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The Beginning of the End
he heard that the child was dead, he quietly submitted to the decree
of God. The first stroke had fallen of the very punishment that he
himself had declared just.
Reading the history of David’s fall, many have asked, “Why did
God see fit to throw open to the world this dark chapter in the life of
one so highly honored by Heaven?” Atheists and unbelievers have
pointed to the character of David and have exclaimed with a sneer,
“This is the man after God’s own heart!” As a result, God and His
word have been blasphemed, and many people, while professing to
be religious, have become bold in sin.
But the history of David does not give any approval for sin. It
was when he was walking with God and following His counsel that
David was called a man after God’s own heart. When he sinned, this
stopped being true of him until by repenting he returned to the Lord.
“The thing that David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord”
(KJV). Though David repented of his sin, he reaped the deadly
harvest of the seed he had sown. The judgments upon him testify
how much God hates sin.
David himself was broken in spirit by the consciousness of his
sin and its far-reaching results. He felt humbled in the eyes of
his subjects, and his influence was weakened. Now his subjects,
knowing about his sin, would be led to sin more freely. His authority
in his own household was weakened as his guilt kept him silent
when he should have condemned sin. His evil example exerted its
influence on his sons, and God would not step in to prevent the result.
So David was severely punished, and no repentance could help him
escape the agony and shame that would darken his whole earthly
life.
People who point to the example of David to try to lessen the
guilt of their own sins should learn from the Bible record that the
way of transgression is hard. The results of sin, even in this life, will
be found bitter and hard to bear.
God intended that the history of David’s fall would serve as a
warning that even those whom He has greatly blessed are not to feel
smugly secure. And it has served this purpose to everyone who has
humbly tried to learn the lesson He designed to teach. The fall of
David, one so honored by the Lord, has awakened in them distrust