Focal Passages: 2 Samuel
11:2-5, 14-15; 12:7a, 10-14; Psalm 51:1-4
Sin is not a topic most
people like to discuss. We talk about the weather. We talk about the economy.
We talk about ourselves. We even talk about other people.
But you don’t find most
people openly discussing the sin in their lives with the people they know and
love.
We don’t even like to bring
up the subject of sinning when we’re talking to God.
Sin is dark.
It makes us feel guilty.
So rather than confessing
our sin to God and receiving forgiveness, many people just let it slide under
the rug and pretend it isn’t there.
But it is there — until we
confess it to God who is “faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9, NIV).
David was the king of Israel
and “a man after God’s own heart.”
And David sinned.
He sinned against Bathsheba.
He sinned against Uriah the
Hittite.
And he sinned against God.
No one is immune to sin.
“For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God” (Rom, 3:23, NIV).
Preachers sin.
Deacons sin.
Sunday School teachers sin.
You and I sin.
“If we claim to be without
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8, NIV).
David was tempted when “he
saw a woman bathing” (2 Sam. 11:2).
Instead of fleeing from the
temptation, however, “David sent someone to find out about her” (v. 3).
“Then David sent messengers
to get her” (v. 4a).
Then “he slept with her” (v.
4b).
That initial temptation led
David to sin.
David could have chosen to
stop at any point in time.
But instead, he allowed each
sin to lead him deeper and deeper into areas where he should not have gone.
And in the end, Uriah was
killed to cover David’s sinful tracks.
After being confronted by
Nathan, God’s prophet, David confessed his sins.
Psalm 51 records David’s
heartfelt plea to God for forgiveness from his transgressions: “Wash away all
my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (v. 2, NIV).
God forgave David completely
and erased the sin from his life.
God’s forgiveness, however,
did not erase the consequences of his sin.
Nathan told David that
because of his sin, “the sword will never depart from your house” and “the son
born to you will die” (2 Sam. 12:10, 14, NIV).
Our sins are costly.
Deal with your sins on a
daily basis.
“The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps.
51:17).