Written by Dawn Rutan
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
