Riding Out the Storm

Introduction

A. Bad things happen to good people. Not all bad things which happen to us can be explained in a simple cause and effect relationship. For example, a child’s cancer cannot be explained by some type of thing that the child or parents did which produced the cancer. Jesus recognized this in John 9 when the man who had been born blind was healed. The disciples looking for the cause and effect relationship simply asked, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.” Jesus’ answer is designed to cause the disciples to look at life a bit differently. Neither the man nor his parents sinned. Sometimes bad things happen in life for no explainable reason.

B. But then there are times in which we sin and we must suffer the consequences of that sin. You tell a lie. You are caught in the lie. What happens? At the least, you must apologize. But there are long term consequences which come with that sin. Trust is broken. Relationships can be broken or completely severed. It may take a long time for someone to trust you again. This long term consequence is a direct result of your sin. How we respond to those long term consequences says something about our faith.

C. David, God’s man and king of Israel, has sinned. He thought he had gotten away with his sin, but God was not going to allow him to do wrong and not be confronted. David is confronted. David confesses his sin. But one of the immediate consequences is that the child born to Bathsheba will die. David is struck with grief. Tonight as we look at David’s reaction to the consequence of sin, we can learn several lessons but none more important than seeing his faith in action. When faced with our own sin, we have a choice to make—to be bitter or to be strengthened in our faith.

Dealing with the Consequences

A. Nathan leaves David. Without much delay, the child of David’s sin is struck with illness. Notice the text names Bathsheba by calling her Uriah’s wife. Even at this point, the author does not want us to forget the sin or the reason for the baby’s illness. Some would focus on the innocence of the child and the unfairness of the child being ill. But this is to miss the point of David’s sin. The author has set it up so that the reader can recognize the seriousness of the sin and such serious sin demands serious consequences. Our attention is now turned to David and his reaction and response to the child’s illness. How will this man of God who has repented and been forgiven respond to the judgment of God? How will this one who loves God react to the loss of one who is close to him? Will he grow bitter or will he respond in faith?

B. So we go to verse 16. David pleads with God to relent. He pleads that God will take the illness from the child. He goes without food. He refuses the simple pleasure of lying on a bed to sleep at night. You can see David curled up in the fetal position. His knees are pulled to his chest. The pain in his heart far exceeds the pain in his empty stomach. He cries. He prays. He begs. Does he realize that it is his sin which has resulted in such a tragedy? Without a doubt. Later in verse 22 David tells us his motive and rationale for this display. He hopes that God will change his mind. He is hoping that God will see his heart and by grace bring a different outcome.

C. For seven days, David pleads for God to change his mind. On the seventh day the verdict is carried out—the child dies. David sees his servants whispering around him. He knows something has changed. “Is the child dead?” David asks timidly. “Yes, he is dead.” Without hesitation, David’s demeanor changes. He gets up off the floor. He washes his face and his hands. He changes his clothes. He puts lotions on. And he heads over to the tabernacle. He made sacrifices. He praised God. He came home and had a good meal. “Where is your sadness? Where is your grief?” David’s response demonstrates his faith. “While the child lived, I went without food and I cried because I hoped God would change his mind. But now that he is dead, I must eat and continue with life. I cannot bring him back from the dead, but I will join him in the realm of the dead someday.”

D. Eventually David and Bathsheba have another child. This child is named Solomon. God tells Nathan to name him Jedidiah which means loved by the Lord. In time, Solomon will become David’s replacement.

Lessons

A. First, suffering for the consequences of sin is a lonely experience. There is nothing in the text to suggest that David and Bathsheba were together during the illness of their child. They both suffered through the illness in isolation of each other. Other than the servants, sin and its consequences often isolate us. It is during this time that we can develop and give room for bitterness to enter our life. We can begin to think that in some way God is being unfair in allowing us to suffer such terrible consequences. It is a lonely experience.

B. Second, the consequences of sin need to be a humbling experience. The scene of David on the floor of his room with no food and no comfort is a vivid image. The king with all of his finery is undone. He is a broken man. There is no attempt on his part to look as if everything is okay. His life is undone. In his pride he had taken another man’s wife and another man’s life. The consequences of sin allow us a time to put things back into perspective. Last week we noticed that sin comes because there is a lack of gratitude for what God has already given us. Now David must learn that it is God who supplies what he needs. When we suffer the consequences of our sin, it is a time to humble ourselves and to be thankful again. ILL. “Perspective.” Humility means realizing that the world doesn’t revolve around us. Humility means learning to be appropriately small.

C. Third, God is good. This may be the hardest lesson of all. David sins. God in his grace does not kill David, but he does kill the child. How can we explain God’s goodness? What if God had killed David rather than the child? God’s promise to make David’s house a dynasty would have effectively ended. So God keeps his promise and in the process he wins back the heart of David. But maybe that is too much to swallow. Try this then. The child is ill. Who does David pray to? Why would he pray to the one who gave his child the illness anyway? Verse 22—perhaps the Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live. Words spoken by a man who has been touched by the grace of God once before. David prays to the one from whom he has experienced grace before. What does David do when the child dies? He praises God. How do you explain that? Because God is good. ILL. “God: his goodness.” Perhaps we have a hard time with this story because our view of God is too limited.

1. Maybe we subconsciously believe that God is good only when things are going well. Maybe we believe in the deep recesses of our hearts that God is supposed to overlook our sin and still make everything turn out okay. Maybe we even believe that our failure isn’t supposed to result in anything bad happening.

2. We must think correctly about our sin and we must think differently about God. God is good. When I sin, God is good. When I suffer the consequences of my sin, God is good. I may not understand, but God is good. There are some who grow bitter and resentful when things do not go well. They operate with the view that their sin is no big deal and they do not understand why such bad things are happening in their lives. They refuse to take responsibility for their actions.

3. And in their bitterness they deny the faith. God is good. He is good when we sin. He is good when he disciplines. He is good when he judges. We mustn’t blame God for our sin. Instead like David we praise him for his goodness. Prayer.

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