JOY "The Troubles of David" April 3, 2013

 2013-4-3

The Troubles of David

2nd Samuel 11:1- 12:31

I     David’s Great Sin    11:1-27

II    God’s Great Forgiveness   12:1-31

Charles Swindoll tells the true story, of a couple in his church, that is clear reminder to us, of just how serious God is, about fidelity.  

Clara and Chester’s marriage was a good one. Not the most idyllic, but good.  They had 3 grown children who loved them dearly, and who they were devoted to.  They were also blessed with sufficient financial security, which allowed them room to dream, about a retirement home----so they began looking for one.  There was a widower, named Sam, who was selling his home, by owner. Clara and Chester went to see the house and loved it!! They decided to purchase it, Sam accepted their offer, and they set the closing date, for a few months later.

Just before they were to meet with the lawyers, to seal the deal for the house, Clara told Chester that she wanted a divorce. He was stunned, and he couldn’t figure out why she would want to walk away from all their years together. He couldn’t believe that she could deceive him so callously, especially while they were in the middle of buying their dream home.

She explained to him, that it had been a recent decision, because she was “in love” with another man. She then confessed, that the new love of her life---was Sam, the man they were buying the house from. 

She had inadvertently run into him, a couple of weeks after they had decided to buy his house. Their affair had started, with a cup of coffee; then. had progressed to dinner the next week; and since then, they had been seeing each other, privately, as often as they could, and they had reached the place, where their relationship wasn’t just emotional, they had become sexually involved, as well.  

Clara insisted that there was no going back---she knew what she wanted and she was going to grab it-----not even their children, who hated what their mother was doing, could dissuade her.

On the day that Clara was supposed to move out, Chester walked through the kitchen toward the garage. It dawned on him, that Clara wouldn’t be there when he got home from work, so he stopped to tell her good-bye, but realized he couldn’t do it, when his whole body began to shake, as he started to weep. 

Clara felt awkward, so she cut him off and hurriedly got her things together, and backed out of the driveway, without looking back, even once. 

She drove to meet Sam and settled into his house, with him, without one speck of remorse. But, less than 2 weeks after she moved in, Sam was seized with a heart attack and lingered only a few hours, before he died.

When it comes to fidelity, or any kind of morality, really---- God is serious about our obedience-----

Grantley Morris wrote, “Fire, brings comforting warmth, or destruction, depending on whether it is under control. In the same way, sexual passion either enriches a person’s soul or it impoverishes it----it either heals or harms, depending on how it’s controlled. Human history has chronicled sexual passion’s comforting warmth, and it’s cruel destruction.”

Proof, of the universal threat, that adultery has posed to individuals and to society, is found all throughout the written history of humanity. The Code of Hammurabi, a book of laws, that originated in ancient Mesopotamia, around 1750 B.C. ---about 300 years before the Law of Moses--- declared that any man caught in the act of adultery was to be tied up and thrown into the Euphrates River.

And adultery laws have always been a part of the American legal system, even though the laws have varied from state to state---in Michigan, being convicted of adultery, can result in life imprisonment; and in Maryland, the penalty, is just a 10 dollar fine; 

while in North Carolina, an adulterer can either be fined or imprisoned, depending on the discretion of the judge-----

The presence of adultery laws in human society, from the beginning of time, until today, in every country, in every generation, in every people group, points to the fact that God has written anti-adultery laws on the human heart. David’s sin with Bathsheba, was against her and her husband, but since God has made human beings in His image, fundamentally, and ultimately, David’s sin was against the Lord God.

I      David’s Great Sin

David had been a fighter since the days and nights that he had spent in the sheepfold, warding off wild animals, that had threatened the safety of his flock. And after he had proved his prowess against Goliath,-----he had stayed in the thick, of one battle after another, for his whole adult life. 

Winter was the rainy season in Israel, the times when crops are planted. So, spring was a good time to go to war, because the roads were dry, which made travel easier for the troops, the supply wagons and the horses and the chariots---- and food was plentiful, all along the way, because it was harvest time for wheat and barley. 

