[Noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath King David] sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba [1], the daughter of Eliam [2] and the wife of Uriah the Hittite [3].” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”
2 Samuel 11:3-5, NLT
The full letter from Bathsheba would be like this:
My Lord King David,
I approach you with a heart laden with trepidation and a plea that carries the weight of two lives. I am with child, The seed planted during our recent and singular encounter has taken root, and I am to bear its fruit. It was as unexpected to me as this news may be to you.
I am acutely aware of the gravity of our situation. The law is clear and unsparing to those entangled in the web of adultery [4]. The icy breath of death is chilling against my skin, yet I stand before you in this letter, stripped of all but my faith in you – faith that you will see not just me, but the innocent child within me, shaking in terror. It would be within your rights, my king, to terminate my whisper of indiscretion, to preserve the sanctity of your crown and the peace of your house [5].
Yet, amidst the shadows of trepidation, I see a glimmer of hope – a hope kindled by the gentleness I perceived in the brief moments we shared, a testament to the love that I believe resides in your noble heart. It is to this love that I now appeal. I implore you, not as a king to his subject, but as an image bearer of God to his unborn child, to show mercy and compassion.
My Lord, the King, I am placing my life and the life of your unborn child in your hands, trusting that you will not choose the path of destruction to shield yourself from liability. While the law is clear, it is the hand that wields power that determines the outcome of justice. I beseech you to wield it with mercy and to act with the love and integrity that resides within you.
May the God of our fathers, who anointed you and guided you through perils before, guide you now in this moment of profound decision. I trust that you will act with honor and protectiveness toward the life we have created, even when it is shrouded in despair.
In hope and trust,
Bathsheba
Share with your friends “When faced with the repercussions of our actions, how do we decide the right course?”
[1] Bathsheba (“daughter of abundance”) has the alternate name “Bathshua” (daughter of prosperity) in 1 Chronicles 3:5, and has three other sons in addition to Solomon.
[2] Eliam, Bathsheba’s father, is listed as one of David’s elite The Thirty warriors (2 Sam 23:34) and the son of Ahithophel, David’s trusted counselor (2 Sam 16:23)
[3] Uriah the Hittite, is listed as one of David’s elite The Thirty warriors (2 Sam 23:39) and is at the siege of Rahbah with Joab at this time (2 Sam 11:6)
[4] In the cultural and legal context of ancient Israel, death was prescribed for both the man and woman involved in adultery (Leviticus 20:10)
[5] However, let’s not forget that a powerful king could murder the vulnerables to keep everything under wrap. At this moment, David didn’t get there yet.
When faced with the consequences of our sins, we must first recognize that we were wrong and we must repent in order to receive God’s grace and forgiveness. We need to pray for his forgiveness and not repeat the same wrongdoings or go further into sinning. We need to surrender to God so that we can be convicted by the Holy Spirit to lead a righteous path.
After reading the story, I must admit I’m quite frustrated with David, or maybe even men in general, hahaha. Knowing that Bathsheba was Uriah’s wife, why did David continue to pursue a relationship with her? I suppose it might have been somewhat customary for kings of that era to have relationships with many women, but this was the wife of one of his loyal generals. It’s clear how one sin led to another when it wasn’t nipped in the bud.
Seeing Bathsheba bathing and inquiring about her should have been where it ended. Why did David persist in inviting her to sleep with him? and now she is also pregnant. Great!!! Can we actually choose the consequences of our sins? We can choose to commit the sin, but we can’t control the consequences. Death is indeed one of the consequences of our sins, but Jesus paid the ultimate price with His life. It wasn’t cheap; it cost Him His life. So should we sin more?
(from Steve)
I think I am lost and confused with this devotion (study) but if I am certain of one thing, in the past when faced with obstacles such as this like David I would have taken matters into my own hands because I use to think I can resolve any issues on my own without help from anyone or God. Today is different a story I would now seek counsel from people I trust for rightous answers which is those like Don, Bumble and R.P, but most of all God and prayers, I’ve come to realize how easy I can deceive myself into justifying my actions, our devotions on self deception has taught me that much.
To an extent, we can choose the consequences of our sins in the sense that we can confess and come clean before things really snowball.
How to decide what to do involves listening to the Holy Spirit’s calls to repentance and seeking wise counsel from brothers/sisters in Christ.
Sin has clear addiction dynamics. We start with small sins and develop a tolerance to it so we need heavier and heavier doses to get the same effect.
Over time, your will-power atrophies to the point where you can’t put up a fight anymore and your heart becomes more hardened to God’s voice.
The penalty for our sin is death..Christ’s atonement for our sins removed the penalty of our sin but we must still bear the consequences of our sin..the gravity of those consequences might be ameliorated by confessing/repenting earlier rather than later
I think after committing a sin I believe the right thing to do is repent and ask God for forgiveness. I think the right action to do is to reevaluate your actions to help stray away from sin. It is hard to do that because maybe the guilt and shame felt from doing the sin, but I think it is the right thing to do. It is one thing to ask for forgiveness and take it for granted, but if you put thought into it it shows that you are craving for change and want better.
From Rose:
I’m not quite sure what the question is asking, I would think that the repercussion(s) is not our choice and that is already layed upon us. Is the question asking how we deal with the consequences?
I would think we would just have to accept our fate. We can either run mask it and sin further or we can take responsibility and understand that we are reaping what we have sown. I don’t think we can choose a reaction, that’s why a reaction is just that…a reaction. We don’t choose reactions, we just choose how we handle the consequences.
🤷♀️
When faced with the repercussions of my actions, I would first come to God and ask Him for forgiveness. Part of it too would be to reflect and take ownership of my actions. I know that God’s Word is very clear on instructing us with sin and what to do when we face it. It is definitely hard sometimes because of the shame that comes with sin, but humbly coming before God is a step in the right direction.
People know that there must be consequences that we will face when we do wrong things. From what we have learned, we know that the decision to sleep with another man’s wife is the worst one that David ever made. When faced with our consequences, we need to recognize and repent for our sins to God sincerely. We should pray God to forgive us and teach us how to fix or resolve our actions.
We decide the right course when facing repercussions by resorting to his word. By surrendering to the Lord. We know that what we do to lead ourselves has led us to this demise. It is through Christ’s blood that we can be transformed. He will continue to guide me through, that way I can be molded into the person he created for me to be and the person he needs me to be.