David's Confession
Book of 2 Samuel Chapter 12
What is our confession to the Lord? It is an open profession of our faith.
When we confess our love for the Lord Jesus Christ and our faith in Him, we can be saved.
Luk 12:8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
Luk 12:9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
After we are saved, we can confess our sins and know that the Lord will hear us and then forgive us, this is repentance.
1Jn_1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We already know the terrible things King David had done in his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah but up until this point David had not confessed his sin to the Lord and he had not been forgiven of those sins.
Repentance should consist of four things:
1) A true sense of our guilt and sinfulness.
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
2) A true knowledge of God's mercy in Jesus Christ.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
3) Actual hatred of sin
Psa_119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
4) Walking with the Lord after salvation.
Jas_2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
Jas_2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Who would have thought that David could have done such things as these?
Adultery, murder, deceit, attempting to hide his sin for fear of the Laws of Moses.
We should clearly understand that our sin will eventually find us out.
Num_32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
Our lesson describes to us how miserable David had become just because he refused to confess his sin.
David had spent the time up to this point trying to hide his sin from all of Israel and he had good reason to.
Two years had gone by and David had thought no more of Uriah.
This is also sin!
Our own national leaders show very little concern for that soldier or that serviceman who is willing to defend his nation.
In the laws of Moses, both adultery and murder had the punishment of death.
What would Israel think of him if they found out what he had done?
This is why our own government today tries to hide the things they do as they think they are above the average citizen.
All these things are secondary to what the Lord will do if we do not confess our sins to Him.
He already knows what we have done!
What did God do to David?
Did He remove David? No, David was still the best choice to lead the nation of Israel at that time since he had confessed and repented.
Did God raise up the enemies of Israel to come against David? No.
Did God rain down fire and brimstone upon David? No.
God sent a humble man of God to confront David, God sent the preacher.
We must keep in mind that David was King of all of Israel and David was the law in the land of Israel.
The prophet Nathan simply told a little story that King David could relate to and it, broke David from his stubbornness.
What is worse than sin itself? Being blind and insensible to sin is much worse because this proves just how depraved we really are!
We should also know that chastisement is never a joyful experience and God will never allow it to be because that would send the wrong message!
God will not condone sinful behavior from His children for very long.
Consistent sinful behavior from anyone, is a sign that they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, no matter what they claim!
*****2Sa 12:1 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.
2Sa 12:2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
2Sa 12:3 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.
First Nathan tells David a make-believe story of two different men, one rich and one poor.
Riches of that day were determined by how many animals were owned.
David could relate to this story because he had been a shepherd who had kept the flocks of his own father, Jesse.
The rich man had many sheep but the poor man had only one sheep and he had raised it much like we do our pets and would never have killed the animal for any reason. It was a fine animal with no blemishes and kept more as a pet rather than merchandise.
This one ewe sheep was likened to a daughter to this man and was his only companion!
One day the rich man had a guest to entertain in his home.
*****2Sa 12:4 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.
As this story continues, one day the rich man had a guest to entertain in his home.
Instead of slaughtering one of his own animals for the evening meal, the rich man stole the one and only lamb of the poor man.
He slaughtered this animal and served it to his guest having no concern for the property of the poor man.
It was at this point that King David became enraged with anger.
*****2Sa 12:5 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:
2Sa 12:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
David interrupted Nathan at this point and swore to Nathan the Prophet of God that this man should die and also pay for the lamb four times over what was dictated by the Law with animals of the same quality.
Exo 22:1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
Unknown to David, he had just condemned himself.
It was David who had over three hundred concubines and in reality, he could have had most any single lady in the kingdom of Israel if he had asked.
Uriah had only one wife, Bathsheba.
Nathan interrupted David before he could say another word.
*****2Sa 12:7 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;
We can see that our Lord will sometimes use different means than we would even think of to show us our own guilt in sin.
We must also understand that God will never go against His will!
The Lord sent the preacher, Nathan the Prophet of Jehovah, with this little story that once David understood it, he realized it was all about him.
Up until this point King David had no suspicion that he was this rich man and that he had acted, showing no concern for his neighbor Uriah, who was a valiant soldier and one of David's great ones.
Uriah had dedicated his life to King David and David had snuffed that life out as if it meant nothing to him.
David had now condemned himself!
David had been blind to his own sin!
We cause harm to ourselves when we refuse to repent of our sins!
God reminded David of how much he had already given to him and God reminds David that he would have gotten even more blessings if he had not done this thing.
*****2Sa 12:8 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.
David was horrified at the picture that Nathan had drawn of his conduct and we will see that David finally realized just how much he had sinned against the Lord against Uriah and against Bathsheba.
His greatest sin was against the Lord.
All sin is against the Lord because we are disobedient to what He teaches us in His Word!
We must realize that any sin we become a part of is against the Lord and that person.
When we do such things, we can expect God's judgment and God's chastisement!
We will reap what we sow which is what the Lord tells us!
As terrible as God's judgment may sound, we should also know that no sin is beyond the reach of God's mercy.
This is why God's grace is so prevalent in this the Church Age which could soon be over.
