Even, in our...
Illustration
Even, in our time, when we are hardened to many outrageous acts, this sin is shocking. In good soap-opera style, it seems almost unbelievable, especially coming from one so near to the heart of God and recipient of God's anointing.
As a great lion tamer remarked, "There is no such thing as a tamed lion." David was a great leader, but there were some weaknesses in his moral and spiritual leadership. He, too, learned that there is no such thing as a controlled and eliminated passion. Because of his sin, he was set up for some political and military upheaveals that would plague his later years.
Thomas a Kempis described sin as arising from a suggestion, then becoming a strong imagination, then delight, and finally assent. One can almost track this process in our text. The plot led David from one terrible sin into another. It became a double crime; not only adultery, but finally murder.
Penalties often grow out of the sin itself. Before David knew what to do, Bathsheba was coming to him with news of her pregnancy (a scene that is repeated too often today). David tried any number of maneuvers to get Uriah and his wife back together, in an effort to conceal his sin; but Uriah was much too faithful to his duty as a soldier. The more David struggled to be free of the sin he had committed, the more securely it entwined him.
Sin becomes a syndrome that continues to pull us down, until either we or the syndrome are broken. Finally, it is not detection of sin that is to be dreaded, but its very presence.
- Gasperson
