David and Bathsheba (7)
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.
2 Samuel 12:7
Read 2 Samuel 12:1-12
It was incredible that Bathsheba became pregnant! Of course, she did not
desire that and neither did David. Yet, this child was a gift of God although it
was conceived through a crooked, sinful way. This precious but vulnerable
new life had no say in the matter. It was the choice of two mature adults. It
is difficult to contemplate that this child in Bathsheba’s womb was the result
of a sinful choice. If an abortion clinic would have existed in Jerusalem
during David’s time, in all probability Bathsheba would have gone there.
Instead, David tried to wash away his tracks in some other way. It finally led
to the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s legal husband.
Perhaps you can relate to Bathsheba’s anxiety. She became pregnant by a
man to whom she was not married. Her newly conceived child did not ask
for this situation. A lawful pregnancy supposes the safety and security of
marriage; unborn life has a right to this although it does not have the ability
to express it. The adults involved bear the full responsibility.
It is also possible that a pregnancy occurs while a couple is leading a double
life. Perhaps you snickered when you heard that a young couple had to get
married. But, are you completely truthful? When a couple confesses their
sin before God and their fellow man, they reveal their sincerity in seeking to
face the consequences of their sinful deed.
David and Bathsheba were under pressure. Everything was done to keep
their secret. If the Lord had not intervened in a hard-handed way through
Nathan the prophet, they would have lived with a lie for the rest of their
lives. It all started with just one look. Was this innocent?
Thought: You are crossing a boundary when the intimate relationship with
your girl or boy friend becomes sexual in nature.
Psalter 384:1,2,5 (based on Psalm 139)
O Lord, my inmost heart and thought Thy searching eye doth see;
Wherever I rest, wherever I go, My ways are known to Thee.
Each spoken word, each silent thot, Thou, Lord, dost understand;
Before me and behind art Thou, Restraining by Thy hand.
Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, my thots to know;
O lead me, if in sin I stray, In paths of life to go.
