The Effects of God's Curse

King David thought he could sin with impunity, maybe even he bought into an early version of the divine right of kings which asserts that a monarch is not subject to earthly authority and that only God could judge David for his actions against Bathsheba and Uriah.

Nevertheless, the curse uttered by Nathan began to play out in his life. Amnon was David’s oldest son and the crown prince. Just like his father, he had a strong sex drive and he lusted after his half-sister Tamar and raped her. Adding insult to injury, he wanted nothing to do with her afterwards. Absalom took revenge a couple years later by killing Amnon and then fled to avoid his father’s anger.

Eventually King David allowed his wayward son to return and Absalom expressed his thanks by dethroning his father and then having sexual relations with his concubines. Then another man named Sheba stirred up the ten northern tribes of Israel in revolt. God prospered David, and the nation of Israel reached its highest level of success prior to the rape of Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, then the blessings stopped, and the nation had to pay for the sins of its king as Nathan’s prophecy was fulfilled.