It seems that David’s consequences were passed to innocent parties (Bathsheba – victim, losing her son, baby dying). How do we reconcile that with God’s “fairness” when explaining to children or perhaps to non-believers?
Great question. Personally, I would likely start with Job 38-41 where God asks Job questions like, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” and “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place?” In other words, He is God and He can do whatever He pleases and/or needs to do.
But that’s not a very satisfying answer from a human perspective. A better answer is to talk about the ripple effect of our actions. If a student is disruptive in class does he only affect his own learning? If a mechanic in a two-man shop is always an hour late to work, does he only affect his own paycheck? What about a guy driving the wrong way down a one-way road? In each of these cases others are impacted, harmed, or maybe even killed. In the same way David, a man and a King, chose to cross His God’s law and as a result both Uriah and the baby died and Bathsheba was twice grieved. David’s selfish act affected more than just David; it affected a whole nation! Great warning for us; as we wrestle with our own impulses!
Pastor Scott
This GotQuestions article makes a good argument that the baby was really rescued. Take a read: https://www.gotquestions.org/David-Bathsheba-child.html
Grace Notes 