“Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess” (II Samuel 3:1,2).

Although David was called “the sweet singer of Israel” and “a man after God’s own heart,” he made many sinful mistakes. One of his most grievous errors was that of polygamy. Jesus emphasized the importance of God’s primeval intent that lifelong monogamy was the only divinely approved arrangement for human marriage, with all children sharing the same parents and family life (see Matthew 19:4,5).

But David’s first six sons were by six different wives (II Samuel 3:2–6). Furthermore, these were all born during the seven-and-a-half years (II Samuel 5:5) of bitter Patricidal war mentioned in our text. Under such circumstances, any kind of wholesome family life was impossible.

The firstborn of these six sons was Amnon, and we see David’s grief at the news that Amnon had first raped and then disdained his half-sister, Tamar (II Samuel 13:14,15). This grief was multiplied when Absalom, another of these sons, murdered Amnon in revenge and then instigated a national rebellion, finally being slain in battle himself (II Samuel 13:32; 18:14). Another later led a second rebellion against David and Solomon, ending in his own execution (I Kings 1:5; 2:24). David’s greatest sin, of course, was in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba, still another wife, followed by the death of yet another son (II Samuel 12:18).

God forgives even such sins as polygamy, adultery, and murder, however, when they are followed by genuine repentance, confession, and faith—and he forgave David. Nevertheless—as with David—the human repercussions, even of sins forgiven, can be tragic. HMM