Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. (2 Samuel 12:10)

Repentance Does Not Change Consequences

David’s sin with Bathsheba was a tragedy in the life of a man who was so devoted to the Lord. Few men have risen to the stature of the son of Jesse as a faithful man of God whose life so emulated the spirit of holiness and truth. The sad reality is the larger the faith, the larger the target for Satan to use his wiles. Bathsheba was bathing at her home. She was very beautiful to look upon, and David saw her from his rooftop. After inquiring who the woman was, the king sent messengers to bring the woman to his house, and he lay with her. Sending her home, he could not imagine the horror of consequences that would soon envelop his life.

In time, Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant and told David. The king realized a plan needed to be created to cover up their sin and ordered Bathsheba’s husband home from the war. Uriah was a Hittite, but he was a noble warrior and one of David’s mighty men. After repeated attempts to get Uriah to go home to his wife, David finally signed a note (delivered by Uriah) to Joab, the king’s commander, to ensure Uriah is killed in battle. The plan succeeded as Uriah was killed in battle, and Bathsheba mourned her husband. David had Bathsheba brought to his home, where she became another wife for David, and the child was born.

God sent Nathan, the prophet, to tell David of the consequences of his actions. David repented for what he had done, and the Lord set aside the penalty of the law requiring the death of David and Bathsheba. However, God did not remove the consequences of David’s action. Uriah had been murdered by the hand of David, and that could never be changed. The Lord told David the sword would never depart from his house. David’s reign as king of Israel would be marred by those who sought to take his life and kingdom. Ironically, the greatest enemies of David would be those of his own household.

Nathan warned David his sons would take his wives and rape them in the presence of the nation of Israel. The consequences of David’s action would bring years of heartache, pain, and sorrow. Amnon, son of David by Ahinoam, raped his half-sister, Tamar, daughter of David by Maacha. Her brother Absalom would avenge her when he killed his half-brother, Amnon. Absalom would try to take the throne from his father and be killed by Joab. Near the end of David’s life, his son Adonijah (son of Haggith) tried to usurp the throne. David repented, but he lived with the consequences of his sin.

The law of sowing and reaping is an absolute law often ignored. Sin will bring consequences both in the eyes of the Lord and the affairs of man. A man can rebel against the word of the Lord and be forgiven, but this may not remove the consequences of what he has done. If a man commits murder, he can be forgiven, but that does not mean he will not pay the civil penalty of either prison or death. Sexual immorality can be forgiven, and the body still suffers from the disease of the act. There is nothing that suggests repentance can and will remove the consequence.

If a man first ponders the consequences of his actions, the sin may not happen. Foresight is the key to removing heartache from a lifetime of sorrow. Taking the time to consider how the act will impact the relationship with God and how that action will bring about consequences can often dispel the desire to sin. Joseph was tortured daily with the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife. When she tried to force herself upon him, Joseph immediately knew the penalty of his sin against God and refused her. He suffered grave consequences for being pure, but he did not live the rest of his life regretting the outcome of forbidden lust. Suffering for righteousness has a greater taste than swallowing the bitter pit of regret over sinful actions.

Never commit an act you will regret for the rest of your life. The grave is full of broken hearts whose lives were filled with the agony of times past when bad decisions were made. David suffered because of one night with the wife of Uriah. When Matthew wrote his gospel of Jesus Christ, he reminded the world again of the mother of Solomon as the one who had been the wife of Uriah. Sometimes, consequences continue to mar the name generations after a person dies. God forgives, but remember, the seed sown in haste may bring about a harvest of pain.