August 7, 2022
We read 2 Samuel 11-23. In chapter 11 we see that King David sinned. His soldiers were fighting a war, and for some reason he stayed back. He looked out the window and saw a beautiful woman. He asked who she was, and even though she was married to Uriah the Hittite who was serving on the battlefield, he had Bathsheba brought to him and slept with her. He already had 7 wives and 10 concubines, but had to have one more beautiful woman.
Bathsheba then gets pregnant. The king thought he could bring her husband back from the war and he would sleep with his wife, but he only slept outside the door to honor those at war. So, King David had him put on the front line, and ultimately, he was killed. After the appropriate time of mourning, he made Bathsheba his wife.
This caused God to be angry, and David suffered the consequences of his sin. His son from Bathsheba died.
With such sin in a man’s life, how can he be called a “man after God’s heart.” Saul, the previous king, had sinned. He did not obey God, and God removed his blessing. What was the difference?
Throughout the Bible, David is praised. Jesus was called the son of David (Matthew 1:1). Acts 13:22 says, “… (God) raised up for (Israel) David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.”
In 1 Kings 15:11 we read that “(King) Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David his father had done.” Also in 2 Kings 18:3 “(King Hezekiah) did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.”
How can David be called “a man after God’s own heart?” He committed adultery, lied, and murdered?
David loved God. He had faith in Him and we see that when he fought Goliath. David was also humble. Yes, he sinned big time, but he was humble. After he realized what he had done, he says in 2 Samuel 12:13, “I have sinned against the Lord.” David does not make excuses and does not blame. He confesses his sin to God.
He also asked forgiveness. He wrote Psalm 51 after his transgression with Bathsheba.
Psalm 51:1-12
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
The humanness of David gives me hope. He committed a terrible sin. Through his humility and love of God, he asks for forgiveness. He still paid a consequence for what he did, but God forgives him. He went down in history as a great man of God.
We can do the same through Jesus Christ.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”
The consequences of that sin are death, both physically and spiritually. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.”
There is good news, however. Jesus paid the full price for our sin through salvation by his death and resurrection. Romans 5:8 states, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
We receive forgiveness, salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus. Romans 10:9-10 and 13 says,
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved … For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
We all make mistakes. If you want the free gift of salvation that Christ can give, ask him to forgive you, and call on the name of the Lord. If you want someone to pray for you, please let me know.
Next week we will read 1 Kings 1-11.
Diving into the Bible 