David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Then Nathan replied to David, “The LORD has taken away your sin; you will not die. However, because you treated the LORD with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.”  2 Samuel 12:13-14 HCSB

David violated one of the Ten Commandments, and it led to him violating another and another and another. He began by seeing Bathsheba and coveting his neighbor’s wife. Then he committed adultery. In an attempt to cover it up, he gave false testimony against his neighbor. Then when that didn’t work, he murdered Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband.

If we back up in 2 Samuel 12 to verse 10, the Lord tells David through Nathan the prophet that the sword will never leave his household. He has been very successful on the battlefield, but he will struggle to fight the battles that will rage within his own home. And then in verses 11-12 the LORD tells David, “I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them publicly. You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.”

The son he conceived with Bathsheba that first night they committed adultery was going to die just as Nathan warned. This was just the first part of his punishment for his sins. He would spend the rest of his days in turmoil with his own children.

Now many people like to say that a loving God would not punish our sins, but David was called a man after God’s own heart and God did not let him get away with his sin. What we see here is not God punishing David in anger but a loving father disciplining a son who has gone astray. Nathan told David in our Scripture passage that the LORD had taken away his sin. David was going to go to heaven, but he was going to have to serve his punishment in his remaining days here on earth.

Discipline is not fun. It’s not meant to be fun; it’s meant to serve as a learning experience. We are told in Hebrews 12:11 that no discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

I’m not saying that if you are going through hard times, it is God disciplining you. I think only you and God know that answer. Job suffered greatly even though he was an extremely righteous man. He was tested. And sometimes our suffering is a test. But sometimes it is discipline.

When we are being disciplined by God, we have no choice but to endure it and to serve our sentence. But we must not lose faith. This does not mean that God has not taken our sin away, it means our punishment must fit our crime. We must do our time, so to speak.

After working many years with the Department of Corrections, I found that those who did the best serving time in prison were those who found the Lord and remained devoted to Him. They served Him while they served their time. And those who continued to do so when they got out usually were very successful in staying out of trouble.

Don’t give up. Stay strong in the Lord. Know that He will get you through this. He will never leave you nor forsake you. But like any good, good father, He must discipline His children when we mess up.

Have a great day!