2nd Samuel 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
This passage of scripture presents to us one of the strange providences of God, which many seeking to understand, have inadvertently stumbled over. At first glance, it presents a sort of conundrum to the surface reader, for it appears to go directly against what God has said in several other passages of scripture, for in the beginning when God created Adam and Eve, He stipulated in no uncertain terms that a man should have only one "Female" wife, in addition to which He specifically warned the rulers of Israel not to multiply wives to themselves, since it would set a very bad precedent for the sin-loving multitudes to follow. Let's read:
Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Deuteronomy 17:14 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren"... 16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself".... 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away"....
It is often the case, when the human heart clamors for that which is not good, that God grants permission for the desire to be fulfilled, even though it is not His ideal will for His children, and the reason why this is because in all of His dealings with us, He recognizes and honors our freedom to choose either good or evil. Thus, in our first passage, when He says, "I gave thee thy master's wives", we should understand that long before God gave David his heart's desire, he himself was fulfilling his own wishes, for the sacred record shows that he had several wives long before God gave him other women.
Furthermore, the word "Gave" should never be understood to mean that God went ahead and chose multiple wives for His servant, but rather that David was permitted to have his own desire, since he was already doing so any way. Let's read:
2nd Samuel 3:2 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
Often when children clamor for things that are not for their best good, the parents give in, and allow them to have their heart's desire, even though, as parents, we know that it is not for their best good. Case in point is the notorious candy, which millions of parents will give to their kids over the Halloween season, even though they know full well that it is not good for their teeth. And it is also true that when we take them to the dentist, and they scream and cry because of tooth aches and fillings, they will be reminded by the dentist that candy should be avoided, if they desire to have good teeth.
Thus it is, that what God permits is not always His best will for us, and He may let the evils run their course, so that hopefully, when we end up by the "dentist", we too will realize that having candy is not in our best interest. Having several different wives as David clamored for, and was permitted to have, indeed set a bad precedent for the next monarch of Israel, for Solomon's desires along those same lines, resulted in him marrying 1,000 women. Thus, a deadly train of circumstances was set in motion, by which the spirituality and moral standing of Israel took a serious hit, and David was brought to the lowest point in his reign, through that one desire to have multiple wives.
The Bible tells us that there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death, and thus, in trying to understand this strange providence of God, the real take away for us is that it is never good to depart from God's ideal will, for by so doing, our sins will cost us more than we are willing to pay, will take us further than we are willing to go, and will keep us longer than we are willing to stay. We therefore end with a few passages of scripture which confirm to us this sobering truth, and it is the will of God, that as we study these strange providences, that we will choose wisely and make straight paths for our feet. Let's read:
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!