The tragic consequence of sin and genuine repentance
Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab. March 18, 2023 - Saturday, 3rd Week of Lent
We are listening again to Psalm 51, one of the seven penitential psalms in the Psalter (Pss. 6, 32, 38, 51, 102; 130; 143). The superscription (verses 1-2) links this psalm to David’s confession in 2 Sam 12:13. So what happened?
According to the story, it was “the spring of the year” and the time for the kings to go to battle. But David did not go. Instead, he sent his general Joab to lead the army. Avoiding his duty as a king was David’s first mistake. Having nothing to do in his palace, one day from the roof of his house David saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. He was unable to resist the temptation. Although he knew that the woman was already married he still brought her to his house and committed adultery with her. It seems that David thought that the affair would remain secret but then Bathsheba got pregnant.
Upon getting the news about the pregnancy of Bathsheba, David tried to cover up the affairs by sending for her husband, Uriah the Hittite. Unlike David, Uriah went with Joab and the troops to fight the enemies of Israel. When Uriah appeared before David in Jerusalem, the king got him drunk and sent him home. But although drank, Uriah knew his obligations. As long as his companions were in the field fighting against the enemy, it was not proper to go home and have a relationship with one’s wife. Realising that his plan failed David came up with another one. Through Uriah, he sent a letter to Joab in which he wrote: “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die” (2 Sam 11:15). And so it happened. And when David got the news that Uriah died, he brought Bathsheba to his house and married her. David acted as if nothing happened, he had no sense of guilt whatsoever. But, then the author inserts an important note that what David did “displeased the LORD” (2 Sam 11:27).
Psalm 51 is often seen as an example of genuine repentance but in the case of David, the repentance had to be forced upon him. Only when the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sins and threatened him with future punishment for them, David acknowledged that he had sinned against the Lord (2 Sam 12:13). But, what broke him down was the news that the child born of that affair was going to die (2 Sam 12:14).
The Bible teaches us that sin has tragic consequences. But, most of us do not believe it. Sin looks so enticing and we think that we can get away with it. But, the truth is different. It is enough to look at the crucified Christ to realise how costly sin is. But, we often realise it when is too late, when like the prodigal son, we lose everything. And that is the moment when genuine repentance can take place. We realise that our only option is to return to God, humbled and with a contrite spirit, and ask Him for forgiveness and a new chance in life.