What do you think was the worst sin David ever committed?
2 Samuel 11,1-5: David sent his army to fight against their enemies. He didn’t join them but rather stayed in Jerusalem in his nice palace. Then, one evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman taking a bath. When he saw her, he desired her. He wanted to know who she was. His servants told him that she is the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah.
Bathsheba’s husband and her father were war heroes. They belonged to the best soldiers that David had. Eliam was the son of Ahitophel (2. Sam. 23,34-39). Ahitophel was one of David’s consultants. And in fact, he was the best consultant that David had. Bathsheba was the grand-daughter of David’s best consultant and the daughter and wife of 2 of his best soldiers. David committed adultery with one of his soldier’s wife. His soldiers were risking their lives to protect the country and to protect their king and he had sex with their wives and their daughters. How stupid can you be as a king? That’s how you destroy the loyalty and morale of your soldiers. David’s servants warned him. They told him that this woman is married to a war hero. But he didn’t care. David sent messengers to get her. She came to him. And he slept with her. What he didn’t consider was that she would get pregnant.
There is a certain order or sequence of sin in the Bible.
James 1,14-15: But each person is tempted by their own evil desires. These desires lead them on and drag them away. When these desires are allowed to remain, they lead to sin. And when sin is allowed to remain and grow, it leads to death.
What is the order or sequence of sin in the Bible?
Evil desire, temptation, sin and death.
There will always be evil desires and lust in our hearts. We can’t change that. Our old sinful nature will always be evil and it will always be there. We cannot get rid of the evilness of our hearts here on earth. When we are born again we are made knew, but there will always be temptation. Our evil desires and lusts tempt us to do evil. Temptation is not sin. Sin is sin and temptation is temptation. Temptation becomes sin when we give in to it. When you don’t fight against temptation it becomes sin. Temptation triggers sin. If you remain in those evil desires, they will lead to sin. If you have an evil thought and you continue to think about it, it is a sin. David saw this woman and he was tempted by his own lust and evil desires. He gave in to those desires and committed adultery with Bathsheba.
Where in this story do we find evil desire, temptation, sin and death? Where is death in this story?
When David heard that Bathsheba was pregnant he tried to hide it by making sure that her husband comes home from the war and has sex with his wife so that everybody thinks that the child would be his. But that didn’t work out, so David made sure that Uriah gets killed during the war. Then he married Bathsheba in order to hide his sin. Everything had worked out for David. Nobody would think that Bathsheba’s child was conceived during their adultery. The servants who knew about it wouldn’t say anything to anybody, so David was safe. His dark secret was well hidden. But God saw this darkness and He hates darkness and sin. So, God sent Nathan a prophet to David to convict David of his adultery and murder. David’s punishment for his adultery and murder was that four of his son’s had to die and that there would always be tragedy in his family. The result of sin is always death. Every sinner must die. There is no way out. But there are 2 options. You can die and be dead forever or you can die and live forever. Every sinner must die. Either sinner die through hell or sinners die through rebirth and renewal. Death from hell means eternal death. Death through rebirth means eternal life. Rebirth means that my old human nature dies so that Christ can live in me. Man’s heart is cleansed through rebirth and through the Holy Spirit. Our old, stony and stubborn heart is exchanged for a new heart. The old, stony heart was not able to do GOD’S will because it hated GOD and didn’t want GOD. The new heart was enabled by GOD to do what He commands. The heart of stone disobeyed, the heart of flesh obeys. Re-birth is a baptism with the Holy Spirit of God, qualifying us to obey God. GOD liberates us from our sin and our sinful nature through rebirth. We are born again through the living Word of GOD (cf. 1 Pet. 1:23). Rebirth is mandatory. Rebirth is a new birth of our heart. Rebirth means that the Spirit of GOD takes possession of our heart, mind and soul. GOD gives us a new spirit. GOD brings about rebirth.
What do you think: How did David feel after he committed such terrible sins?
