Blessing After Sin

“And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.” (2Sa 12:24 AV)

The LORD did not have to do this for these two people.  Their marriage was a result of an adulterous affair.  But wait, it gets worse.  Having had an affair, David had Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle so he could then marry Bathsheba after he got her pregnant.  From our human perspective, these two people are wretchedly wicked and there aren’t too many of us who who seek their company.  From our perspective, we would not expect God to bless them at all.  The child from which this affair came was struck by the hand of God.  He died because the LORD would not allow David and Bathsheba to enjoy the fruits of their sin.  God would have been just and fair to cause Bathsheba to become barren once she gave birth to their child.  Rather, God’s grace was greater than their sin and He gave them a son who would later become the wisest king Israel had ever had.  God didn’t have to grant grace to these two.  But once God forgives, He forgives completely!

We have to be careful here.  We have to remember even though God blessed David and Bathsheba with a son whom God loved and would elevate to the throne, there were still four sons who would die an unfortunate and untimely death.  There was the baby born to David and Bathsheba, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah.  God forgave David and Bathsheba.  But He did not remove all the consequences of their sin.  There was still heartache that would await them down the road.  Full forgiveness does not necessitate absolution from consequences.  However, what we can take away from this is God’s mercy in the midst of those consequences.  Bathsheba actually had several children with David.  Some historical sources put the number at six.  Despite how the relationship started, God saw fit to bless them with children.  This can be nothing else but the pure mercy and grace of God.

The saint does and should feel guilt and shame over what they have done.  But not to the point grace is refused.  What do I mean by that?  Our sin is a stench in the nostrils of God.  There is no sugarcoating our sin.  It is utter wickedness and the LORD abhors it.  This truth should be meditated on far more than it is.  What we cannot forget is that no matter how bad our sin is, grace is always greater.  This does not minimize the seriousness of what we have done.  David had an affair and then saw to it his mistress’ husband was killed in battle.  This he did while enjoying the company of multiple wives.  He simply wanted another man’s wife.  This is beyond horrible.  It is reprehensible.  We could all sit in judgment of what David did.  We had better, however, have a mirror handy.  Our sin is no better no matter what we might think of David’s.  What we can see is hope.  We may have to suffer for our choices, but God still shows grace.  He forgives.  He shows mercy.  And, He often showers blessings so the consequences of sin don’t sting as much.  God is so good!  He doesn’t have to be!  He could exercise His justice to its full measure.  Our loving God decides when we have had enough spankings and shows us kindness and mercy so healing can ensue.