Paybacks?

I’m not much on Doom and Gloom but the financial events of the last week combined with my Bible reading this morning have me thinking.

2 Samuel 12:11-14

11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 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. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2012:11-14;&version=31;

This is taken from the account of how King David got the “hots” for Bathsheba. She was married to a soldier, Uriah, fighting in David’s army at the time. David sleeps with Bathsheba and she becomes pregnant. David brings the husband home from the war and tries for 2 days to give Uriah a chance of sleep with his wife.

The plan was to cover up the fact that she is pregnant. It does not work, Uriah is an honorable man and will not go home to or sleep with his wife while the rest of the army is in the field at war.

David than sends a message back to the battle WITH Uriah to arrange for the husband to be killed in battle, You can read the account in 2 Samuel 11: 1-26.

Now that the husband is dead David takes Bathsheba as his wife, thinking he has got over an everyone. However, God knows what has been going on and sends Nathan the prophet to rebuke David.

After the rebuke David confesses his sin 2 Samuel 12:13 “I have sinned against the Lord”

God, speaking through Nathan responds "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

The lesson for us all. God WILL forgive us of our sins if we repent and acknowledge our sin. BUT the sin will have an effect of some sort on our lives and the lives of those around us.

*As a sort of a side note.
I wonder if this wouldn’t have turned out different if David, rather then just admitting his sin had also thrown himself down before God and asked forgiveness? Jump to 2 Samuel 12:18-20.

Consider the plight of the United States today. Depending on who you talked to less then two weeks ago, the economy was in either growing or dwindling. Some would say times are good. Others would say times are bad. Now the news is full of words of fear that our economy is on the verge of collapse. Despite the fact that some have tried for some time to “cry wolf” this has "come on us like a flood."

Consider the sins of our nation. As I have said in previous posts, the President (and our government) act on our behalf and with our full authority. God will not judge our nation for the personnel sins of our leaders. I am sure however, that he will judge our nation for the sins our “Nation” commits. The sins the Nation commits through actions, through tolerance or through indifference.

All eyes are on Washington hoping for a magic pill to heal our nation. You decide for yourself who you will place your hope and trust in. I intend to follow David’s example from vs. 16 “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground."

Please take a moment NOW and pray that the Lord God, the Father of all creation forgive us our sins as a nation and that he heal the effects of our transgression.