Why David didn’t go with his men to battle, in that spring, of his 20^th year as king, nobody knows….If we put ourselves in David’s shoes, we could come up with numerous, reasons that might have convinced us not to go -------like the fact that * David had gotten older(he was 50 or 51, at the time) and maybe he just needed to take a break, because his stamina for physical combat wasn’t what it once had been.  Or the fact that * David might have just been plain tired, he had led such an action-packed life, for so many years, maybe he just wanted to take some time off because he had earned it. Or maybe, * David had gotten spoiled by being king for 20 years and had grown to prefer the luxurious accommodations of the palace and the lavish meals and the being waited on hand and foot…

Whatever the reason was, that prompted him to stay home---- bible commentators, across the board, agree that staying home, was the first, in a series of bad choices, that David made, which led up to his sinful behavior. 

Although the Law didn’t prohibit the king from taking a break from military duty ----it was unusual for David------- and not going with his men into battle, placed David in graver danger, than any spear, arrow, or slingshot ever could-----it left him in a vulnerable place emotionally and physically and spiritually. Our greatest battles don’t usually come when we are working hard; they come, when we are taking a break from service, or when we have time on our hands, or when we’re lonely, and or and especially, when we’re bored. (This is a lesson to us to never stop working for the kingdom---no matter how old, or tired or infirm we become----there is always a task that the Lord has for us to do, which will keep our focus on Him, and keep us out of trouble and will keep us from listening to satan’s whispers and temptations.)

A bored and aimless King David, shirking his duties in battle, spied a woman (in her own garden, taking a bath) one evening while he was strolling on his rooftop.  And instead of turning away and leaving her to her privacy, he gazed at her long enough to see her beauty, which prompted him to desire to know more about her. He found out that she was the daughter of one of his advisors and the wife of one of his guards, Uriah the Hittite. Instead of letting those two facts deter him, he let his passion and his power run away with his good sense and his obedience to the Lord God-----and he sent for her, (she didn’t think she could refuse him, he was the king after all----she ran the risk of losing her life or imprisonment if she had said no) he slept with her, got her pregnant---- and started a downward spiral of events that led to grievous consequences for everybody involved. 

There were 3 steps, into sin, that James described in James 1:14-15 and shows us, the progression of David’s sin,----and----they are the same 3 steps that we all take, when we  sin ----1. He saw, 2. He wanted to know more, 3. He yielded to the temptation. 

David, a man after God’s own heart, was brought down from a place of glory, because he chose to satisfy his own desire instead of God’s. Being a godly person doesn’t make a person immune from temptation or incapable of sinning; even godly people are capable of great sin, when they take their focus off of the Lord and put it on themselves or their circumstances. My Bible commentary says that there are 3 specific things we can do that will help us flee from temptation…* ask God, in earnest prayer, to help us stay away from people, places and situations that are temptations to us, * memorize and meditate on scripture that combat our specific weakness---at the root of most temptation is a real need or desire that God can fill,  if we let Him----but we have to trust in His timing, * find another believer that we can openly share our struggles with and call that person, for help, when temptation strikes.)

A lot of commentators want to assign some of the blame for what happened, to Bathsheba----- but when you read chapter 12---not once does Nathan, as the mouthpiece of God, ascribe any guilt to her----he depicts, both she, and Uriah, as the victims in the story, not the villians-----he lays all the blame, solidly at David’s feet-----which makes the consequences that they had to face, through no fault of their own, doubly hard to reconcile in our hearts and minds. (this is a lesson to us that when we sin, it doesn’t just affect us and our relationship with the Lord, but it drags other people into it, too, and can hurt them with incomparable hurt.) (and the tragedy of Uriah, is a reminder to us, that God doesn’t always deliver the righteous, from the hands of the wicked immediately, or even in their lifetime----we just have to trust---- that in His sovereignty, He has a good and perfect plan, that will one day be revealed, and in that day we will understand and rejoice, but until that day comes ,we just have to trust His heart when we can’t see His hand)

One of the worst aspects of this story, is that David’s sin didn’t end with his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. One sin just led to another one----Trying to hide one sin with another one, only makes the problem worse. 

David tried to hide the affair with Bathsheba, with a deceptive plot to make Uriah appear to be the father of David’s baby. David and Bathsheba, knew that Uriah couldn’t be the father, because the bath, that Bathsheba had been taking, when David had first seen her, had been a ritual bath of purification, that all Hebrew woman had to participate in, to cleanse themselves after their monthly menstrual cycles. 

