2 Samuel 12:10, commentary and pictures

The sword never departing from his house means that continuing violence, conflict and trouble would remain in his household because he had despised God and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be his wife. To despise God was to depart from Him and to turn the kingly power He had given against His law to take Uriah's wife and command Uriah's death, and obedience to such a command is itself sin, for God-given authority is to be exercised only in harmony with divine law. That sentence, spoken through Nathan's reproof for coveting and taking Uriah's wife and breaking God's law, was fulfilled as violence continued among his sons, with Amnon's grave crime, Absalom's revenge killing and rebellion and death bringing the predicted trouble upon his house. God severely chastised him by letting things in his own house take their natural course without interposing, so that consciousness of sin broke his spirit, weakened his authority over his sons, kept him silent when he should have condemned sin, and let his evil example lead others to sin more freely. A just God did not sanction or excuse the sin but forgave him when with remorse and sincere grief he bowed and acknowledged his guilt without excuse, yet still punished him because he had given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, so that though repented and forgiven he still reaped what he had sown as testimony that God will surely punish the guilty and that past righteousness will not save the righteous who turn from righteousness.

Sin and Sentence

The sword never departing from the house means continuing violence, conflict and trouble would remain in David's household because he despised God and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be his wife. Uriah fell by the sword of the Ammonites after David ordered him placed in the fiercest fighting and abandoned there. His sons later repeated his wrongdoing, Amnon committing a grave crime, Absalom killing Amnon in revenge and later rebelling against David, bringing the predicted trouble upon David's house and continually reminding him of the injustice done to Uriah and Bath-sheba. Though David repented and was forgiven and accepted, he still reaped the baleful harvest of the seed he had sown, and the judgments on him and his house testify to God's abhorrence of the sin and furnish no countenance to sin. The name man after God's own heart was true of David only while pure and walking in God's counsel; when he departed and stained his character by crime it ceased to be true until repentance returned him to the Lord.

To despise God was to depart from God and to use the kingly power God had given him contrary to God's law to take Uriah's wife and to command Uriah's death, acting for the time as Satan's agent while still holding his God-given position and claiming obedience. Joab sinned in yielding that obedience because his allegiance was to the king rather than to God. God-given authority is to be exercised only in harmony with divine law, and it becomes sin to obey a ruler's command when it breaks God's law.

After Joab carried out the order that killed Uriah the Hittite, David dismissed the death as the ordinary chance of battle, as the sword devouring one as well as another, telling Joab not to be displeased but to make the battle stronger against the city.

The sentence belongs to Nathan's reproof, in which the prophet exposed David's guilt through an illustration and then identified David as the guilty man with Thou art the man, reproving him for coveting and taking Uriah's wife in breaking of the seventh commandment and for transgressing God's law. The punishment was for the heinous crime concerning Uriah and Bath-sheba and for plurality of wives, and a just and impartial God did not sanction or excuse these sins but sent Nathan with reproof and heavy denunciation and visited David with judgments, permitting the sword never to depart and evils to rise up against him from his own house. Because David awakened to his sin and with remorse and sincere grief bowed before the prophet and acknowledged his guilt without excuse, God forgave his sin, spared his life, and averted part of the threatened calamity, yet still punished him because he had given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. David repented before God with bitter repentance, humiliating confession, despairing cries and continuing awareness of his transgression ever before him, relying on the efficacy of Christ's blood for pardon, and he did not repeat the offense and therefore received compassion. To repeat the same offense after such reproof would forfeit compassion as a further rejection of the warning, so ministers who continue in lust, unlawful intimacy, and coveting neighbors' wives without real conviction, repentance, and genuine conversion remain under guilt and face moral ruin. The terrible calamity is evidence to after generations that God will not justify anyone in transgressing his commandments but will surely punish the guilty with retribution, however righteous and favored they once were while following the Lord in purity of heart, and that when the righteous turn from righteousness and do evil their past righteousness will not save them from wrath.

