By TONY HOSS
There are many individuals who believe or at least live as if they believe in situation ethics. Is it true that something can be un-sinful in one place or at some time and then be sinful in another place or time? We read an interesting story in 2 Samuel 11; a story of a king who found himself in a precarious situation.
This is the story of David and Bathsheba. Israel had gone to battle the Ammonites. It was customary that Kings would go to war with their troops, but in this situation King David remained in Jerusalem. Why he remained is left untold. What if David had gone to war with his armies? God could have received honor, sin and death of the innocent could have been avoided. In the text, David was having trouble sleeping so he arose from his bed and walked upon the rooftop of the king’s house. While there, David saw a very beautiful woman washing herself. The woman was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite who had gone to war with the armies of David the king. There could be many factors that contributed to the sin that David and Bathsheba involved themselves in. He was a man of power, wealth and might; she was a woman who no doubt felt loneliness in the absence of her husband. Regardless of the situation they both found themselves in the actions they took were wrong. Eventually, David sent for her and she went to him. In this situation, David committed adultery with Bathsheba, sometime later she sent David the information that she was with child.
It is evident to the honest of heart that the two were involved in sin. However, in our world today many would try to reason their actions were not sinful due to the situations they were in. Some would say, David is a king with a lot of problems on his mind, he was a man with great responsibilities. Many would reason that because of the heavy load he was burdened with he could not sleep. Many would reason that the fornication he was involved in was not wrong because he needed some way to relieve the tremendous amount of stress he was under. When it comes to Bathsheba, many would declare she was a lonely woman with sexual desires and needs and since her husband was gone for a long time there was nothing wrong with her fulfilling her needs. Some might say that a woman shouldn’t deny the king of all of Israel, so when she was summoned she went. Many would think that during the time of war such actions were not so bad because it helped each of them to relieve the stress that comes with war time. Some would say it was a special situation that demand special attention. Some would say that ordinarily such a thing should not and would not have happened, but these were not ordinary times. Many in our society would be very slow to condemn people under such conditions, saying nothing wrong was done.
However, God’s attitude toward their actions is much different to what many in the world would think. We should remember that our actions are the things that will be judged as we stand before God on the Day of Judgment. Eventually, God sent Nathan to tell David how wrong he was in what he and Bathsheba had done. When David finally came to himself and admitted the sins he had committed he said, “I have sinned against the Lord” 2 Samuel 12:13. Throughout his life, David would be reminded of the sins he committed, but he went on to do great service for God. In his humility he repented of his sins and God forgave him.
While David was not a perfect man, he humbled himself when he realized he had sinned. Many today try to invent justification for their sins. Sin is sin regardless of the situation we find ourselves in. We should remember that a thing cannot be both right and wrong at the same time.
(Tony Hoss is minister at Centerview Church of Christ, Elizabethton. He can be contacted at 737-2287 or by email at: CenterviewCOC@comcast.net)