He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy
(Prov. 28:13)
None of us are immune from making poor choices in our lives. David made a number of seemingly minor choices that snowballed into an avalanche of suffering, shame and tragedy. It started when he chose to stay at home in Jerusalem instead of going out to lead his troops into battle, as was his duty. David had too much time on his hands, which ultimately led to him committing adultery with Bathsheba and trying to cover up that sin with murder.
So God sent the prophet Nathan to tell King David a story: "There were two men in a town, one rich, one poor. The rich man had many sheep and cattle. The poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he raised like one of the family. The ewe lamb shared the man’s food, drank from his cup, and slept in his arms. One day, when the rich man had
a guest to entertain, he didn’t want to slaughter any of his own sheep or cattle, so he took the poor man’s lamb, killed it, and prepared it as a feast for his guest."
David responded: "The rich man deserves death!" he said. "He must pay the man four times the value of the lamb, because he did an unjust thing and had no compassion!"
Then Nathan turned to King David and said, "You are the man! 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. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own!’"
To his credit, David confessed and repented of his sins, and God forgave him.
God’s forgiveness restores the broken relationship between Himself and sinner, but forgiveness can’t make everything exactly as it was. Sin has consequences that forgiveness cannot change. David had consequences he had to live with for the rest of his life.
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