Second Samuel 12:8

The Bible says in Second Samuel 12:8-10, “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.[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.[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.” Once again in verse eight God reminds David of all that God had done for David. If only we could remember what Jesus did for us all. The Son of God suffered and died on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins and live in heaven forever. Of course, He has done many other things for all of us, but nothing is more important than that. One would think that we would therefore be motivated to obey His commandments. But in verse nine God says that David “despised the commandment of the LORD.” David did “evil.” It is interesting that God did not mention the adultery. God mentioned the killing of Uriah. “Thou shalt not kill.” God gives life, and only God should take it. Yes, David repented. Yes, God forgave him. Yes, the Messiah came from the union of David and Bathsheba. But since God is holy, there still can be consequences to our actions. If you rob a bank, you can be forgiven by God for that sin of stealing, but you will still go to prison for twenty years.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 12:11-14, “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.[12] For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.[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.[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.” Remember that when David had pronounced judgment on the man in Nathan’ story who had committed sins similar to David’s, David said that man was worthy of death. But notice that David is told in verse thirteen, “thou shalt not die.” God’s judgment on David could have ben worse, and God would have been justified. But notice that the Lord decides who will die and when. It is important to always remember that truth because someone that you love may die some day and you will need to get over the time of mourning in a proper way. They died because Jesus decided it was time for them to leave the earth. God makes this decision for every single person on this earth.

In verse fourteen David was told, “thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme.” One of the most important things that any believer has as they walk through this life is his or her personal testimony. Your personal testimony is how you live and what you do. You want to have the kind of life that attracts people to Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-16, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 12:15-23, “And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.[16] David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.[17] And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.[18] And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?[19] But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.[20] Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.[21] Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.[22] And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?[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.” We can learn a lot from these verses. Yes, David sinned, but David turned to the Lord and found forgiveness. Yes, David suffered consequences for his sins, but he accepted those consequences and he went forward serving the Lord. When David faced the death of a loved one, he prayed. And then he got over it and went forward with life. All children go to heaven, and so David knew that his baby boy was in heaven. All true believers go to heaven, and so David knew that he would end up in heaven also. That is called eternal security. Once you are saved through faith in Christ, you can have the confidence that you are on your way to heaven, and you know that one day you will see all who have gone on before you. In such situations, death does not mean “goodbye.” It means “see you later.” And so David said in verse twenty-three about his son, “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.”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 12:24-25, “And David comforted Bath-sheba 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.[25] And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.” These two verses are very important Bible verses. David is now married to Bathsheba. The second son that they have not only lives, but lives to become the great and wise and godly King Solomon. Both David and Solomon followed the Lord. David and Solomon symbolized the Christ in certain ways. David and Solomon each wrote parts of the scripture. And actually Bathsheba also is responsible for a part of the scriptures too. In Proverbs chapter 31:1 Solomon wrote, “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.” And so we know that the rest of the words of chapter thirty-one came from Bathsheba. For example, it says in Proverbs 31:2 where she identifies herself, “What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 12:26-31, “And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.[27] And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.[28] Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.[29] And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.[30] And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.[31] And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.” The Lord kept giving David victories. The Lord is good and very forgiving. Notice that when David took this city, he made the people his servants. That is typical of countries over the centuries. When one country defeats another country, the victor benefits greatly, materially and other ways. That makes it all the more amazing what the Unites States did in World War II. Basically, we conquered the world, then rebuilt it for free, and gave it back with no strings attached. No one else in the history of the world has ever done that. The globalists want to keep us from ever being able to do it again.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 13:1-20, “And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.[2] And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.[3] But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.[4] And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.[5] And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.[6] So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.[7] Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him meat.[8] So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.[9] And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him.[10] And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.[11] And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.[12] And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.[13] And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.[14] Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.[15] Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.[16] And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.[17] Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.[18] And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.[19] And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.[20] And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.” This is one of the horrible stories in the Bible: absolutely terrible. It involves incest and rape and murder. An innocent young woman is raped and ruined, and of course, her life on this earth is never the same. She never gets married, and she never has children, and she lives the rest of her life isolated from society. Tamar was rejected by others. It says in verse eighteen that “his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.” Can anyone be more cruel than that? When she was a victim of such horrible violence, she needed acceptance and love and understanding. Thank God that we live in such a time in our day and age where any woman who suffers such cruelty at least has a chance of getting her life back together. The same is true for children who are molested. It will take a miracle because the damage is so great, but thankfully Jesus can do such miracles.

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