Forgiveness and Mercy
I want to be succinct in this post, so please consider each work carefully. Sin is deadly serious. God never winks at any sin, but He does forgive and show mercy, as David experienced after his terrible sins.(II Samuel 12:13,14) Even when God forgives a sin and shows mercy, there may be drastic and lasting consequences, so we will be deterred from sinning more. Let's consider David's case.
David lusted in his heart, committed adultery, tried to corrupt a man of integrity, committed murder, and did all of this with a hard heart. It was not until Nathan confronted him that he showed sorrow over his sins and repentance. It was only then that God forgave him and sent away his sin. He saw David's heart.(Psalm 51) However, the baby died, and David had family problems the rest of his life, related to this sin.
God was merciful to David, even in this. David should have died. The Bible is clear. Anyone who takes a life in premeditated murder, as David did, should die. God did not kill him. That was His mercy to David, in that he did not get the full punishment. He still had to watch an innocent baby die. Sin affects those around us, not just us, no matter what we think. He had to endure much heartache, because his actions allowed others to blaspheme the Lord. God hates that.
In the end, though, Bathsheba became David's wife and bore him a son, who lived. That son was Solomon. Wow! God gave the next king through an adulterous marriage that was made possible by murder. I would say He gave David a new start. As far as I can tell, David stayed true to the Lord after that. He had to depend on God's grace to deal with the consequences of his sins for the rest of his life. It would have been much better, if he had just done the right thing the first time, but God gave him another chance. This is a story of God's forgiveness and mercy. Let's learn from it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 13-15.
David lusted in his heart, committed adultery, tried to corrupt a man of integrity, committed murder, and did all of this with a hard heart. It was not until Nathan confronted him that he showed sorrow over his sins and repentance. It was only then that God forgave him and sent away his sin. He saw David's heart.(Psalm 51) However, the baby died, and David had family problems the rest of his life, related to this sin.
God was merciful to David, even in this. David should have died. The Bible is clear. Anyone who takes a life in premeditated murder, as David did, should die. God did not kill him. That was His mercy to David, in that he did not get the full punishment. He still had to watch an innocent baby die. Sin affects those around us, not just us, no matter what we think. He had to endure much heartache, because his actions allowed others to blaspheme the Lord. God hates that.
In the end, though, Bathsheba became David's wife and bore him a son, who lived. That son was Solomon. Wow! God gave the next king through an adulterous marriage that was made possible by murder. I would say He gave David a new start. As far as I can tell, David stayed true to the Lord after that. He had to depend on God's grace to deal with the consequences of his sins for the rest of his life. It would have been much better, if he had just done the right thing the first time, but God gave him another chance. This is a story of God's forgiveness and mercy. Let's learn from it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 13-15.