Today we looked at the fact that we are God’s elect (1 Peter 1:1-2). At the start of a new year, we can often feel uncertain and afraid of what may happen, but it is helpful to know that our identity is secure in God. Peter’s first letter was written to believers who were ‘exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.’ (1 Pet 1:1) To be an exile is not an identity willingly chosen, but one forced on us by circumstances, yet even in times of difficulty and persecution, Peter is adamant that we are chosen by God – not because of our talents or skills, but because of God’s mercy (see Rom 9:9-13).

The doctrines of election and predestination have been controversial throughout the years but ultimately depend on God’s foreknowledge and omniscience. This does not mean we have no personal responsibility; it can be hard to balance God’s sovereignty with human freedom, but the Bible proclaims both truths. Peter tells us we have been chosen ‘according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood…’ (1 Pet 1:2) To be sanctified is to be made holy, to be set apart for God. As we allow God to work in every area of our lives by His Spirit, we are made holy to become more like God.

To be chosen is a mystery, but one which should make us rejoice! It helps us to surrender our lives to God and to live in cooperation with Him, choosing to obey His commands. (John 14:15), allowing Him to be our Teacher and Guide. We have new purpose and a new identity. We aren’t defined by our past or by our present circumstances (living as exiles scattered through persecution.) Instead, we are defined by God and what He is doing in our lives.

2 Samuel 12 teaches us much about mercy and grace and the possibility of restoration and fresh starts. But it also teaches us about the consequences of our sins. Nathan brings a word of judgment to David, which will reverberate down through David’s life. Not only is he told that the son conceived in adultery will die, but he is warned that violence will ensue in his own family and that his secret adultery will be repaid with open adultery from his own household. Much of the rest of 2 Samuel goes on to chronicle how this is fulfilled.

We can know the glories of forgiveness and fresh starts, but we also have to deal with the consequences of our actions, for we reap what we sow. David sowed death by murdering Uriah, and must see four of his sons die subsequently. He sowed deceit and betrayal and reaped deception and betrayal in the person of Ahithophel. He sowed sexual sin and reaped that through his sons’ behaviour.

The lessons David had to learn were hard, but we see from the way he accepted God’s judgment that his repentance is real. He knows that God is just and cannot turn a blind eye to sin. He may mourn, but he is able to trust God’s goodness, even in times of difficulty and heartache.

We left David in 2 Samuel 11 in a sorry place, having sinned greatly against the Lord through deceit, lies, adultery and murder. What he had done displeased the Lord, and so God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin. Perhaps we would have talked about bad behaviour and crimes, but Nathan is aware that this is sin, and it demonstrates a lack of respect for God above all. He is fearless in tackling the problem, quite unlike our modern tendency to try to cover things up and pretend there is nothing wrong.

Nathan’s methodology, however, intrigues us, for he tells a story about a man and sheep. Perhaps he knew that this would catch the attention of David, a former shepherd, but as David burns against the injustice in this story, Nathan connects it forcibly to David’s own behaviour. Stories often pierce our defences because they seem so innocent, but their sting is to reveal our own nature to ourselves. David is humbled, seeing how he has behaved arrogantly and with no thought for God, as his great psalms of repentance indicate (Ps 51, Ps 32.)

The good news in 2 Samuel 12 is that sin doesn’t have to have the last word. Grace, mercy, compassion and forgiveness have the greater place in David’s life. We see this at the end of the chapter, when a second child is born to David and Bathsheba, named Solomon, but given the name ‘Jedidiah’ (‘loved by the Lord’) through the prophet Nathan. There can be new beginnings and second chances because of God’s forgiveness and grace.