Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20021117.htm

1 AND 2 SAMUEL: GOD'S SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS IN OVERSIGHT
Part LI: Learning And Adjusting To The Unwholesome Effects Of Sin
(2 Samuel 12:13b-31)
  1. Introduction
    1. 1 John 1:8-10 tells us all believers sin. Then, though we repent, sin always has unwholesome effects.
    2. We can learn from viewing the effects of David's sin with Bathsheba to respect the Lord and not sin as he did, and we can also see how to adjust to sin's unwholesome effects if we have already sinned:
  2. Learning From And Adjusting To The Unwholesome Effects Of Sin, 2 Samuel 12:13b-31.
    1. When David was confronted by Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba, he immediately repented, 12:7-13a.
    2. However, Nathan told David there would be difficult, unwholesome effects from his sin, 2 Sam. 12:10-12:
      1. David's house would experience repeated lethal conflict the rest of his life as a result of his sin, 12:10.
      2. Where David had cohabited with another man's wife, his own wives would be violated publicly, 12:11.
    3. In the short-term, David learned though God had forgiven him so he would not physically die, for God to protect His reputation as a righteous God before the enemies of God, David's son who was conceived in his adultery with Bathsheba would have to die, 2 Samuel 12:13b-14.
    4. David's adjustment to the unwholesome effects of his sin example for us how to adjust to the effects of sins we do though we are forgiven them, 2 Samuel 12:15-31:
      1. God immediately struck David's infant child with a terminal illness, 2 Samuel 12:15.
      2. Accordingly, David strenuously prayed to God to have mercy on his child, and that by going into the tabernacle and laying all night on the floor without eating for seven days, 2 Samuel 12:16-18a.
      3. When David learned the child was dead, that his intercession was not received, he accepted death's finality and God's will, and returned to his normal routine, 2 Samuel 12:18b-23.
      4. Besides, David did his best to mend the broken pieces of his life as follows, 2 Samuel 12:24-31:
        1. He tried to comfort Bathsheba by cohabiting with her so she would bear another son, 12:24a.
        2. When she thus bare another son, David called him Solomon, meaning "peaceable," cf. Z.P.E.B., v. Five, p. 469. This name was meant to reflect the desire to resume a peaceful life after forgiveness.
        3. God showed His approval of David's effort to pick up the pieces of his married life with Bathsheba, and named Solomon "Jedidiah," meaning "loved of the Lord," cf. 2 Samuel 12:25.
        4. Then, David resumed doing what he should have been doing that would have kept him out of temptation's way in the first place -- doing God's will in his ministry as king: (a) David had sinned by getting into temptation's way through staying at home when he should have been out leading the armies of Israel against the Ammonites, cf. 2 Samuel 11:1-4. (b) Accordingly, when his commander, Joab urged David to come to the front and lead the final assault lest Joab gain the glory and wrongly upstage him as king, David complied and led the final assault on the children of Ammon, 2 Samuel 12:26-29a. (c) David defeated the Ammonites, took significant spoil, and subdued the Ammonites to forced labor as he had done to other nations before his sin, 2 Samuel 12:29b-31 with 2 Samuel 8 et al. (d) This effort of David's to return to God's will is reflected in David's psalm of confession, in Psalm 51:18-19: in speaking of the building of the walls of Jerusalem in verse 18b, David figuratively referred to the strengthening of the nation by way of military efforts with the Ammonites; in light of his request for God to bless him in his military assignment, David realized God would be pleased with his sacrifices of worship, Psalm 51:18, 19.
Lesson: When David was confronted with his sin, (a) he confessed it, (b) adjusted to its unwholesome effects and (c) did his best to return to the life and ministry he had left en route to temptation to sin.

Application: We should learn from observing the unwholesome effects of David's sin TWO MAJOR lessons as follows: (1) We must NEVER let ourselves become COMPLACENT enough that we become SLACK in doing God's MINISTRY assignment: then we can easily fall into temptation and ruinous sin. (2) However, IF we sin, as did David, (a) we should confess it immediately for forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with the Lord, (b) accept the unwholesome effects our sin produces and (c) try to put the pieces of our lives and God's ministries back into their usual order. (d) Then we just go ON!