Be Careful How you Judge

Principle: God’s judgments are not only related to our sinful deeds but our own judgments.

God illustrates this variable in His judgment with King David, a man after His own heart.   David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of his faithful soldier Uriah.  Bathsheba was pregnant by David.  Sadly, David tried to cover his sin by a plot to make Uriah think the child was his own.  When his plot did not work, he sent Uriah into the hottest part of battle to insure his death.

After the death of Uriah, he married Bathsheba to give the impression that the child came through their marriage union and not their adultery.

God gave David time to repent but after months of hiding his sin, God sent the prophet Nathan with a parable that David did not understand was God’s rebuke for David’s sin.

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”[1] (2 Kings 12:1-4).

As a former shepherd who had a tender heart toward sheep, David made his judgment partly based upon the law of restoring fourfold and going beyond the law in declaring the death for a man for the death of a sheep.

5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!….

In judging the unnamed man, David was unknowingly affecting his own judgment.  God would chastise David severely for his sins.  He would experience a four-fold judgment of death on his own house.  Four of his sons would die: his son conceived in adultery died as a child, his son Amnon would be murdered by his son Absalom because he raped his sister Tamar, his son Absalom would die in battle after driving David from his throne, and his son Adonijah would die by the hand of Solomon.

9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 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.’ 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”

God’s judgment was greater for David because he sinned with a greater understanding of God’s character. Had David not covered his sins so long, his chastisement would have been different.

13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, 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.”(2 Samuel 12:9-14).

Some wonder why David was not put to death for the capital offense of adultery and murder as the Law of Moses commanded.  God did not ignore the death penalty for David’s sin.  His justice was satisfied by the death penalty being freely paid for by the Lord Jesus on the cross.  David received God’s provision of mercy and forgiveness by faith.

Pray for Christian leaders in America who like David had their secret sins made public and gave occasion for the liberal unbelievers to discredit the whole message of righteousness because of the failure of a few.  A moral failure of a Christian does not justify the immorality of the many.

Prayer:  Lord today we pray for our pastors and spiritual leaders.  Help them to walk in close fellowship with you and not yield to the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the Devil.