II Samuel 12:8; “And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.”

“As the last straw breaks the laden camels’ back.”  Charles Dickens  “Dombey and Son.”

David was guilty of many sins as I listed in an earlier devotional.  So is David’s sin with Bathsheba the last straw that finally releases God’s wrath?  Has God said that He has had enough of David’s sins. Or is there something special about this sin. Is it just one sin that stands out, one that is so bad that God has to rebuke David? Clearly David broke three of the Ten Commandments: commandment five – you shall not murder, commandment six – You shall not commit adultery, and commandment nine – you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. Let’s take a look at that ninth commandment. Some recent discoveries coming out of the Hebrew University show that the word chamad means more than just covert or desire it actually means to take. Thus David committed murder, adultery and took his neighbor’s wife. Murder and adultery were two capital offenses in David’s time and he should have been put to death.

In verse 13, however, we learn that God not only forgave David’s sin before he even asked, but promised that David would not die for this sin. Yet, he still took it upon the chin for what he did.

In verse 8 we see a little glimpse of what made this sin so terrible. God tells David that He gave him Saul’s house and Saul’s harem. We do not know how many wives David had but he surely had enough to choose from. He was given the kingdom over Israel and Judah and if that wasn’t enough all he had to do was ask for more. Actually Scripture says, “if that was too little…” The word little is ma’at which has the idea of not sufficient or not enough. God sought to be sufficient in all David’s needs. This is what hurt God’s heart.  Sure it was bad that he committed adultery and murder, but the sin that really broke God’s heart was that he had to resort to adultery and murder to satisfy a need rather than just ask God.  In verse 9 we read that God accused David of despising God’s law when He listed his sins, but when it came time to meet out his punishment, he was accused of despising God Himself.

The word despise is bazah which has the idea of distain, or contempt. It is like putting all sorts of expensive foods in front of your cat and he arrogantly turns his nose up to it and walks away. “Sorry, but that tuna fish is just too, fishy tasting.” It has the idea of turning God into a servant, as one who exist only to meet your own needs and desire. David literally turned his nose up at God and said, “What you have given me is not enough, I want more.” This is how David despise God.  He wasn’t satisfied with what God gave him. God was just another one of David’s many servants. True David committed a great sin in breaking the commandments of God, but what made this sin stand out among all the others was his wanting something that God would not give him so he just reached out and took it anyways.

We see ourselves as these holy, pious Christians who have never committed adultery or murder, yet how many times have we reached out and grabbed for something that God did not want us to have.  Sometimes we face certain questions in a job interview and are tempted to stretch the truth a little about our experience. That little stretch might be just what was needed for you to land that job. But if you could not get that job without stretching the truth, then that job would not have come from God. Is it even possible that the candidate next in line was truthful and needed the job more than you did but you took it away from him? Not only would you have broken one of God’s laws, but would have taken something that rightfully belonged to someone else. Worse than that, you would have literally despised God. You would have said; “God, what you have given me is not good enough, I don’t trust you to provide for my needs, I want more and I will take it by breaking your law.” Such an act would be breaking God’s heart.

The word for despise is spelled Beth, Zayin, Hei. The Beth represents one’s blessings.  Its shadow is to not be grateful for those blessings. The Zayin represents binding yourself with God and its shadow is to overindulge, to reach out beyond you binding with God and obtain something that does not come from God. The Hei is the broken letter and indicates a broken heart. To despise God or distain God is to show such little gratitude for the blessings that God gives such that you will reach out for blessings not from him. This will result in breaking God’s heart.

We all tend to look at our situation and compare it to old Charlie, why he has a better job, more financial security, a better ministry a nicer car and you think, “I want that, I just don’t have it all, surely God would want me to have all that.”  We go so wrapped up in what we do not have that we fail to look at what we have been given by God. Compared to Christians in third world nations, we are living like kings.  If that is too ma’at (too little, not sufficient for you needs) just ask God.  If he does not give you more, perhaps He has already given you all you really need and should then be content with that and not reach out and take what you want by breaking His law and declaring that He is a bad God, he just does not give you enough.