Let's recall chapter 11 of 2 Samuel for a moment. To a David like we don't know. There he is not revealed to us as a man whom one likes to take as a role model. The picture given in the Bible shows us a man willing to use his power and position out of sexual greed to seduce a married woman into adultery. He does not shy away from murdering his husband himself. It is also striking that God only appears in one sentence in the entire 11 chapter. In the last! "But the thing that David did was evil in the sight of the Lord."
So how does God respond to transgression of His commandments and instructions? What does he do for the victims and how does he deal with the perpetrators?
First, God wants the victims to have their due
Second, God does not simply pronounce judgment on the perpetrator, but wants the perpetrator to see his wrongdoing.
Third, God forgives and punishes.
First:
Happened and suffered injustice should not remain hidden or unspoken or simply disappear into oblivion. Injustice suffered should be named and brought to the attention of the perpetrators and "if necessary" reminded so that the victims do not become nameless and insignificant. That is why God sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan openly addresses David's offense and thus sets in motion a processing and reappraisal process. In this way, David's crime does not remain hidden and the injustice done to the victims is discussed. It doesn't just go on as if nothing happened. This is where the second comes in. And Nathan is extremely sensitive about this. He does not come and confront David with harsh words, but he brings David to self-awareness through a parable story. Nathan tells David a story that superficially has nothing to do with David's crime. David listens to the prophet with interest.
1 And the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. When he came to him, he said to him, There were two men in a city, one rich and one poor. 2 The rich man had very many sheep and cattle; 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little sheep that he had bought. And he nurtured it, so that it grew up with him and his children. It ate from his morsel and drank from his cup and slept in his lap and he held it like a daughter. 4 But when a guest came to the rich man, he could not bring himself to take some of his flocks and herds to prepare the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's sheep and prepared it for the man to who had come to him.
5 David was very angry with the man and said to Nathan, Thus was the LORD alive: the man is a child of death who did these things. 6 He shall pay the sheep four times as much, because he has done this and spared his own.
David doesn't even notice that he is judging himself. Because Nathan says to him "You are the man". This is where the third one comes in. Because Nathan announces to David that the sword, i.e. violence, will seek victims in David's family in the future, that misfortune will develop from one's own royal family and that the women from David's harem will be made available to another publicly in bright light and that with Bathsheba will die.
But because David confesses his crime and his misconduct without excuse and without ado, he does not have to die for it.
Our behavior and actions have consequences. Many people see God as a God of so-called universal forgiveness. The so-called dear God, who will not let his beloved creation simply die. They see forgiveness as a weakness, but fail to understand that our behavior has consequences. Yes, God loves man, but he hates the deeds of which we humans are capable. In order to be forgiven for our actions, genuine regret is necessary. Then, and only then, will He forgive us our deeds (sins). But that doesn't mean we go unpunished. This is why it is so important that we develop a sensitivity that helps us to recognize our sins and bring them before God again and again with sincere regret.
I ask that you read chapter 12 of 2 Samuel for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
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