Mystery Of Mercy
We would not often go to a person in a position of power and tell them about their wrong decision, even if we believe what they are doing to the core is incorrect. Think about going to your boss to tell them about a decision they made that was terrible and was going to cost everyone. To take it one step further, let's put ourselves in a monarchy form of government and imagine going to the king to let him know how awful he is at decision-making. This decision would find you on the gallows. The prophet Nathan found himself in this exact situation when God called him to denounce the sins of King David.
We are not going into great detail about the sins of David with Bathsheba but what comes after in the biblical narrative. In short, King David was supposed to be off at war during this time, yet he is at home. (2 Sam 11.1) While walking on his rooftop, he spotted his neighbor's wife, Bathsheba, bathing and decided that he wanted her, and through them lying together, she becomes pregnant. (2 Sam 11.2-5) David tried to cover the whole mess up by bringing her husband back from war. David planned to get him drunk, so he would lay with his wife. He wanted it to look like it was her husband’s child and not someone else. (2 Sam 11.6-13) When this did not work, David sent him to the front lines of the battle only to leave him for dead. (2 Sam 11.14-17)
Once the husband was out of the way, David took Bathsheba as his wife. (2 Sam 11.27) At the end of the verse, it states that David's act was "evil in the sight of the Lord." I think that is putting it lightly because what David did as the King of Israel was violate many commandments of the Mosaic Covenant—that is, the laws given to Moses on Mt. Sini. (Ex 19-24) In one fell swoop, David had coveted his neighbor's wife and committed adultery and murder. Even just one of those would be hard to return from, let alone all three. In the case of adultery, it was punishable by death.
“‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”
Enter into the narrative the prophet Nathan, who had a task that most people would turn away. He was to call out the sins of the king. To ease the weight of the conversation, Nathan started by telling a parable to David.
“Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in a city, the one wealthy and the other poor. “The wealthy man had a great many flocks and herds. “But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nurtured; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat scraps from him and drink from his cup and lie in his lap, And was like a daughter to him. “Now a visitor came to the wealthy man, And he could not bring himself to take any animal from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the traveler who had come to him; So he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.””
Through hearing this story, David became angery to the point of calling for this man to die for the atrocities he performed on the poor man. (2 Sam 12.5) In what can only be described as a moment of true faith, Nathan boldly proclaimed to the king that he is that man in the parable. (2 Sam 12.7)
To understand Nathan's boldness, we need to understand the structure of Israel at this time. Although David was the King of Israel, they were not a true monarchy like the other nations around. The form of government for Israel at that time was called a theocracy, a nation run by Yahweh. God is the true king of Israel, not David. The governmental breakdown was different from that of a monarchy or democracy. The representatives for the government were the prophets (who spoke for God to the people), the priests (who spoke for the people to God), and the king (the political leader who kept the people on track with the covenant).[1] In the case of this type of leadership structure, the prophet was the one with the ultimate power, not the king, because he spoke for the true king, Yahweh.[2] Given the power structure of the time, the prophet calling out the king helps us to understand the culture. Nathan went on to tell the king about the judgment that would come to him as a result of his sins. The sword would be a part of his house for the rest of his life, meaning there would never be rest from violence. (2 Sam 12:10) Evil would rise against his house from his family members. (2 Sam 12:11) Death would also come upon the conceived child. (2 Sam 12:14) Even in the face of all his judgment, David had a heart of repentance towards God.
“Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die.”
In just one line of scripture, we see that David admitted he had sinned against the Lord, and the Lord forgave the sins of David.
What can we learn from David?
As we try to navigate the world around us today, how can we apply this story of David to our lives today?
We admit our sins.
David did not immediately admit that he had sinned against the covenant. It took some time for him to get to the place of repentance. God was not surprised by the sins of David—he already knew, and this point is highlighted by the fact that God sent Nathan to rebuke David. Even when Nathan called out the sins of David through the parable, David began highlighting another person's sins while not seeing his own. (2 Sam 12.6)
“One who conceals his wrongdoings will not prosper, But one who confesses and abandons them will find compassion.”
It would seem the act of repentance from the person is essential to God. When we are willing to admit our sins, we open our hearts to God's mercy and forgiveness.
We call out the injustice.
Most of us are not prophets sent by God to call out the sins of a king, but the Holy Spirit gives us authority to be the witness of God. (Acts 1.8) God will show and nudge us in specific directions when connected to the Spirit. God may lead you to call out the injustice with a family member, co-worker, friend, or spouse. Having the conversation is not a comfortable proposition and should not be taken lightly.
For this reason, it is of the utmost importance that we are in a prayerful state with God to see his truth and his light. For David to get to a place of repentance, it took a person connected to God to illuminate the injustices that David's actions had transcribed. In most cases, the conversation will not be met with joy by the other person, but if we know it is God leading, we must be faithful.
God's forgiveness is a mystery.
According to the law given, what David deserved was death, but God, in his mercy, forgave the sins and allowed David and Bathsheba to live. If you are reading this story and getting Eden vibes, you would be correct in your assumption. Adam and Eve in the garden saw the tree, and it looked good. They knew by the covenant they should not desire what they could not have, but they took it anyways. (Gen 3.6) The first humans were also promised death if they ate from the tree. (Gen 3.3) God, in his mercy, spared them from death, but it is important to note that God's judgment still came. (Gen 3.16-24) The same was true for David, God forgave the sins of David, but his judgment still came to David and his household. Even through this mess, God still used David and Bathsheba as their next son would become the king of Israel after David's death. (1 Ki 1.39) We do not always know the plans of God, and because of this, his mercy and forgiveness often do not make sense. We need to remember that through it all, God wants to see his creation reconciled into a relationship with him.
David was contrite in his admittance of sin and moved back toward God. It is through this situation in his life that led him to write Psalm 51. Read the genuine remorse from David in his words.
“Create in me a clean heart, God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit.”
David is pleading with God to make him anew again, to put him back on the path of holiness. God wants the same for us in this life. We might not escape the consequences of all our decisions, but we take heart in knowing that we have a God willing to see through our shortcomings and still wants a relationship with his creation. Even though we deserve death, God, in his mercy and compassion for us, was willing to send his son Jesus to the cross to reconcile his creation—this is the mystery of mercy as we do not earn or deserve this from God, yet he extends it to all of creation.
[1] Sandra L. Richter, The Epic Of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008).176.[2] Richter, The Epic Of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament.176.