At Calvary, the cost of every sin must be calculated by all the damage it did, often for generations.
How many times had David sinned with Bathsheba? Once. And how many times did it take for her to be “with child” (2 Sam 11:5)? Just once. As we noticed, “when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (Jas 1:15). Our wrong desires seem like cute babies. A little flirting, a little tale-telling, a little grasping after sin’s momentary pleasures. But desire doesn’t stay that way. It “gives birth to sin.” It’s the smallest and seemingly most innocent the first time, but it grows into a monster and destroys us! David was the man after God’s heart. If it could happen to him, it could happen to us. Some momentary pleasure in the bedroom, and then what? The result of the king’s sin was growing, and the secret would soon be evident to all. So “David sent to Joab, saying, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite’” (2 Sam 11:6). When Uriah arrived from the front, David inquired about the battle, then dismissed Uriah to spend the night with his wife. He hoped Uriah would cover up the king’s sin and later assume that the baby was his. Instead “Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house” (v 9). He explained, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents,…encamped in the open fields” (v 11). How could he enjoy the luxury of home life when his loyalty demanded he be with the troops? For three days, he remained stalwart in this— even when David got him drunk!—and effectively signed his own death warrant. Imagine! “David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah” (v 14). Uriah was to be placed “in the forefront of the hottest battle” (v 15) and then abandoned. The scheme worked. “Uriah the Hittite died” (v 17). But now Joab knew the secret. And Jehovah did as well.