Dealing with Sin

King David represents a watershed moment in the history of redemption.  Because of his heart which was patterned after God's own heart (1 Sam. 13:13-14), and as a result of his arrant obedience, God blessed David with an everlasting dynasty through eternal covenant (2 Sam. 7).  David was so revered by God for his faithfulness that God's own son, Jesus, is referred to as the son of David (Matt. 15; Mark 10).  David's kingship was established and sustained by God's faithfulness to David.

However, David was not nearly sinless or perfect.  In fact, a particular sin of David so defiled his family that one of his sons raped his sister before being killed by his older brother who tried to usurp the throne, nearly destroying the kingdom (2 Sam. 13-18).  Of course this is the famous episode of David and Bathsheba.

The story is told in 2 Samuel 11-12 and speaks of how David, who should have been at war, peeked at the beautiful Bathsheba bathing on the roof.  David, overcome with lust and covetousness, commits adultery with Bathsheba and Bathsheba becomes pregnant.  Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, is one of David's generals and is fighting the fight that David should have been and is unaware of what is taking place back home in Jerusalem.

Although David tries to deceive Uriah into mating with Bathsheba, Uriah refuses to sleep with his wife for the sake of his soldiers still at war.  For David, this will not do.  Through cunning and deception, David succeeds in having Uriah killed at war and marries Bathsheba, sealing his sin.  It is not until the prophet Nathan confronts David with a revealing parable that David realizes the gravity of his defilement and falls prostrate in repentance.

This story offers a full and perfect rendition of sin from the prologue of sin's incitement, through the  fulfillment of sin in action, to the proposed proper epilogue of sin that is repentance.  David sees Bathsheba, beautiful and enticing.  At this stage he has little, if any, control.  He could have went on the roof and kept his eyes closed for fear of seeing anything that could excite his desire but that is ridiculous.  He saw her, this is sin's first cast.  David could have and should have put the sight out of his brain.  When we are enticed by desire and sin has cast its hooks at us we should simply ignore.  Often easier said than done.

The next subsequent part of David's sin was when he put his excited desire into action and pursued the fruit of Bathsheba, tried to cover it up, and chose to shrewdly have her husband killed in battle to justify his sin.  It is important to note the progression from one sin to another, like following a single poor decision with a string of poor decisions.  Once David chose to commit adultery he should have stopped but couldn't because unrepentant sin acts as a snowball barreling down a hill that brings more sin like snow upon itself.  Sin multiplies sin.  Even though, David could have chosen not to try and trick Uriah after impregnating Bathsheba, but he didn't.  Additionally, David didn't have to arrange to have Uriah killed in battle as to legitimize his unlawful relationship with Bathsheba, but he did.  Sin begets sin.  A good rule of conduct is when sin is actualized and followed through, repent and stop sinning as early in the process as possible.

When the prophet Nathan finally confronts and rebukes David for his sin, David reminds us of why he was God's chosen one; he confesses and repents.  This is always the end of sin's cycle: confession and repentance.  Once we confess, we no longer need to hide what we have done because it is already known.  Once we repent, we literally turn from our sin and turn to God and righteousness.  This is not easy nor is it a one-time-only kind of thing.  Confession and repentance are lifelong pursuits of righteousness that act as sin protection and prevention.

Moreover, although David sinned atrociously but was eventually repentent for his action, he still had to suffer because of that sin through the death of Bathsheba's son.  Suffering is the consequence for sin but it is for purpose in the life of the repentant and confessing heart.  Suffering serves as the building blocks of character (Rom. 5:1-5).  Although the fleshly effects of sin should not outweigh the righteousness of God to disuade us from sinning, the consequences of sin are real and can be quite painful.

Lastly, we all sin.  How we handle sin points to the state and development of our character as well as the importance of God in the place of our hearts.  Although we should not descend to the depths of David's sin, from his example, we learn that confession and repentance are the proper reactions to sin in our lives.  The trick is to strike at the root of the sin with confession and repentance in the earliest possible stages of the sin before it escalates.