In 2 Samuel 12:7-12 Nathan’s brings God’s word against David
for his sin. This word includes “Now therefore the sword shall never depart
from your house because you have despised Me …” (verse 10).
David then in verse 13 says I have sinned and Nathan says
that God has put away your sin. He then says “because by this deed you have
given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also
who is born to you shall surely die (verse 14).
The question which arises from vs 13 is “If David’s sin was
put away by God, why was the punishment of vs 10 not put away?”
Is the punishment like Karma, a must that cannot be avoided
and only escape from banishment to hell the only protection in Jesus Christ? That
is not acceptable in the light of Jonah’s preaching turning away the
destruction of Nineveh, at least temporarily.
Is there then an alternative understanding of verse 10 not
as a punishment but a prophecy of the consequence of the sin? Just as excessive
drinking leads to a ‘cirrhosis of the liver’ so the despising of God by David
led to despising of God by his children and resultant internecine fighting. Can
verse 10 be interpreted as a prophecy instead of a judgement? Or possibly both?
Does that mean that the consequences cannot be reversed
while the punishment can? That would be pushing God into a box. I would rather
say that the ‘cirrhosis’ can be cured miraculously and so the consequence
avoided, but this is not the norm by which God works. Usually we go through the
consequences with God at our side.
