The Impact of Decisions

When you make a decision, do you always consider how it will impact those around you? I do sometimes, but I certainly can’t say that I always do. There are certain times when the decision I make is because of the impact it will have on those around me. There are other times when I don’t really think about it until afterward and I realize that I should’ve thought before I acted. The other day I was reading in 2 Samuel about David and Bathsheba and was reminded once again of how important it is to think about our decisions before we make them because it can greatly impact those around us.

I’ve heard and read the story of David and Bathsheba multiple times throughout my life, but I don’t think I ever really took the time to think about how drastically David’s sin affected her. I’m going to give a summary of 2 Samuel 11-12:25, but I highly encourage you to read it for a better understanding of it and for the full context. Anyway, David was supposed to be at war, but he stayed home instead. He saw Bathsheba bathing, decided he wanted to lay with her — even though he knew who her husband was — and had his servants go get her and bring her to him. He laid with her and sent her home, but then she tells him she’s pregnant. So, he sends for her husband to come home from war, tries to get Uriah — her husband — to go lay with her so that everyone would think the baby was his, but David’s plan fails miserably. Since his plans fail, he sends Uriah back to war with a note that contained instructions to have Uriah killed. Uriah is sent to the front of the battle and dies. David finds out, Bathsheba laments over her husband’s death and then David takes her in and she gives birth to a son. God sends Nathan to give a message to David which included the consequences for his sin. One of the four consequences for his sin was that the son he’d had with Bathsheba would die. David repents and is forgiven, but the consequences still stand and their son dies. David comforts Bathsheba, lays with her, and she conceives again. She gives birth to Solomon — who would go on to succeed David as the king of Israel and become a part of the lineage of Jesus (Matt. 1:6).

David’s decision not to go to war when he was supposed to leads to all sorts of bad decision making and sin on his part. Had he been were he was supposed to be, he wouldn’t have encountered the temptation to sin that he did. This made me realize the importance of doing what we’re supposed to be and being where God has called us to be. When we shirk our responsibilities and don’t do the things that we’ve been called to, problems often arise.

Anyway, David’s decision to summon Bathsheba and lay with her after being informed of her marital status was wrong. Then he lays with her — it isn’t mentioned specifically whether there was mutual consent or not, but based on what I read in “The Bible Recap” by Tara Leigh Cobble, it sounds as though some Scholars believe that there was not. David was the king, so Bathsheba may not have been given a choice considering the times. Either way, it appears as though David thought he could sleep with her and no one would find out since Uriah was gone to war. Then, she finds out she’s pregnant and sends word to David.

When David finds out that Bathsheba is pregnant, he comes up with a plan to make it look like the child is Uriah’s. He calls Uriah home from war and tries to send Uriah to stay the night at his home with Bathsheba, but 2 Samuel 11:11 says, “Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”” Uriah refused to go home and sleep with his wife while the rest of the men were gone to war. David’s first attempt to cover up his sin failed. He tells Uriah to stay home from war another day and then he’d send him back. David has Uriah eat with him and gets Uriah drunk, but Uriah still refused to go home and sleep with his wife. David’s second attempt to cover up his sin failed.

Since David was unable to get Uriah to go home and sleep with Bathsheba, he knew he wouldn’t be able to make Uriah believe that the baby she was carrying was his own. David decides to send Uriah back to war with a note that says to have him killed. Uriah goes back to war and Joab follows David’s instructions and places Uriah in a battle position that would get him killed — and it did (2 Sam. 11:17). 2 Samuel 11:26-27 says, “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.” David has Uriah killed to help cover up his sin, but Bathsheba is the one that loses her husband. Whether David thought about Bathsheba’s feelings or not before he had Uriah killed isn’t mentioned, but I think he should have. He does take her in and make her his wife so she isn’t left without any provision or protection, but that may not have even been necessary if he wouldn’t have had Uriah killed in the first place. Would Uriah have been killed in a battle anyway? Maybe, we’ll never know, but David was still wrong to have him killed and Bathsheba experienced the grief of losing her husband because David chose to have him killed.

God’s displeasure with David leads to consequences and one of the consequences was that the son Bathsheba had born him would die — and he did (2 Sam 12:18-19). Now, on top of losing her husband because of David’s sin, she also loses her son because of his sin. How absolutely heartbreaking. As a mama myself, I can only imagine the pain that she experienced in losing her son. I’m not sure if she ever knew that the loss of her husband Uriah and the loss of her son she bore to David were both the result of David’s sin or not, but either way, she experienced grief and suffering because of David’s sin.

Bathsheba does go on to bear Solomon who ends up in the lineage of Jesus, but God certainly didn’t need David to sin in order for Solomon to exist. It reminds me of Esther 4:14 when Mordecai tells Esther that if she doesn’t help deliver her people, God would bring deliverance some other way — the question was not whether or not deliverance would come, but rather whether or not she would get to be used as a part of it. The question was not whether or not David would have a son that would become the next king of Israel and be a part of the lineage of Jesus, the question was which woman would bear him that son. God used Bathsheba to bring forth that son, but had David never taken her as a wife, He would’ve used another woman.

All of that was a great reminder to me that my choices — my obedience and my sins — can greatly impact the people around me. When I experience consequences for sin and blessings from God, they both have an impact on those around me. I was reminded that while God is more than able to bring redemption out of brokenness and sin, I am not required to sin in order to allow God to bring redemption out of it — that’s absolute silliness! Paul writes in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!…” God is so gracious toward us and He doesn’t need us to sin in order to accomplish His plans.

So, it is my prayer that I would learn from David and remember not to ever try and cover up my sin — he couldn’t and I can’t. The only One who is able to do that is Jesus — and He did. Whenever we try to fix our sin on our own, it ends terribly. We need to use wisdom and have humility that we might not sin and seek His forgiveness when we do sin. Trying to cover up sin with more sin leads to more sin, pain, grief, and death. May we be people who gather wisdom from God and then use it to keep ourselves from sinning, while also remembering to immediately run to Him as soon as we realize we’ve sinned.

Do you think through how your decisions affect those around you? What is something that helps you remember to think before you speak/act so that you can make wise decisions?

Song(s) of the Week: This week I chose “Firm Foundation” by Cody Carnes because I really like it! Enjoy!