Collateral Damage

 

David and Bathsheba’s baby dies.

Uriah dies.

When Uriah is sent too close to the wall of the city, others went with him and died.

Some of David’s concubines are going to be given to his son.

God is love. God is just. God is good. God is holy. God is faithful and true. God is sovereign. God is all-knowing. God is all-powerful. God is merciful. God is a consuming fire. God is gracious and kind.

He can never deny His character because He’s also unchanging. He will always be all those things and more.

He was not unjust in anything He allowed to happen. He can’t be unjust. He was not unloving in anything He allowed to happen. He can’t be unloving.

Why does He allow those things to happen and orchestrate circumstances so that they will happen?

It must be because He is loving and good and just and pure and holy and faithful and true. God only acts with a motivation of love. He can’t not love. He is love. He can’t deny Himself. He can’t stop being love.

The residents of the Ammonite city David and the Israelites take over all become servants to the Israelites, forced laborers. Is God just in that? Yes. In fact, they were shown mercy in not being killed. How is God loving the Ammonites and the Israelites? God so loved the whole world that He sent Jesus, but He has chosen for Himself a people to redeem and allows all the peoples of the world the choice to become one His chosen children.

Uriah entered their family. Rahab entered their family. Ruth entered their family. God’s heart is wide open to embrace any number of children. He would adopt them all.

Solomon is born and the Lord loved him. It is proclaimed over him that he is the Lord’s beloved. Did God love the baby that died? Yes! He can’t not love.

What was special about Solomon? He was the chosen child to carry on David’s line ending in Jesus. He was going to care for God’s beloved children of Israel. God sees the end from the beginning. He knew who Solomon would be, including how he would turn his heart to worship his wives’ idols. And yet, while we were still sinners, God loved us.