We will also see that in the remainder of David's life, that David learned this lesson well and he was no habitual sinner in such things as these.
David was never perfect while he was alive!
We sometimes forget the awesome power we have given to our rulers but the Lord keeps them in His sights.
A government for the people is far better than a government for themselves, which is what we have today!
Only David and Joab knew of these things and it had gone no further than this, other than a few of King David's dedicated servants who would have never turned against him.
What was God's judgment?
*****2Sa 12:9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
Whether it was by his own hands or not, King David had murdered Uriah.
It was a premeditated murder!
David had lusted after a married woman, Bathsheba, this sin David committed before he even took the next step of laying with her.
The sin of adultery is a terrible sin!
David's greatest sin was disobedience to the Word of God as is all our sin!
Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
David had not only murdered Uriah, but a man also dedicated to the safety of the king, and it was as if David had done this himself, even if he had used the hands of others to do the deed for him.
In fact David had used the hands of his enemies to kill a valiant, dedicated soldier.
David had used the hands of the enemy of God's people!
Our greatest enemy is Satan and if we use the hands of Satan to cause harm to others we have sinned terribly.
The Lord is always ready to pardon once we have repented!
David had been able to get away with this thing in the world, but the Lord God of this world sees everything we do.
David later wrote this Psalm and gave it to the Chief musician, which was probably Asaph at that time.
Psa 139:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psa 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Psalm 139 is a great Psalm for us to read.
We can see that when David wrote in this Psalm that he clearly understood the power of God to see all our actions in this world.
How would we compare this judgment with the judgment others from God?
Jacob deceived his father, and his sons deceived him. Jacob cheated on his brother, and is cheated by his uncle Laban.
We will see that many similar things of David's sin will play out in the life of David until his death.
David would see most of these things in his own family, his own children included, and yet he would not be able to stop it.
David's son Absalom would do things never imagined by a loving son.
In some ways Absalom was guided by the grandfather of Bathsheba who had cared for Uriah.
For the murder of Uriah there would be a fourfold restitution by King David as he had stated himself.
Bathsheba's baby would die.
Amnon would rape David's daughter Tamar.
Absalom would cause a rebellion.
Adonijah would try to seize the throne David had given to Solomon.
In many ways King David faced open disgrace from his own family.
David had brought shame and dishonor upon the family of his neighbor, so his own family rights were violated by his own son.
We can believe that sins that follow sin are usually much worse than the sins that caused them!
This still holds true today!
God says to David, you tried to hide your sins, but God said, He would do all these things in the open for all of Israel to see.
*****2Sa 12:12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
David had committed terrible sin, but God did not cast him away.
We find that when we commit such sin we may be of little use to the plan of God.
David would remain King of Israel but he was king only politically and no longer spiritually useful in the plan of God.
God did not take away his salvation. David still genuinely believed and trusted in the Lord!
On this one occasion he had yielded to the lust of his flesh and it would cost him dearly, but the Lord still loved David.
We must understand that the Lord will chastise us because He loves us!
If He did not love us, He would just send us straight to Hell!
It is a sure thing that no matter who we are, we will reap what we sow!
1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
And King David repented.
*****2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
We see that once we repent of our sin, we are forgiven and the Lord puts away that sin and He will never bring it up again!
The world will certainly bring it up, but not the Lord.
There is very little mercy in this world unless you are a child of the Devil and he will use you and toss you into the worldly abyss.
In humility and brokenness David confessed his sin, declaring that he had sinned against the Lord Himself.
David made no attempt to rationalize or to justify his actions or his sin.
David spoke from the depth of his heart because he knew his guilt and he knew he deserved to be punished.
The Lord offered up His mercy and it is His mercy we must respond to!
The Lord set aside the death penalty for David which was called for by the Laws of Moses.
David would not be condemned by the world!
Isa_40:18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
David is in Heaven today along with this child conceived through sin!
*****2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
What is the most awful result when a Christian sins? We give a great occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme!
When these things happen that lost crowd will broadcast it everywhere!
The child would die but all such children go straight to Heaven.
If that poor baby had been allowed to live, those non-believers of that day would rejoice in the fall of David and ridicule the Name of the Lord, just as they do today for anything, they see a Christian do that is wrong in their eyes.
There would be no respect for the Word of God, if we just continue in our sin, claiming that Grace is our ticket to forgiveness.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
We should understand that it was not Bathsheba's fault her son had died.
*****2Sa 12:24 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.
2Sa 12:25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
David had been comforted by the Lord and he went to Bathsheba to comfort her.
They had both been reconciled to God and it was time for them both to seek reconciliation!
King David took Bathsheba to be his wife and God gave them another son who was Solomon and it is Solomon who would become the third king of Israel.
All the other sons of David were so caught up in sin they would never have made decent kings.
Note: we see immediately see that the Lord loved Solomon, but it does not mean that the Lord did not love the other child for He did.
That child is also in Heaven!
2Sa 12:23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? "I shall go to him", but he shall not return to me.
This assurance lets know that every aborted child and every child that dies before they have the ability to know the Lord and know the penalty of sin, are all in Heaven.
The name Jedidiah means "Beloved of Jehovah".
Amen
