2 Samuel 11:22-27: a reflection

22So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. 23The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field; and we were on them even to the entrance of the gate. 24The shooters shot at your servants from off the wall; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.” 25Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your battle stronger against the city, and overthrow it.’ Encourage him.” 26When Uriah’s wife heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27When the mourning was past, David sent and took her home to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

After David has arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle to cover his sin, the news of Uriah's death is brought to him. And notice how coldly David treats it: Don't let this thing displease you, he tells Joab; the sword devours one as well as another. He dismisses the death he engineered as just one of war's casualties, rationalizing it away. He takes Bathsheba as his wife, the cover-up seemingly complete. But the account ends with a sobering line: the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. However David rationalized it, God saw, and was displeased.

Notice the contrast: David rationalized and dismissed his sin, but it displeased the LORD. David treated the death he had arranged as a mere casualty of war, dismissed it coldly, and moved on with his life as though the matter were closed, his sin covered and rationalized away. But God was not deceived by David's rationalizing; the thing displeased the LORD. What David had explained away to himself, God saw for what it was, and was displeased. However neatly David covered and rationalized his sin, it remained sin before God, who saw and was not pleased.

That is worth taking to heart, for we too can rationalize and dismiss our sin, but it still displeases God, who sees. We can explain our sin away to ourselves, dismiss it, rationalize it, cover it, and move on as though the matter were closed; but God is not deceived by our rationalizing, and our sin, however explained away, still displeases him. Do not imagine that rationalizing and dismissing your sin makes it acceptable; God sees it for what it is, and it displeases him, however neatly you have explained it away, as David's covered sin still displeased the LORD. Do not rationalize your sin away, treating it as closed because you have explained it to yourself; God sees, and it displeases him, so bring it honestly to him rather than covering it, as David's sin, rationalized and covered, still displeased the LORD who saw it.

Lord, after David has arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle to cover his sin, the news of Uriah's death is brought to him. And notice how coldly David treats it: don't let this thing displease you, he tells Joab; the sword devours one as well as another. He dismisses the death he engineered as just one of war's casualties. He takes Bathsheba as his wife, the cover-up seemingly complete. But the account ends with a sobering line: the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. However David rationalized it, you saw, and were displeased. Show me the contrast: David rationalized and dismissed his sin, but it displeased you. David treated the death he had arranged as a mere casualty of war, dismissed it coldly, and moved on as though the matter were closed. But you were not deceived by his rationalizing; the thing displeased you. What David had explained away to himself, you saw for what it was. However neatly David covered his sin, it remained sin before you. Take that to my heart, for I too can rationalize and dismiss my sin, but it still displeases you, who see. I can explain my sin away to myself, dismiss it, cover it, and move on as though the matter were closed; but you are not deceived by my rationalizing. Keep me from imagining that rationalizing and dismissing my sin makes it acceptable; you see it for what it is, and it displeases you, Lord. Keep me from rationalizing my sin away; help me bring it honestly to you rather than covering it.