2 Sam 11-12, 1 Chr 20, Ps 51 & 32, Acts 27
In April 2010, an oil platform called the BP Deepwater Horizon spilled an estimated 4 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. According to Time.com,
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said BP was mostly to blame for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, which killed 11 people and spewed oil into the water for 87 days. Barbier attributed 67% of the fault to BP, 30% to Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and 3% to Halliburton, the cement contractor.
But, instead of fully acknowledging their role, BP deflected blame, pointed fingers and downplayed the severity of the incident. In the end, the company agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle the claims against them. The settlement was made without BP admitting to any wrongdoing.
BP, of course, is not the only company to settle claims without admitting fault. It happens all the time. Enormous amounts of money are offered up to make the problem go away. On some level, it works.
King David found himself in a bad spot. It was discovered that he had an affair with Bathsheba and that he attempted to cover it up by killing her husband, Uriah. Now, David had gotten on with his life. With Uriah dead, he married Bathsheba and she had a baby. But the Lord was ‘displeased’ (2 Samuel 11:26). Consequently, the Lord took the life of the child. But that’s not all. God also promised to punish him by ‘raising up evil from his own house and giving his wives to his neighbor (2 Samuel 12:10-11). Clearly, God was angry and justice had to prevail.
If you were David, what would you do?
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry,” I would exclaim, my voice trembling. “I’ll do anything. Anything! Here, take this money.”
“I’ll give it to the church. I swear, I’ll help the homeless. I’ll give it to the poor. Just please, believe me.”
“God, you have to see—you’re going to be so happy with all the good I am about to do!”
“Surely we can make some kind of deal.”
What this confession misses, David gets right. His first response when confronted was confession. “I have sinned against the Lord,” he says. In Psalm 51, David takes his confession deeper. He pours his heart out to the Lord privately. But this also happens publicly. David made no attempt to cover up anything that he did.
Did you notice what is conspicuously missing from David’s confession? Money. In fact, he outright rejects the temptation to present money as reparation to God. He says, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalms 51:16-17).
Because of David’s confession and repentance, God is able to continue his aszzwork through him, starting with the blessing of another child, Solomon. The sins and mistakes of the past have not been erased or eliminated as if they never happened. They still exist and are well documented. But, now, through David’s faithfulness, and God’s loving mercy, they are redeemed.