“The LORD Has Taken Away
Your Sin”
The LORD sent Nathan to David. When
he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and
the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but
the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised
it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from
his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the
rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal
for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that
belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
David burned with anger against the man and
said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! He
must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no
pity.”
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!
This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own
household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will
take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep
with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this
thing in broad daylight before all
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned
against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your
sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter
contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die.”
After Nathan had gone home, the LORD
struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to
David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and
spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household
stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would
not eat any food with them.
On the seventh day the child died. David’s
attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought,
“While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to
him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”
David noticed that his attendants were
whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child
dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
Then David got up from the ground. After he had
washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the
LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they
served him food, and he ate.
His attendants asked him, “Why are you
acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that
the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
He answered, “While the child was still alive, I
fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let
the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I
bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
2 Samuel
12:1-23
How should be handle moments after failing our
faith? King David found his relationship again with God, and God made it
possible for him to serve God again. We too can find our way back.
Satan not only delights in the moment of our
failure but also in the spiritual inactivity that sometimes snares us in our
remorse. When we have blown it as a witness, we are and should be humbled. But
we should not multiply the damage by retreating into silence and obscurity as
ambassadors of Christ. We can move past failure.
God
forgives our sins completely to restore us to His presence and service.
Our Daily Bread –