The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However

2 Samuel 12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! ⁹ Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’” ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” ¹⁵ So Nathan went to his house.

Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. ¹⁶ David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. ¹⁸ Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm!” ¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate.

²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” ²² He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ ²³ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him ²⁵ and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake.

David is known in scripture as many things, God said of Him: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ (Acts 13:22) David is referred to as a “type” of Christ, an old testament example of Christ, David was a king and a deliverer. In many Psalms David wrote prophetically, speaking of and identifying with Christ. Psalm 69:21 says: They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.     In today’s text  we see the more of the human side of David, we see a man who has fallen into sin. The text deals with God’s confrontation of David’s sin with Bathsheba, through the prophet Nathan and the response of both David and of God.

Above all else the most critical element of this entire text is:     Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.      David acknowledges and confesses His sin and the Lord takes away his sin. Psalm 51 was written by David regarding his response to this event in his life. He says: Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight,(Psalm 51:4)    All sin is against God, He is the sinless and righteous one. Others may suffer consequences of our sin but sin is against God Himself, It opposes His righteousness and Holiness. 1 John 1:9 says:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.      As with David’s sin, God is already aware of our sin, it’s not that the confession of sin is revealing something to God that He is unaware of, it is that we ourselves need to acknowledge that we have sinned.

The word to David is:  “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.”     Romans 6:23 says: the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.   As with David, the Lord, Jesus Christ, through the cross, has taken our sins away. In Christ we have the promise of eternal life.  Psalm 103:11-12 says:  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.  As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.      Through the cross of Christ we are forgiven, our sins are removed, taken away, we no longer have to pay the price for our sin. Does that mean then that we can accept Jesus work on the cross as payment for our sin yet choose to go on sinning and still receive the benefits of forgiveness and salvation? The answer is maybe and no.

Is it possible for someone to continue in sin and remain saved? Arguments will, can and have been made for both sides of this, so I will say perhaps. It really is God who will determine and judge. None of us have all the answers or the responsibility to make that determination. One thing that is clear though is that there are consequences for our sin. We live in a cause and effect world. For every action there is a reaction. In the text today it says:    “ However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”   The child born to the adultery of David was not guilty of the sin, yet it was the child who died as a consequence of the sin. In the same way even though God may forgive our sins, the Lord may take them away, consequences for our sins will remain, consequences which can affect both ourselves and others. There are causes and effects, there are consequences for sin, even for forgiven sin. Let me give an example. If I choose to live in the sin of gluttony, if I over eat and don’t eat well, God may forgive that sin, He does not exclude me from eternal life with Him because of my sin of gluttony. However, there are consequences that I may still have for my choice. The consequences of sin are not God’s punishment. If I am a glutton I will gain weight, that’s not God’s punishment. There may be other consequences also, my choice to remain in my sin may cause me to not live as well as I would if I did not continue in my sin.

Jesus says:  “ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”(John 10:10)    Our choices affect our life. Do we live in the abundance Jesus came to give or do we choose to follow the one who steals, kills and destroys? God does not punish us for the sins which He has forgiven. He also does not bless sin. Every action we take causes an effect on our own lives and perhaps on the lives of others. When we choose to continue in sin we risk living with increased and continued consequences for our sin. We choose to live less than the abundant life of Christ.

There is one other aspect of this account of David’s sin and God’s response. We read in the text how David prayed, interceded, pleaded with God on behalf of the child and yet he died. We too may sometimes plead with God that the consequences of our sin might be reversed. Even when they are not, even when the worst outcome happens as a result or consequence of sin, that is not God’s punishment. After the child died the text says:  So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped.      David didn’t blame God for the consequences of his sin. He worshipped God even though it was the worst possible outcome. Today’s text ends saying: Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him.    That’s not the end of the story though. David’s son Solomon the second son born to David and Bathsheba is the one who would continue on his father’s throne. It is through Solomon that Jesus lineage is traced. God not only forgives our sins, but He is a redeemer and restorer. Out of the mess and chaos, out of the desolation and despair of the consequences of David’s sin God brought redemption and restoration, both for David and for the world. We may not escape the consequences of our sin but if we will, like David, be worshippers of God He will bring forth His redemption and restoration.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, my redeemer, the one who restores me thank You for the forgiveness of sin, that You no longer hold my sin against me. Holy Spirit lead me and guide me to be quick to recognize and confess my sin, to choose to follow Jesus. Help me to be a worshipper of God, not to blame Him for the consequences of my actions, that I may live in the abundance of Christ, redeemed and restored to all that God intends.   Amen