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It is recommended to read of the full events in 2 Samuel 12:1-15. It makes us realise ‘Admission of guilt brings forgiveness, but our actions are not without consequences.’

David was a successful king. He had experienced the blessings of God and was led by God through many difficult situations. Escaping the pursuit of his predecessor, King Saul, he successfully waged wars and was able to defend himself against threats from neighbouring peoples. God Himself made David king over Israel and Judah and gave him everything that Saul had previously owned. Was that too much for David? Did that go to David’s head? Did David think that anything was possible and that he was untouchable?

We read, King David, blessed and richly gifted by God, sees a desirable woman, takes her, fathers a child with her, and when there is a risk that this sacrilege will be discovered by the lawful husband Uriah, David has him killed in war. According to the law, adultery and murder were punishable by death, but who would accuse David, who had secretly instigated it all?

God sees the outrage and he confronts David through Nathan who asks, “So why did you disobey the word of the Lord and do such a terrible thing?” David knows that these deeds must lead to his death, since he himself had previously pronounced the judgment.

David confesses his guilt and God forgives him. He will not die, but God makes it clear to David that what David did will not go unnoticed. Iniquity and shame will be exposed, and they will fall back on David. His own family will turn against him, and what David did in secret will now be done in the sight of all Israel. The death of Uriah also has consequences. The illegitimate child that David wanted to plant on Uriah will not live.

The story of David reveals to us, even today, (among other things) two fundamental insights:

1. Overconfidence leads to challenges:

The behaviour of David is perhaps not unknown to us. Surely, we all know people whose success has gone to their heads. Politicians who think they are above the law, athletes who don’t know when to stop, musicians who become arrogant towards their audience, industrial managers who bring their companies to ruin, and much more private environment and maybe we are also affected by it.

When we succeed at something over and over again, when something never gives us trouble, we often forget why. Anyone bottling and selling good water can only do so as long as the associated spring is bubbling. When we forget our dependency on “the source”, we make ourselves the “source”, we stand in the Danger of overestimating ourselves. We think we can decide for ourselves what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong. This is the temptation from which God is to protect us, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer.

2. Our actions are not without consequences:

One who breaks a jar in anger can be forgiven by the owner of the jar, he may not even have to replace it, but the jar remains broken. If it was the only jar available, the consequences may be even greater, as water can no longer be drawn and thirst will set in.

In the letter to the Romans, among other things, Paul urgently points out that we must remain aware that, despite grace and redemption, we must be careful about what we do. He speaks of the fact that someone who is freed from the guilt of sin through Jesus Christ wilt not go to sin further.

Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

Where we follow the commandment of Jesus: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” Luke 10:27. We will do everything possible to ensure that our actions do not harm anyone, and we will not forget “the source” either.