Today’s Bible reading is 2 Samuel 12 and Revelation 17.
“For you did it secretly, but…” (2 Sam 12:12)
“Thus says the LORD” to David through Nathan the prophet. Why? Throughout 2 Samuel 11, David had acted secretly.
- He secretly looked at a woman named Bathsheba with lustful intent
- He secretly inquired about her identity
- He secretly took her and committed adultery
- He secretly sent for her husband Uriah after hearing of her pregnancy
- He secretly got Uriah drunk to complete the cover-up
- He secretly engineered Uriah’s murder
- He secretly believed that with Uriah dead, he could marry Bathsheba, have the child, and move on, leaving his dark closet full of secrets … secret
The fundamental flaw in David’s plan? There’s really no such thing as a secret sin. “For you did it secretly, but…” God saw. God knew. “The thing that David had done (in secret) displeased the LORD” (1 Sam 11:27).
Ironically enough, it’s David that God used to communicate to all people of all time:
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you. (Psa 139:11-12)
In an era of “anonymous” apps, “disappearing” photos, “incognito” browsers, “no-strings-attached” hookups, and destinations that boldly advertise “What happens here stays here,” let’s remember … there’s no such thing as secret sin. Our Creator “delights” when “truth” fills “the inward being” (Psa 51:6). So let’s pray today with David, “teach me wisdom in the secret heart.” Let’s be honest with ourselves and, most importantly, with God.