2 Samuel 12:24-25 (NLT) Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the Lord”), as the Lord had commanded.

King David is one of the great heroes of the Bible, having been the most successful king in the history of Israel. Yet he has the very horrible blemish of being responsible for the death of one of his own mighty men just to cover up the fact that he had slept with his wife and gotten her pregnant. He remained indifferent and unrepentant until Nathan the prophet called him out for his great sin. When he finally awakened to the horrible sins that he had committed, he repented in great anguish. Although God forgave him, the baby that was born out of that adulterous situation wound up dying. David had brought so much pain on not only himself, but on Bathsheba and on everyone who loved and cared for Uriah the Hittite as well. It's hard to fathom the depths of the mercy of God, who would forgive adultery and murder where He sees a penitent heart. But it doesn't end there.

A while later, David and Bathsheba came together and she got pregnant again. Just the fact that the Lord would allow her to get pregnant is astonishing given the history of these two, with the majority, if not all of the blame going to David. As a matter of fact, this is the first time that Bathsheba is mentioned by name. Before this, she was always referred to as the wife of Uriah the Hittite. By allowing the mention of David and Bathsheba and calling her David's wife, God was signaling that in His great mercy, He was acknowledging their marriage. But it gets more astonishing as we read that God not only accepted the baby, but that He gave baby Solomon his own special nickname. His name would also be Jedediah, which means "loved of the Lord." God not only forgave them, but to demonstrate His endless mercy, He blessed the child with His love and even chose him to be David's successor! But it doesn't end there. Bathsheba and Solomon would wind up being in the lineage of our Savior, Jesus! Once again, God miraculously made beauty from ashes. Oh the glory and the wonder of God!

Let the mercy and grace of our compassionate and gracious Savior encourage your heart today. What have you done that you may feel has disqualified you from God's mercy? The fact is that there is nothing that can disqualify you except rejecting the grace and mercy that God extends to us by rejecting Jesus. But since you have received Him as Lord and Savior, rejoice over the fact that God has forgiven you for every horrible thing that you have ever done and that He has not only forgiven you, but has and will continue to love you with a love that endures forever. He has an amazing plan to continue to make a beautiful mosaic from the ashes of your failings as you trust Him.

Pastor Joey Vazquez