CHANGING THE MIND OF GOD

It is imperative that we believe that the will of God cannot be manipulated to render unto us our desires. His will and Word is law for all creation. It cannot be made subject to the wiles of man.

2 Samuel 12:13-23

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die.

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

David prayed that his son would live in spite of the spoken Word of God by the prophet, Nathan. He endeavored to change the mind of God. However, he was righteous enough in his approach to petition the mercy and grace of God. This leaves no room for him to approach the Lord with any justification for the sins he committed. He knew that if the Lord spared the child’s life, it would be out of mercy and grace and nothing else. Nevertheless, the child dies. David stops fasting and petitioning, cleans himself up and enters into the temple to worship, (simply meaning that he bowed himself before the Lord in humble submission to His will). Afterwards, he comforts his wife, lays with her and produces another baby, Solomon, whom the Lord loved.

THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN

Notice that in the story of David and Bathsheba, the penalty for his sin was death. He had committed adultery and murder. However, immediately after he acknowledged his guilt Nathan responded with, “the Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. The term “put away” simply means that David had been forgiven. The Lord would not allow David nor Bathsheba’s life to be taken, which was the just and personal punishment due unto them

God’s forgiveness simply removed the penalty of the sin from David. He was not allowed to die in the sin. To do so, would have meant eternal death. An example in the New Covenant is the conversation Jesus had with the elders of Israel.

St.John 8:21-24

21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.

23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins

Note the Lord declares that they are from beneath, while He is from above, and that when He departs they cannot come to Him, though they seek him. Why? Even though they seek Him, they will not find Him because they will die in their sins. Consequently, to die in your sin is to be eternally barred from the presence of God.

The Lord spared David and Bathsheba of this eternal damnation. He put their sin away from them that they might not die in it. II. the consequences of the sin Let us read the same account of David from The Amplified Bible.

2 Samuel 12:7-14

7 Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king of Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

8 And I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added that much again.

9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, doing evil in His sight? You have slain Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have murdered him with the sword of the Ammonites. [Lev 20:10; 24:17.]

10 Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because [you have not only despised My command, but] you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

11 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.

[Fulfilled in 2 Sam 16:21,22.]

13 And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die [Ps 51.]

14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord and given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child that is born to you shall surely die.

As we continue to follow the life of David after the sin, we find that tragedy dwelt in his household. One of his sons raped his daughter, Tamar, then we have brother killing brother, (Absalom kills Amnon), and finally Absalom goes to war against his father, David, and lays with his wives in the sight of all Israel. These were the judgments of the Lord. They were the consequences of David’s sin. Now does this mean that David was not forgiven? No, it does not. Forgiveness is relative to the penalty of sin being retained or remitted concerning the soul of the individual. As in David’s case the sin was removed, but the judgments remained. One might look upon this principle as being only applicable to the Old Covenant, seeing as how we now reside under the banners of grace and truth. Nevertheless, the principle is the same today as it was yesterday. Let us look at a New Testament example.

1 Timothy 1:19-20

19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Let us also look at the Amplified version . . .

1 Timothy 1:19-20

19 Holding fast to faith (that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence) and having a good (clear) conscience. By rejecting and thrusting from them [their conscience], some individuals have made shipwreck of their faith.

20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan in order that they may be disciplined [by punishment and learn] not to blaspheme.

In these scriptures, we see that it is possible for the Sons of God to be disciplined and punished for the sins they commit (here on earth), learn what it is the Lord is instructing, repent and then be delivered from the penalty of eternal death.

This determination is made due to the fact that Sons of God who sin blaspheme the name of the Lord. In our society today, it is possible for a Son of God to commit fornication, contract the Aids virus and still be forgiven for the sin itself. It is not accurate to assume that forgiveness in such a case will include the removal of any consequence associated with the sin. It is also possible to commit adultery and father a child outside of the marriage as a result of the adulterous relationship. The child does not disappear simply because the father has repented and been restored spiritually by God. Neither does the United States Government suspend 18 years of child support because the father has acknowledged his wrong and is now in right standing with God. These are all consequences that must be endured patiently by the offender

Peter 4:15-19

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Paul warns us not to place ourselves in a position to have to suffer the consequences of sin. We would be wise to heed his admonishment.