2 Samuel 12:9, 13 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?…And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
The prophet Nathan had the guts to confront the king with the Word of God and convict him of his sin. This took God-given courage. David could have responded in rebellious pride and had Nathan killed on the spot. But David, still a godly believer, repented under conviction, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Against the Lord was even more important than his sin against a woman and a man. The Word convicted David, bringing him to godly repentance and sincere faith. The Lord responded by putting away his sin, and he would not die.
However, there were still consequences to be suffered. The newborn child would die after seven days. And the sword would not depart from David’s house. David’s sin was the real cause of Absalom’s rebellion. The Bible makes this clear: “the Lord struck the child,” and “I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house.”
We live in a fallen world under the curse of death, which is the consequence of Adam’s (our) sin. In the midst of death Jesus brings life: “you shall not die.” We receive that life through God-given repentance and faith. Such a response is worked by the Spirit through the Gospel.