Judgment Fulfilled in House

The lasting judgment was that violence, conflict and trouble would never depart from the household because of despising God and taking Uriah's wife, and it was fulfilled as wrongdoing continued among the family. The sons repeated the father's wrong, Amnon committed a grave crime, Absalom killed Amnon in revenge and later rebelled and died, bringing the predicted trouble upon the house. Those calamities continually reminded David of the injustice done to Uriah and Bath-sheba, and he recognized and bore these afflictions as punishment and correction from God for transgression of the commandments, for adultery and for taking Uriah's wife.

Absalom's conspiracy was that foretold punishment now unsheathed against David, and David recognized the rebellion as its fulfillment with his sin ever before him while the outcome of the struggle remained uncertain. The sword remaining in the house was seen when his own son who came forth from his own family sought his life, forcing his humbled and mournful flight from his throne for his life.

God severely chastised him by permitting things in his own house to take their natural course without interposing to prevent the result. Consciousness of sin and its far-reaching results broke his spirit and humbled him before his subjects, weakened his influence and his authority over his sons and their respect and obedience, kept him silent when he should have condemned sin and made him feeble to execute justice in his house. His former prosperity attributed to obedience was replaced by an evil example that exerted its influence upon his sons and led others to sin more freely. The judgment for adultery and arranging Uriah's death was delayed, but he later recognized that he was reaping what he had sown and that God's justice showed hatred of sin.

The great crime recoiled terribly upon him and his house, and his entire character deteriorated under a conscious sense of guilt. He felt he had forfeited the love and loyalty of his subjects, was weakened physically and morally, lost self-respect and self-confidence, and scarcely dared trust his old and formerly tried advisers. In that adversity he took a humble position, sensing his sin most keenly with broken spirit and tears but without repining, rage, or revenge when cut to the quick by unmerited wrong, curses, and reproach that broke his heart, accepting the affliction as from the Lord.

Forgiveness, Discipline, and Warning

A just and impartial God did not sanction or excuse David's heinous crime in the case of Uriah and Bath-sheba and his plurality of wives. He sent Nathan with reproof and heavy denunciation, and through him pronounced judgment because David had transgressed His commandment. Because David awakened to his sin and with remorse and sincere grief bowed before the prophet and acknowledged his guilt without excuse, God forgave his sin, spared his life, and averted part of the threatened calamity. Yet He still punished him because he had given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, showing displeasure at his departure from right by visiting him with judgments, permitting the sword never to depart and evils to rise up against him from his own house.

The name man after God's own heart was true of David only while pure and walking in God's counsel. When he departed and stained his character by crime it ceased to be true until repentance returned him to the Lord. Though he repented and was forgiven and accepted, he still reaped the baleful harvest of the seed he had sown, and the judgments on him and his house testify to God's abhorrence and hatred of sin and furnish no countenance to sin. The terrible calamity is evidence to after generations that God will not justify anyone in transgressing His commandments but will surely punish the guilty with retribution, however righteous and favored they once were while following the Lord in purity of heart. When the righteous turn from righteousness and do evil their past righteousness will not save them from the wrath of a just and holy God, and turning from God's teachings sullies a once-fair reputation.

The warning belongs to the discipline through which David learned wisdom from God. God exposed his sins through Nathan's faithful and truthful rebuke, and the warning of judgment was part of the chastisement that brought him to recognize his true condition, humble himself, and put away his sins. God's warnings against sin can thus serve His purpose of leading sinners to repentance. David accepted the rebuke, bowed under God's chastisement, and was deeply humbled and contrite, not rebelling against God or hating the prophet who delivered it.

David repented before God with bitter repentance, humiliating confession and despairing cries, with his transgression ever before him, and relied on the efficacy of Christ's blood for pardon. He did not repeat the offense and therefore received the Lord's compassion. To repeat the same offense after such reproof would forfeit compassion as a further rejection of the warning. So ministers who continue in lust, unlawful intimacy, and coveting neighbors' wives without real conviction, repentance, and genuine conversion remain under guilt and face moral ruin.