2 Samuel 11-13

794 Words2 Pages

The book of 2 Samuel tells the story of King David and his rise to power, as well as reign- the good and the bad. The focus here will be on 2 Samuel, chapters eleven through thirteen, which depict some of the darker times in David’s rule. The theme of these three chapters is God’s modeling of King David. This theme develops throughout the three chapters with the disobedience and punishment of David. God creates laws for His children not because he wants to restrict us, but because he desires a relationship with us so that we may be able to draw nearer to Him. He also gives us laws to protect us from the harmful repercussions of sin. Therefore, if David had followed God’s laws, he would not have been faced with such turmoil towards the end of his kingship. Before becoming a king, David is solely dependent on God. However, after realizing that kingship comes with many powers, David starts to rely on his will to overpower his judgment and knowledge of God and His will. Although it may seem like David’s sin begins at the moment he lays his eyes on the beautiful Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop, his sins actually begin many nights before when he makes decisions that turn his focus from the will of God to the will of self. Thus, David’s first sin of focusing on his own will, rather than God’s, leads to one sin after another which eventually causes a curse to fall upon David’s household. When David commits the sin of adultery with Bathseba and gets her pregnant, and then murders her husband Uriah, he does not realize that what he has done is wrong. Therefore, God sends Nathan to David, who uses the parable of the rich man who steals the poor man’s sheep to let David know of his own sin. David responds to the parable by condemning... ... middle of paper ... ...t his punishments. He knows that in order to be respected, He must follow His words and teach lessons. God develops David into a better ruler, a better man and a better example through punishment and forgiveness. The theological themes that stood out in this narrative are God’s willingness to forgive after David’s repentance, and his need for punishment. If David had not repented, God would have no reason to forgive him, but he did repent, and God forgave him. If God had not forgiven David for his wrongdoings, David would have strayed from him. At the same time, if God had not punished David, David would have taken everything into his own hands and taken God for granted. The cycle of punishment, repentance and forgiveness is something seen very often in this section of the Bible, as well as in other parts. Without that cycle, God would not be same God we know today.

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