2 Samuel 12

This passage goes hand in hand with my last blog from 2 Samuel 11 and my blog from yesterday regarding Psalm 51. Psalm 51 was written in response to the events of 2 Samuel 12.

More than anything in this passage, I think it is crystal clear that God HATES sin. The Lord sends Nathan to talk to David and rebukes him for what he did with Bathsheba. What stuck out to me was verses 13 and 14...

Then David said to Nathan, " I have sinned against the Lord."
Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

God sends a pretty clear message here.
1) He loves David and is willing to forgive him of his sin.
2) Although the Lord offers forgiveness, there is still a consequence for sinning.

I feel like this is where a lot of Christians get caught up. We grow up hearing about Jesus's sacrifice and God's forgiveness. While as are forgiven, that doesn't mean that we can go and do whatever we want! So often we say "If this is wrong, I can always ask God for forgiveness." First things first, such an attitude isn't true repentance. Repentance is turning away from sin and towards God. What we fail to see is that God hates sin and forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean no consequences. By law, an adulterer was condemned to death. God forgave David and spared his life despite his actions. However, as loving as God is, He is also just which is why we see David still get punished for his actions.