Read: II Samuel 12
Reflect: Our youngest son had been firmly told to stay away from the chocolate chip cookies – they were to be kept for guests. A few hours later I noticed that not only were cookie crumbs all over my son’s t-shirt, but chocolate was noticeably streaked across his face. He thought he had done a good job in sneaking away the cookies. His face told another matter.
HE THOUGHT HE COULD SWEEP HIS PROBLEMS AWAY
When does a secret not become a secret? When everyone seems either notice it or know about it. A famous king in the Bible thought he could sweep his problems away. Sin’s coverup required a lot of scheming. David wanted to look good on the outside, even though he was rotting internally. The evidences of his sin were much larger than cookie crumbs.
Why is it so easy to resort to deception when we don’t want to be found out? Jeremiah 17: 9 comments, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” We can be greatly talented both in deception and in self-deception. King David totally deceived himself into thinking he had gotten rid of all the evidence and the whispers about his sin. His secret was no secret.
What had happened to the shepherd boy’s heart referred to in Acts 13:22? “God also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.” The young David yearned to love and behave in tune with God’s heart. The middle-aged David detoured into the quicksand of sin.
HOW ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER
It all began with David’s “spring vacation”. That was the time of year David was supposed to be off on the battlefield leading the fight against the enemies of his country. Instead, he spent his evenings in his palace, looking down on the rooftops of the neighborhood houses. That’s how he noticed HER, the beautiful woman taking a bath. One thing led to another. David sent his servants to discover who she was. He gave it some more thought and then sent his servants to fetch her; kind of like ordering out for pizza. Lust flourished. The married woman became pregnant with David’s child. Irony was that the woman’s husband was out on the battlefield, the place where David was supposed to be. Of course, David wanted to silence any whispers of impropriety. He first tried duping the husband (Uriah) into thinking the unborn baby was Uriah’s. When that didn’t work, David staged the Uriah’s murder on the battlefield. David stole another man’s wife, stole the man’s life and thought that was the end of the story.
HE HAD SPIT ON THE HOLINESS OF GOD
David’s conscience that had prevented him years earlier from killing his enemy King Saul appeared locked away in solitary confinement. Then came the day Nathan the prophet confronted David. Nathan brought into the light all the darkness that had come to dwell on the royal throne. David’s conscience, probably gasping for air, was there after all. Instead of making excuses, blaming someone or something else, or making little of the sin, David acknowledged the enormity of what he had done. He had spit on the holiness of God. The secret was out in the open.
NO MORE HIDING, NOT MORE SECRETS
We know that David’s heart had not completely turned to stone because we have his confession in Psalm 51: 3 “For I know my wrongdoings, and my sin is constantly before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge… 10 Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me… 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise. David was not ignoring all those people he had sinned against; he was recognizing the totality of his sin. He had dishonored the Heart he had earlier longed to follow. There was to be no more hiding, no more secrets. The Coffman Commentary notes: “It is not because of his sins that David deserves honor and respect; but it is because of his repentance, his humiliation in acknowledging and confessing his sins, and his unwavering trust in the Lord.” This is why David received and deserves the exalted place which God gave him in the Old Testament.
Apply: Have you looked in the mirror of God’s Word lately? Have you been ignoring the evidence of sin that you had been hoping no one else would notice? Are those “cookie crumbs” all over your face? “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.” There are no secrets with God. He beckons us to come and repent.
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