term fleshly fulfillment (and sometimes not even that), sin is always accompanied with consequences.
I think this is why it is so important to find a person or persons in our lives who will help hold us accountable. David, as king over the land, appears to have been enticed by his royal position and didn’t have or think he needed someone to help hold him accountable, and we see the consequence for his sin led to the life of his child.
Another point is that none of us are immune to sin, so it’s not if we’ll sin, it’s what our response is when we do sin. It’s unfortunate that David goes about his merry way and doesn’t repent on his own, but we see here he doesn’t get away with it forever. I love David’s heart when he is confronted by Nathan. He quickly acknowledges his sin (1 Samuel 12:13 “I have sinned against the Lord.”), he repents, is accepting of the consequences no matter how steep, he asks God to forgive him, to give him a pure heart, and he asks to be reminded of God’s salvation so that he can help others to turn to the Lord.
Psalm 51:3-4 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
This is a beautiful visual of what our response to sin should look like, whether we catch it ourselves or are confronted by someone else. It’s also a reminder that once our sin is forgiven, we need to move forward. David knows he’s a sinner, and that his iniquity deserves nothing more than death, yet he asks for forgiveness and turns his focus to the lost. I’ve seen so many times where Christian people get so discouraged by their sin or having to pay consequences for sin that they are literally unable to do anything good for the Lord. They get sucked into their own little pity party and therefore cannot be used by the Lord. David simply got over it. He knew he would always be a sinner, but he doesn’t let it hold him back from being used by God, as if he was no good. He used his sin as a reminder of God’s good salvation, and he shared it with others.
Isn’t that ultimately what we want the world to know about the Lord? Coming to the Lord has nothing to do with being perfect before we can come to Him, it’s acknowledging that we are sinners, that we will always be sinners, yet if we accept God’s grace, we will be saved sinners! Our sin covered with God’s grace should therefore be the driving factor behind sharing our faith with the rest of the world!
Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 4:6-8 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
My Ways Are Not Your Ways 