“Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?” 2 Samuel 12:9
David broke at least six of the Ten Commandments! He put his own desires before God (1st commandment), he committed murder (6th), he committed adultery (7th), he stole (8th), he lied and deceived (9th), and he coveted (10th). What will God do with a man who has scorned him, despised him, and broken one command after another?
- God might justly have said to David, “This is the end for you. Your reign is over. That’s how it was for Saul, and that’s how it will be for you.” Maybe you think this is what God should have done to David. But retribution is not God’s way with his own children. If it were, none of us would be here today.
- Or, God might justly have said, “David can carry on as king, but I will leave him to his own devices. I am withdrawing my presence from his life.” Who would be surprised at that? When wicked men set their hearts on evil, God gives them up (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). But that is not how God deals with his own children.
- Or again, God might have said, “If David wants to seek me, I will forgive him. The ball is in David’s court. He must make the first move, and unless he does, I am done with him.” Again, who could complain about that? If renunciation were God’s response to our sin, we would all be lost forever, because none of us could come back to God on our own.
As you consider your sin, thank God he does not deal with his children through retribution, withdrawal, or renunciation, but through restoration.