A tragic example from the life of King David
The Lord Jesus had some strong words to say concerning the matter of lust. Jesus said,
“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28).
David was a great man of God. He wrote many of the Psalms. He was the greatest king that the nation of Israel ever had. But David allowed lust to overcome him and he committed two of the worst sins that a person can commit—adultery and murder.
The Bible tells us exactly how this happened. One night David was walking on the roof of his palace and he saw below a beautiful woman bathing. Sometimes you cannot help the first look, but David looked again and again until the fires of passion were raging in his heart. He sent for Bathsheba and committed adultery with her.
Some time later, Bathsheba sent word to David informing him that she was pregnant. Since Bathsheba’s husband had been away on military duty for some time, David realized that his sin of adultery would soon be exposed.
In order to cover up his sin and enable him to marry Bathsheba, David arranged to have Bathsheba’s husband killed. Then he proceeded to marry Bathsheba. He seemed to have been successful in covering up his sins of adultery and murder, but the Bible says that “the thing David had done displeased the Lord.” (2 Samuel 11:27)
God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sins of adultery and murder. David truly repented of his sins and confessed them to God.
David said, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2).
David was truly broken hearted over his sins. God forgave David and restored him to fellowship with Himself. But David still had to reap the consequences of his sins. The Bible says,
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7).
Because of David’s sins, God sent word to him through the prophet Nathan that “the sword” would never depart from his house. This meant that David would have much sorrow and tragedy in his family. This came to pass, just as God had said.
The son born to Bathsheba died. Amnon, one of David’s sons, raped his half-sister, Tamar. Another son murdered Amnon. Another of David’s sons, Absalom, led a rebellion against his father and was killed in battle. These were some of the terrible consequences of David’s sin.
From this account of David’s great sin, we can learn two important lessons:
Although we may be forgiven of our sins, we must reap the consequences of our actions.
Some sins have terrible, lifetime consequences.
You may say, “That won’t happen to me.” But it can! David was a spiritual giant, but even he was not strong enough to overcome his lust once he had allowed his passions to be stimulated. Neither will you be able to overcome your lust if you allow your passions to be aroused.
No one can seek and submit to sexual stimulation continually and not sin. The Bible says, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:8).
