Quite often David’s adultery with Bathsheba is used by Christian people as a means of support or encouragement to those who have fallen into sin. There is no doubt that David repented and that God forgave Him and used Him for His glory. This is a tremendous testimony to the grace of God and His redemptive power. However, I feel that many times we shorten the narrative and ignore the consequences of his sin.
Yes, Uriah died. Yes, David’s reputation was forever tarnished. However, the consequences of this one act of adultery were far greater than we portray. Here is just the earthly consequences we have recorded in Scripture.
David’s daughter was raped.
Ten other women were raped.
Three of David’s sons died.
The nation entered into a Civil War.
20,000 men died in that war.
Read through that list again and let each sentence truly sink in. Those were real people with real feelings. Any one of these things would devastate us. Just the loss of one child is enough to drive the strongest of us to our grave in sorrow. However, all of these things happened to David, his family, and his nation because of one sin.
I mention this because we can use David’s sin as an excuse for our own sin or as a reason to turn a blind eye to the sins of our leaders. We tell ourselves that we can sin, ask for forgiveness, and move on. After all that is what happened with David right? He sinned, asked for forgiveness, and everything was great! Right? Wrong! Our sins have devastating consequences in this life. If we do not repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness, our sins will bring about even greater consequences in the life to come.
So the next time you think of how God used David after his adultery remember this: David paid a heavy, heavy price for his sin. His sin affected his children and his nation in truly horrible ways. However, David’s sins produced a far greater devastation for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as He bore David’s adultery on the cross. This should cause us to tremble at even the slightest thought of sin and cause us to praise God for His matchless, restoring grace.
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