Day 36 – David & Bathsheba – 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25
David the hero shows a different side today. God’s chosen one commits the great sin of adultery followed by a cover-up which leads to multiple murders (when you consider more than Uriah died in the trumped up attack). The story is a warning against the lure of power and how it can lead to creating a self-affirming world in which actions are justified, well, simply because one has power. Does this sound all too familiar?
Just to remember, David had multiple wives, at least eight before Bathsheba, and an untold number of concubines. In addition note how David, the warrior, now stays at home and leaves the fighting to others. How often do we see the same situation today? This story drips with power as an engine of sin. Again, we don’t have to read too far in the paper to find events displaying the same combination of power, lust, and violence.
We also see a warning about the danger of sin. One act leads to sin, which leads to another cover up. The death spiral of spin starts far too easily.
The events are also about damasking sin and admission of guilt. The interaction of Nathan and David is one of the most exciting confrontations in all of scripture. Note how David admits his guilt. Many think Psalm 51, the great Psalm of confession, is based on words David spoke at this moment. We’ll read it next week…
God does forgive David, but not without consequence. The child born of David’s sinful action will die. David will experience everything mentioned by Nathan, as David’s son Absalom will start a civil war against his father.
Interestingly, though, another son born to David and Bathsheba, Solomon, will succeed his father on the throne. This relationship created in the midst of sin, will be part of Jesus’ bloodline.
This passage is one to come back to again and again to remind us of the power of sin and death as well as the stronger power of God’s love for us and the live we receive from God.
In Christ,
Randy
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