David was a great king. He was gracious toward Saul and his household. He ruled with wisdom and kindness. He won important military victories and acquired fame and riches. The people loved David. He was a man after God’s own heart.

But David was far from perfect. Really far. As far away as we are from the moon, or the sun, or another galaxy. David was a sinner, and sometimes when David sinned, oh boy did he sin a lot.

One time, David saw a pretty woman named Bathsheba and decided he wanted her to be his wife. That might not seem so bad, except David already had too many wives and Bathsheba already had a husband. And because David was the king, Bathsheba didn’t have much choice in whether to be David’s wife. That was bad too.

But that’s not all the bad David did. Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, was one of David’s fighting men. He was a brave soldier, fighting at the front lines. David knew that the only way he could have Bathsheba for himself was to get rid of Uriah. So he planned to trick Uriah. David ordered his military commander to pull back from Uriah in the battle so that Uriah would surely die. And he did.

David was a murderer.

And an adulterer.

And a thief.

And a liar.

Bathsheba mourned for her husband, and when the time for sadness was over, David married Bathsheba, and she gave birth to a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to confront David. Nathan told a story about a rich man with everything who stole a little lamb from a poor man who had nothing. David was furious. “What a terrible, horrible, nasty thing to do,” David said. “That man deserves to die.”

Just then Nathan made a surprising announcement: “You are the man!” David could now see that he was the selfish rich man who deserved to die. Later David wrote a song about his sin and God’s forgiveness. “Have mercy on me,” he sang, “according to your steadfast love.” He also sang, “Create in me a clean heart,
O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

David did horrible things. He also did amazing things. And of all the amazing things he did, the most important is that he repented of his sins. David was great because he knew he was a great sinner who worshiped a greater Savior.