Read 2 Samuel 12 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
12:1-6 {s} Nathan’s parable of of the rich and poor man, and David’s judgment
12:7a {s} And Nathan said to David, “You are the man!
12:7b-10 {s} YHVH’s judgment on David and his house
12:11-12 {s} Adversity from David’s house, publicly, in the sight of the sun
12:13a {s} And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHVH.”
12:13b-25 {p} Bathsheba’s child died/ she bore another son, Solomon, beloved of Yehovah
12:26-31 {p} Joab subdued Ammon and David completed the victory; the Ammonites Israel’s slaves
The Strong Theme:
12:1-25 {sx5+p} YHVH confronts David resulting in his repentance, however the death of the child, and the birth of Solomon
2 Samuel 11:1-12:31 Chiastic Structure:
From the Narrative in this chapter, we Learn something very important: David repented of his sin. YHVH forgave him his sin. However, repentance and forgiveness do not always erase the consequences of sin. Repentance could not bring Uriah back from the dead. And the death of the child was a consequence of the sin, for Uriah was murdered, and God’s Law decrees that the sin of murder requires capital punishment (Exo 21:12, Lev 24:17).
The death of the child was the immediate consequence. However, because David abused his power as king to wield a sword against Uriah, YHVH decreed that the sword would never depart from his house. The sin was repented, and forgiven, but the consequence remained.
Anything which YHVH decrees as sin bears negative and heart-breaking consequences; this is why it is a sin in the first place. When tempted to sin, we must always bear its consequences in mind.
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