II Samuel 11 and 12
Chapter 11 records David's sin.
Chapter 12 tells us of Nathan's confrontation of David and David's response.
12: 13 says, Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die."
When David came to his senses, he immediately confessed his sin, and Nathan let him know that he was immediately forgiven. But he still had to face the consequences of his actions:
Because "you struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own" (12: 9-10)--he always had serious trouble in his own dysfunctional family;
And, Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel (12: 11-12)--His own beloved son Absalom would challenge his throne and humiliate him with his wives (16:21-22);
And, Because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die (12: 14)--he had to forfeit the child conceived in adultery.
God's plan was to have David's immediate heir to his throne be born of Bathsheba: her son Solomon, who God called Jedidiah, "loved by the Lord" (12:25).
God uses even our foolish, poor, sinful choices to further His Program, then, like David, we need to suffer through negative consequences. How much better, though, to wait on God for His way, and reap positive results from good, godly choices, and enjoy His benefits while giving Him the glory.
O my Father, You are so good! You are so generous with us! If we only will come to You, learn Your ways, and live our lives according to Your will for us; then You will give us all the bounty of this Earth, harmony in our family life, peace in our hearts and in our Nations.
But even when we rebel against You and despise Your rules thinking we know better or can hide from You, then we will have to suffer through the painful consequences of our decisions--but Your Plan will continue to unfold, regardless of our choices. So it's our prerogative to decide how we will live our lives.
Please help me to always and continually seek Your face, Your ways, Your good will for me, to bless me with prosperity in every way, and You will receive the credit, all the glory, for what You are doing in my life and in this World.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