Psalm 32: David was groaning all day long. His bones wasted away. His body became weaker and weaker. He became sick. David knew that he was guilty. He had a bad conscience. Sin is terrible and dangerous. Not only did David have small specks of sin in his eyes, he had committed large and serious sins that had fatal consequences for himself, for the people of Israel, and for David’s family. David’s sin had given rise to blasphemy by the enemies of God, and that is no small matter in the sight of God. Not every sin is equal before GOD. Every sin is big enough to deserve eternal hell. People will receive different punishments in hell depending on how they lived. GOD will judge and punish every single one of their works. When people have not believed in Christ, they will be judged by the standards that GOD has revealed to us in His Word. David deserved death for what he did. Not only did he deserve eternal death like all of us, but he deserved the death penalty under the corporate law of the time that GOD had given. The law did not punish every sin with the death penalty, but only the worst sins. GOD knew David would commit all the horrific acts he did, and He still called him a man after His own heart. The sins David committed were certainly not after God’s heart, but David was forgiven because he repented. GOD was well pleased with David. David was a man after God’s own heart.
We all sin. David had sinned. We all grieve the Holy Spirit. We all need to work on our relationship with GOD. But do you really want a close relationship with GOD? Do you love GOD at all?
There are 2 aspects of sin. The first one is: Sin is like a sickness. The second aspect is: Sin is a crime, an offense or a transgression.
Mark 2,17: On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’
1 John 3,4: Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact, breaking the law is sin.
In Psalm 32 we read that David felt sick because of his sin. He tried to hide his sin and it made him feel terrible. Jesus Christ had to heal us from the sickness of sin and forgive us the guilt of sin. Today, unfortunately, the sickness aspect of sin is overemphasized and man’s guilt is concealed or downplayed. But GOD shows us very clearly that both aspects of sin must be considered equally. Sin is like the venom of a serpent that sickens and poisons our bodies. Our souls have been poisoned by this serpent’s venom and become mortally ill. The devil was the serpent that poisoned the soul of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Christ heals us from this poison and from this sickness of death. However, sin is not just a poison that has entered the human soul from outside, it is also a violation of GOD’s commandments and a rebellion against GOD. Sinners are not just poor, sick souls in need of a doctor, but also rebels and enemies of GOD in need of forgiveness. Man has to be blamed for sin and the consequences of sin. Man is responsible for his sin. He is not innocent but guilty. GOD sent His Son into this world to save people from GOD’s judgment. GOD could have judged the world without coming to this earth first. The judgment of mankind was already established before the fall in the garden of Eden. Man knew that if he eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he must surely die. GOD had warned people and revealed the consequences of disobedience to them, but they didn’t want to listen to GOD. They believed the devil more than GOD. They wanted sin and they chose unbelief. We are not sentenced to eternal death because of the sins we have committed. We are sentenced to eternal death for our unbelief. Our belief or unbelief determines whether we will be judged and punished for our sins or whether we will be forgiven because Christ paid for us. If I believe in Jesus Christ, all my sins will be forgiven and I will live forever. If I don’t believe in Jesus Christ, I won’t be forgiven for my sins and saved from God’s judgment and eternal death. The reason people are judged isn’t because they’ve sinned more than other people, it’s because they didn’t believe in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, GOD offers us a solution to man’s sickness and guilt. But this solution must be accepted as the only way out. When people love darkness more than light, there is no way out for them. When people love sin more than Jesus than there is no light in them. We need Christ and we need to come to Christ. God could not simply replace our impurity and unholiness with His own purity and holiness, as light displaces darkness. Guilt must be paid in order to achieve guiltlessness. Guilt can only be atoned for by payment. Sickness must be cured in order to attain health. Health cannot simply displace illness. The disease must first be removed and cured for the state of health to return. Christ had to take upon himself our guilt and our sickness in order to give us innocence, purity, holiness and health.
Christ knows what it is like to be tempted. He knew temptations and trials. The Lord was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. But He was also tempted and tried by much suffering. Jesus can feel it when we are weak and hurting. We have a Lord who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. But he did not sin (Heb. 4,14-16). In Jesus we will find grace and mercy to help us when we need it.
When you feel terrible and condemned because of your sin, Jesus waits for you to forgive you. He forgave David because David confessed his sins, which didn’t mean that David didn’t have to face the consequences of his sin. David was able to find joy in God and forgiveness. God didn’t give up David. He still loved David and had a future plan for David. David’s sin messed up his life, but God had prepared a way for David. In most Verses in Psalm 32 David speaks about God or with God, but in Verse 8 God speaks with David. There is promise of God in Psalm 32.
Psalm 32,8: I will guide you and teach you the way you should go. I will give you good advice and watch over you with love.
Jesus saves and Jesus forgives sin. Ask Him for forgiveness, repent and turn away from your sin.