Is God Too Harsh With His Judgment?
‘Now therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah to be your own.’
This is what the LORD says: ‘’Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ’’ 2 Samuel 12:10-12.
This is what the LORD says: ‘’Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ’’ 2 Samuel 12:10-12.
David committed a rather heinous series of sins. It is chilling to think that he gave a letter to an innocent man which contained orders for his own death. David did all that for his self-preservation. He wanted to cover up his sins.
God responded with swift judgment. He showed mercy by sparing David’s life but the other consequences were very severe: the sword was never to depart from David’s house; there was to be calamity on David from his own household; someone close to him would sleep with his wives in broad daylight before all Israel. All these things happened to David.
Question: Was God too severe in the judgment he brought on David? Is God too severe when He judges? Is there any value to the harsh consequences we sometimes reap for our actions?
Yes, there is great value to the consequences we reap for our actions, unpleasant as they may be. The key thing is whether we will grow better or bitter from those consequences.
Let me mention two values:
First: God’s judgment is never to be taken as punishment. God chastises us out of love to correct and restore us to a more peaceful and pleasant state of existence. The consequences we face for our sins are meant to discipline us and prevent us from falling into the same sins which could eventually destroy us if left unchecked.
The Bible declares:’’. . . My son, do not make light of the LORD’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son. . . . No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’’ (Hebrews 12:5-6,11). One of the greatest blessings in life is to embrace divine discipline and harvest the righteousness that comes with it. It makes you grow.
Second: Divine discipline is meant to serve as a lesson not just for ourselves alone but for others as well. Here we are reading about David’s ordeal thousands of years after its occurrence. We are blessed by the lessons of David’s life. It serves as a deterrent to us not to do the same things he did! God might seem harsh in his judgment of sin but the value attached to it is incalculable! If you focus on the lessons, you will be a much better person.
God responded with swift judgment. He showed mercy by sparing David’s life but the other consequences were very severe: the sword was never to depart from David’s house; there was to be calamity on David from his own household; someone close to him would sleep with his wives in broad daylight before all Israel. All these things happened to David.
Question: Was God too severe in the judgment he brought on David? Is God too severe when He judges? Is there any value to the harsh consequences we sometimes reap for our actions?
Yes, there is great value to the consequences we reap for our actions, unpleasant as they may be. The key thing is whether we will grow better or bitter from those consequences.
Let me mention two values:
First: God’s judgment is never to be taken as punishment. God chastises us out of love to correct and restore us to a more peaceful and pleasant state of existence. The consequences we face for our sins are meant to discipline us and prevent us from falling into the same sins which could eventually destroy us if left unchecked.
The Bible declares:’’. . . My son, do not make light of the LORD’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son. . . . No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’’ (Hebrews 12:5-6,11). One of the greatest blessings in life is to embrace divine discipline and harvest the righteousness that comes with it. It makes you grow.
Second: Divine discipline is meant to serve as a lesson not just for ourselves alone but for others as well. Here we are reading about David’s ordeal thousands of years after its occurrence. We are blessed by the lessons of David’s life. It serves as a deterrent to us not to do the same things he did! God might seem harsh in his judgment of sin but the value attached to it is incalculable! If you focus on the lessons, you will be a much better person.
Prayer: Father, I thank you for the valuable lessons I learn from the consequences of my sins. Please help me to see them positively and not with bitterness. Amen.