Against whom does David sin?

Did you notice in this morning’s Bible reading who David sins against? We read 2 Samuel 12, the story of the prophet Nathan going to David to expose his sin of murder and adultery and pronounce God’s judgment.

Nathan’s message is that David has sinned against Uriah by killing him and taking his wife.

But the main thrust of God’s message through Nathan is that David has sinned against God.

God says: ‘Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?’ (2 Samuel 12.9)

God says: ‘Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ (2 Samuel 12.10)

David says: ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ (2 Samuel 12.13)

Nathan says: ‘Nevertheless, because be this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.’ (2 Samuel 12.14)

David’s sin of adultery is mainly sin against God. David acknowledges this in Psalm 51, the psalm he writes after being confronted by Nathan. David cries out to God: ‘Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.’ (Psalm 51.4).

The realization that our sin is mainly sin against God is both sobering and hope-giving. It is sobering because it means that there are no ‘small’ sins. All sin is sin against God, and therefore infinitely serious. It is hope-giving, because God is merciful. We saw that in 2 Samuel 12 this morning, because Nathan says to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’ (2 Samuel 12.13)

Today, let’s remember who we’re sinning against.

Posted by Stephen Witmer on Jun 28, 09:30 AM