Some time ago when I was reading through the Old Testament I
noticed something new. Chapter 11 of 2 Samuel tells the story of David and
Bathsheba, and it lists Bathsheba’s husband as Uriah the Hittite. However, if
we go back to Exodus 34:11-12 God’s command to the Israelites was repeated:
“Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the
Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the
Jebusites. Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land
to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst” (ESV).
In the rest of Exodus and on through Joshua and Judges, we
see how the inhabitants did indeed become a snare to the Israelites and caused
one problem after another. But by the time of the kings there were Hittites
among David’s armies, and men of several nationalities were listed among
David’s mighty men in 2 Samuel 23, including Uriah. He was one of the
outstanding men supporting David, and yet David chose to sacrifice him to cover
up his own sin with Bathsheba.
All that made me wonder—what if the Israelites had obeyed
God in destroying the nations inhabiting the Promised Land? Although the
initial conquest would have taken more time and effort, later conflicts could
have been avoided. And if Uriah the Hittite had not been in Israel, would David
have been tempted to sin with Bathsheba or whoever his next door neighbor was? What
would have happened to the lineage of Christ?
We could speculate for eternity with “what ifs,” but we have
to remember that God is both sovereign and omniscient. He knows the end from
the beginning, and even the disobedience of the Israelites played into His perfect
plan for the birth, death, and resurrection of His Son and the salvation of His
chosen people. God has a perfect track record for using the consequences of sin
to bring about His own purposes. We tend to think of redemption primarily in
terms of the salvation of souls, but Scripture talks repeatedly about redeemed
lives. God didn’t just purchase our souls, but our entire lives—the good, the
bad, and the ugly. “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6), and yet
God not only saves us but redeems our mistakes to turn them into something
beautiful and productive. He uses each event to shape us into the image of
Christ so we can better reflect Him to those around us.
In Isaiah 61, part of which is later quoted by Jesus at the
beginning of His ministry, God promises “to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of
praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of
righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor” (Isaiah
61:3 NIV). Despite all the times Israel disobeyed God, still God turned the ashes
of their brokenness into something beautiful that He could use, and it was all
for the display of His glory. He continues to do the same thing through us
today. When we confess our sin we discover the beauty of God’s mercy and love.
When others sin against us we see the wonder of reconciliation. When we suffer
loss we know the sufficiency of God’s provision.
It’s hard to wrap our minds around the fact that God allows
sin and difficulty in our lives because it will ultimately bring glory to Him. I’m
sure as a young man David wasn’t thrilled with having to run from King Saul,
and later he would have done anything to undo his sin against Bathsheba and
Uriah, but just think how many of the psalms would not be in the Bible if
everything in his life had gone smoothly. As it is, his testimony of God’s
faithfulness is a valuable reminder to the rest of us. Scripture is full of
examples of God’s glorious works on behalf of wounded and sinful people. May we
be encouraged to know that God is in control and He works all things together
for our good and His glory.
“He has made
everything beautiful in its time” –Ecclesiastes 3:11a
