II SAMUEL 12:10

Today I read II Samuel 11-14. There were so many things I was thinking about in here but my key verse is 12:10…

No therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

It is interesting to note that it wasn’t sleeping with Bathsheba and getting her pregnant God mentions here through his prophet Nathan, but that he kills Uriah and takes his wife as his own. David’s sin leads to more sin. And how does this make God feel?

He says David has despised God himself through his actions. That is a sobering thought. Sin doesn’t feel like this to me most of the times, especially smaller respectable sins. Jerry Bridges says the following in his book, Discipline of Grace:

We cannot evade the force of the word despise, thinking it fits the scandalous nature of David’s crimes but doesn’t apply to us. The same God who said, “You shall not murder” or “You shall not commit adultery” also said, “You shall not covet”. It is not the seriousness of the sin as we view it, but the infinite majesty and sovereignty of the God who gave the commands, that make our sin a despising of God and His Word….. Again, the seriousness of sin is not simply measured by its consequences, but by the authority of the One who gives the command.

So. Convicting. My sin is a direct challenge to God’s majesty and authority. Even my self-centeredness, materialism, selfish ambition, critical spirit and many other “small sins”.

Lord, my sins weigh heavy on me now because they are against you. I lay them on Jesus as my only hope to gain your favor. Let me experience the freedom of forgiveness and renew in me the joy of my salvation.