We come now to the famous chapters of 2 Samuel concerning
the adulterous course of actions that David did with a woman
called Bathsheba, and the plan to have her husband killed in
battle.
The truth we need to learn from these chapters 11 and 12
about the nature of God are:
ONE:
The Lord is NO RESPECTER of persons. He can use a man/woman
in various ways for His glory and purpose, yet He will be fully
just and will not turn a blind eye to SIN, no matter WHO the
sinner is.
God would not let David build the Temple because it is written
the Lord said to David he could not build it as "he was a bloody
man." And as you read through the life of David it is very
evident he was.
Moses was used of God in a mighty way, but when he sinned a
serious sin, the Eternal punished him by telling him he would not
be permitted to enter the Promised Land, but only see it from
afar.
TWO:
There is another very important teaching in these two
chapters of 2 Samuel, and shows a side of the nature of God that
a lot of people miss when they think of the God of the Old
Testament. Too many see the Lord of the Old Covenant as a harsh,
stern, quick to punish and of little mercy. THIS IS NOT SO AT
ALL!!
Yes, God laid down certain laws under Moses that carried the
death penalty. But people often miss that you had to have two or
three witnesses, and when you put it all together, the death
penalty was not given or carried out at "the drop of a hat" as
the saying goes. Then by overlooking what we read here in 2
Samuel 11 and 12, people also often fail to note that GOD COULD
HAVE MERCY on a truly REPENTANT sinner!
Adultery carried the death penalty under "the laws of Moses"
(which by the way are really the laws of God not Moses), YET we
see here that David was not executed or put to death for his sin
of adultery with Bathsheba.
David was spared death, not because God was showing "respect
of persons" or in any way being unrighteous in judgment. We have
seen that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land
because of his great sin. David was punished by God not allowing
the child David had with Bathsheba to live, and other punishments
would also be David's lot for his great sins; those punishments
we read about in chapter 12.
But with all that said, David, because of his DEEP AND REAL
REPENTANCE, was not put to death for his sins. The Holy and
Righteous God HAD MERCY UPON HIM!!
We need to understand that the FIRST attributes of the
Eternal God is LOVE AND MERCY! As He inspired it to be written by
the prophet Ezekiel, God has NO PLEASURE in the DEATH of the
WICKED, but He wants the wicked to REPENT and so he shall LIVE!
This is REPEATED an number of times in Ezekiel 18.
Knowing this truth about God, that it was a truth even in
the Old Testament, we can see why it was not hard for Jesus to
NOT condemn the woman brought before Him by the Pharisees, whom
they caught in the act of adultery (John 8 - and note they did
not bring the man - which showed their whole idea and attitude
behind the incident was wrong from the beginning, from the start)
and try to state that such people under the laws of Moses should
be put to death. Those Pharisees had not read the Old Testament
very well. They were like many today, who pick this verse or that
verse (often out of context) and forget or deliberately ignore
other verses, to their own destruction and folly. They had failed
to see that God under the Old Covenant was very correct and holy
in showing MERCY to sinners. Jesus told the woman, after no one
was left to condemn her (whatever Jesus wrote on the ground all
those religious leaders slunk away in shame and embarrassment)
that He would not condemn her, yet He told her to "sin no more."
I think she very likely sure did not sin again from adultery,
after God in the flesh (Jesus Christ) had mercy upon her.
TWO wonderful truths about knowing God are found in 2 Samuel
11 and 12. God is NO RESPECTER of persons; and, the ultimate
penalty of death for sins that carried the death penalty, God
CAN, upon true REPENTANCE, allow to be brought down to a lesser
punishment.
GOD HAS NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED, BUT WANTS
THE WICKED TO REPENT, TO TURN AND DO RIGHTEOUSNESS, SO THEY SHALL
LIVE!
THE ETERNAL GOD CAN FORGIVE ANY SIN YOU HAVE DONE. YOU CAN
GO TO HIM, CONFESS YOUR SINS, CRY OUT TO HIM FOR MERCY, SHOW HIM
YOU ARE REPENTANT, AND HE WILL HAVE MERCY UPON YOU. HE DESIRES
YOU TO TURN TO HIM, SERVE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AS A WAY OF LIFE ...
AND THEN YOU SHALL LIVE WITH HIM FOR ALL ETERNITY!!
Keith Hunt
.................
To be continued
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