at a glance
author: Unknown.
date: Sometime after the division of Israel into the northern and southern kingdoms, around 930 BC.
setting: The land of Israel when David ruled as their king.
verse to remember: Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die” (12:13).
theme to consider: What great news! No matter how terribly we mess up or how bad the consequences are, we can share our pain and sadness with God and ask for forgiveness as David did.
unchanging truth
How do you react when you mess up? Do you cover up or ‘fess up? Well, there are mess-ups and then there are MESS-UPS. Let’s say you get up late and throw on the first thing in your closet. You don’t notice the chocolate stain on your shirt until you get to school. This calls for a cover-up—if you’re lucky, you have a sweater in your locker. Otherwise a well-placed book will have to do.
But how about more serious stuff like not studying for a test and then cheating to get a good grade? Or perhaps you heard a nasty rumor about a friend and passed on the gossip, even though you didn’t believe it. These are the times when you need to confess your mess-ups to those you’ve hurt, including God. He hears you and is always willing to forgive—no matter what you’ve done.
David was famous for killing the giant Goliath and for winning many battles against the enemies of Israel. He was a feared and respected king. But David also messed up big time. David slept with another man’s wife. Then he arranged for her husband to be killed in battle so that he could marry her. When the prophet Nathan confronted David, David repented and sincerely asked God for forgiveness. God forgave David just as he forgives us when we are truly sorry, but David still had to live with the consequences of his actions (see 2 Samuel 12:18).
Made a few mistakes? Chosen the wrong way? Tell God about it—he’s waiting to hear from you.
1. The Lord is great! There’s no one like him, and he deserves our praise (7:22).
2. Sin and deception have a snowball effect—one sin leads to the next, to the next. There’s no escaping the consequences of our sin (11:1–27).
3. When you sin, you may face severe consequences, as David did. But no matter how severe your sin, God will forgive you if you confess your sin and ask for his forgiveness (12:1–23).