In 2nd Samuel 11, King David, a man after God’s own heart (1st Samuel 13:14), commits several sins. Each sin David commits builds upon trying to cover up the previous sin. First, David lusts after Bathsheba, a woman he sees bathing on a rooftop. David sends servants to find out about her, and when they return they tell David that she is the wife of Uriah. Even though David knows Bathsheba is married, he still sends for her and commits adultery with her.
David and Bathsheba’s relationship leads to pregnancy, which David also tries to cover up by having Uriah, who was away fighting at war, come home to his wife. When his plan does not work, David has Uriah placed on the front line in battle and killed. In 2nd Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan is sent to confront David about his sin.
David wrote the fifty-first Psalm after he was confronted about his sin. Psalm 51 is a good example of how our hearts should be after we commit sin against the Lord. In the Psalm David expresses great remorse and repentance. David also expresses a strong desire to have a pure heart and to be washed of his sin. Psalm 51:9-10 states: “Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Sin is very, very ugly. Sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2). Sadly we all sin, and we must deal with our sin. We can choose to continue in the sin, as David did for a time, or we can choose to take the right path, repenting of our sin. When we sin we must repent of our sin, confess our sin, and ask the Lord for forgiveness for our sin. We should have a broken heart like David. We should be sorrowful for our disobedience to God. Christians should have the yearning to mend the relationship with God.
See the related article “Sin Separates.”