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Chapter 2 Samuel 11-12 Explain And Show The Nature Of God

Decent Essays

Interpretation of the text

The chapters, 2 Samuel 11-12, explain and show the nature of humans and the nature of God as well. David is used as an example in these chapters as someone who falls short of temptation while being highly favored by God. David was doing everything right and was rewarded for it. David was granted everything he could possibly want and it was well deserved from his good intentions and morals. When David all of a sudden sees a beautiful woman bathing, he feels like he can justify himself as someone who is deserving of her knowing that she is married to a friend and soldier. Uriah was in battle fighting and David impregnates his wife, Bathsheba. David immediately orders Uriah to come home so that he can cover up his …show more content…

God favors David greatly and it is obvious in the Old Testament especially in Acts 13:22 when He says that David is “a man after my own heart”. It is amazing to see God love, forgive and care for someone you has committed such harsh sins as David. After the parable, God continues to speak through Nathan by asking David how he could ‘despise’ him like that after all the things that God has done for him. God punishes David by condemning his house and wives, and then tells him his child he had with Bathsheba will die. David confesses, “I have sinned against the Lord”, and Nathan tells David, “now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die”. In Arnold's Commentary it says because of Yahweh’s nature, sin has a limited life span, but love lasts forever. This is translated as having consequences for sins, being forgiven for them and no matter what always being loved by God because God’s love is eternal. I think in that day and age one couldn’t just be forgiven for one's sins but also have to make amends for them. There are debates on whether there is a punishment for one’s sins and unfortunately this intention or idea doesn’t make a lot of sense to us today because of our law and commandments. Some scholars think that the overall sequence and series of struggle that David deals with later on is part of the divine punishment. This would make a lot of sense that the death of David and Bathsheba’s child was because of the adultery that David had committed. The punishment of David’s house would also make sense and have to do with David getting Uriah killed intentionally. These events were the outcome of David’s sins. When reading the scripture and commentaries, we should see this as the overall punishment of God. One wouldn’t second guess the judgment of the Lord but there are moments where actions can be called upon for

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