27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
2 Samuel 11:27
David had stayed behind when his army went to battle. He had seen Bathsheba bathing from his rooftop and committed adultery. He called her husband back from the field hoping that Uriah would sleep with her and hide his sin. Uriah was an honorable man and refused to go into his wife while the army was away fighting. David sent him back to the battle with orders that would seal his death.
We see in this verse that David’s actions had “displeased the Lord”.
- He should have repented and turned away after seeing her bathing but did not.
- He should have repented after sleeping with Bathsheba but did not.
- He should have repented of his schemes involving Uriah to hide his sin but did not.
David was a man who pursued God. He should have repented but did not. We will all have similar situations because we are human. The sin may not be David’s but there will be times we miss the mark while pursuing the plan of God. Will we follow David’s example or will we be quick to repent?
We serve a merciful God who only wants the best for our lives. He desires to do good things for us but often is blocked by our lack of repentance. It pleases Him for us to confess our sins. We will always find His mercy available when we do. David followed a different path and we see that this is what “displeased the Lord”.
1 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
2 Samuel 12:1-8
God was not happy with David’s actions. He sent the prophet Nathan with a message to be delivered in the form of a parable.
David received Nathan and listened to his message. He did not realize that the rich man in the parable was him!
The king became angry at what the rich man had done to the poor man. He pronounced judgment without realizing that he was doing so to himself! Imagine the look on David’s face when Nathan told him he was the rich man in the parable.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Romans 9:14-15
God allowed David to prescribe his punishment. I wonder what would have happened if he had chosen to show mercy toward the rich man who had stolen the sheep. We will never know but the result of his reaction was the death of the child conceived in adultery.
24 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.
25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:24-25
David’s marriage to Bathsheba began in sin. They had sinned together and their first child died as part of the judgment for their sin. God was merciful though and gave them a second child.
Bathsheba conceived a second child. This was Solomon who would replace David and become known as the wisest man to ever live.
We are human and will sometimes miss the mark. The Bible tells us that David was known as a man after God’s heart but even he sinned. He lived under the Old Covenant and experienced judgment through the death of his child with Bathsheba.
Satan will work to place condemnation on us when we miss the mark. God’s hand of mercy will always be extended but we must reach out to receive that mercy.
In my experience, it seems that one of the greatest barriers to our being able to find and fulfill the plan of God is a lack of revelation regarding His mercy. He is always waiting to restore us if we miss the mark. Most Christians unfortunately leave Him waiting.
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