2 Samuel 11:4-5 -Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
This morning as I was packing up to head out the door, I heard a news commentator talking about something someone did twenty years ago. My first thought was, “Seriously? Give it a rest already, that was years ago.” And then I said, “That’s the problem with sin!” I knew it was the Lord and that I would blog about it today.
David was having a time of leisure since his men were out to war. As he was on the roof of his castle he noticed Bathsheba taking a bath. Then he invited her over for an evening of pleasure and she got pregnant.
As a result of that sin, David continued to sin to cover up what he had done, displeasing God every step of the way. The prophet Nathan goes to David to basically let him know that he hadn’t gotten away with a single thing and God was bringing judgment to him because of his sin.
You see, David sinned of his own free will; but he could not control the consequences of his sin. And even though he confessed his sin and was forgiven of his sin, the consequences did not go away.
First, David did his sin privately, (as privately as a king can be) but his consequences were public and long reaching. In sinning, David gave God’s enemies a reason to blaspheme His name (12:14), then the baby died. Then his son Ammon raped his daughter Tamar, causing his son, Absalom, to kill Ammon. Then Absalom flees to another city for three years, but bitterness took root in his heart; and when he returned he turned the hearts of the people from David to himself.
He then takes over the throne causing David to run for his life, sleeps with David’s concubines on the top of the house (where his father probably saw Bathsheba) and was later killed by Joab. So much came against David as a result of his sin, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the consequences. He may have loved Bathsheba but I bet he wished he had left her alone.
You see, this individual they were talking about this morning, I am sure has moved on; but the world has not. They keep bringing his sin up. His family is constantly reminded of it. And so are his friends. The consequences his sin brought to his door was more than he bargained for.
That’s the problem with sin! It may feel good at the moment and make you feel as if you are on top of the world. It may stroke your ego and cause your feathers to plume, but when all the fanfare is over, there will be a price to pay and consequences that last a lifetime. I like what our Pastor says, “Sin will take you farther then you wanted to go and keep you longer than you wanted to stay!” That’s the problem with sin!
As we go into this new year, don’t take the attitude of many that you can just ask for forgiveness and it will be alright because we are living under grace. That’s a lie! You are fooling yourself and the devil is laughing at you! Flee sin! Turn your back on it and ask God to help you to overcome temptation, because the problem with sin is that forgiveness doesn’t equate to erasing consequences. Wonderful Jesus!
