9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

King David’s excursion into adultery reveals that, regardless of one’s state in life, one cannot

commit it without damaging relationships any more than murder. II Samuel 12:9-14 describes the

cause-and-effect process.

Sin produces two overall effects: First, because of the breach of trust, it creates division

between us and God (Isaiah 59:1-2).

1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

 Second, it produces evil results in the world. Upon true

repentance, God’s merciful forgiveness cancels out the first. However, the second remains, and

the sinner must bear it and – tragically – so must those caught within its web. As a result of

David’s sin, five people, including four of David’s sons, died directly or indirectly: Uriah,

the illegitimate baby, Absalom, Amnon, and Adonijah!

But the punishment did not end there. II Samuel 16:20-22 relates another step in the unfolding

of this sin’s effect:

20 Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.

21 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.

22 So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give counsel as to what we should do.” And Ahithophel said to

Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel

will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be

strong.” So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his

father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

II Samuel 20:3 adds a final note on this event:

3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines,

 whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them.

 So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

Now David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, his concubines whom

he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go in

to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

God prophesied it, and Absalom and Ahithophel used it politically to discredit David and elevate

Absalom. It illustrates Absalom’s disrespect for his father, which was at least partly rooted in

his father’s notorious sex life. Did the adultery make the concubines’ lives better?

(Proverbs 6:27).

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

 No, he cannot. Not only is he burned, but those close to him also suffer because this sin’s

 penalty reaches out to destroy what should be very dear and cherished relationships.