David called Uriah home from the battle and twice tried to get him to go home, so that he could sleep with his wife-----but it seems like Uriah knew and lived by a law, of the Lord God, that David had chosen to forget------which was, “that as long as there was a battle going on, no good Hebrew man would avail himself of the comforts of home----especially not the comforts and joy of sleeping with his wife”…

It was bad enough that David acted like Uriah’s friend, but to get him drunk ,and then to make him carry his own death-sentence letter to Joab, seems beyond heinous, to me. But desperate times call for desperate measures------ and David must have been desperate---- because if the adulterous affair had been discovered, according to Hebrew law, both David and Bathsheba would have had to be put to death. 

(David put Bathsheba and Joab in impossible situations---Bathsheba knew that adultery was wrong--- and we know that Joab knew, from past experience, how much David hated murder, yet each one of them were terrified, not to obey him, in his requests-----there are many times when we face situations where there are only 2 apparent choices, and both seem wrong----but when that happens, we can’t lose sight of what God wants-----2 wrongs never make a right----The answer is to seek out more choices---the Holy Spirit will help us find one that honors God…)

Uriah was sent to the front lines, and in what seemed like a tactical error to the interested observer ----because he was too close to the enemy city wall---- he was killed. The report of his death didn’t bring David any joy, though, in fact, he acted almost lackadaisical about it----but it does seem to have brought him some temporary relief, about the fact that his sin hadn’t been discovered,-----and from David’s perspective, he was hoping that it never would.

After Bathsheba had mourned the death of her husband, David did take her to be his own wife------and their baby was born inside their marriage vows, even if he was a little early------ so David thought he had concealed his sins from the general public-----but knowing the kind of honorable man that David was; and knowing the kind of relationship he had always had with the Lord God; and knowing that once the Holy Spirit had come upon him as a shepherd boy, He had never left him; and from reading the Psalms, that David wrote, during that time(Psalm 32:1-11, Psalm 51:1-19, Psalm 103:1-22)---we can know, that for almost a year, the guilt nearly ate him alive----so it was the greatest of  blessings that God intervened.

Throughout history, many attempts have been made to cover up incompetence, immorality, disobedience and murder -----and 2nd Samuel is one of the greatest cover-up attempts, of all time-----but like they all do, it failed miserably----because God is an omniscient God and He knows everything, and for David’s sake, it was a good thing that God does-----because in His mercy and in His love, He exposed David’s sin, so that David could face it, confess it and repent of it. 

(David could have chosen to stop and turn from evil at any stage along the way---but the truth is, once sin gets started, it’s difficult to stop it----the deeper the mess, the less we want to admit having caused it. But it’s much easier, to stop sliding down a hill when you’re near the top, than when you are halfway down. 

The best solution is to stop the sin, before it gets started good…That’s why I always prayed for my kids to get caught the first time, so that they could be stopped in their tracks, from following the same downward path that David found himself on----of one sin leading to another and another and another…God loves His children enough to save them from themselves----even if He has to get our attention in ways that break our hearts…)

The difference between David at his best and David at his worst, speaks volumes to us, because it brings up the troubling question: if someone who loved God as much as David did, could fall that far into sin, couldn’t it happen to anyone? The answer to that question is an absolute “yes” and for several reasons: * the inclination to sin is inherent to everyone * the temptation to sin is everywhere *sinning leads to more sinning and * sinning causes people to question, and even ignore, God.

Our only hope, is the power of the Holy Spirit, guiding and controlling our lives, and giving us the strength to resist temptation, when we come face to face with it. Who can know how this episode might have been rewritten, had David, as he had done so many times in the past----turned to God for guidance, before he sent his servant to fetch Bathsheba to his chambers, or had he turned to God for forgiveness and rescue, after he committed adultery, when he knew he needed help.

II     God’s Great Forgiveness

Agnes Bojaxhiu, known to the world as “Mother Teresa”, was a Roman Catholic nun who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her selfless 

work among the poor in Calcutta, India. She founded the Catholic order of the Sisters of Charity, and ministered to the “poorest of poor”----or 

phans, widows, people infected with leprosy, tuberculosis, and Aids----in India from 1929 until her death in 1997.

On February 3, 1994, Mother Teresa was given the opportunity to address the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Attending the event was the then-president, Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary. The tiny, soft-spoken,  4 ft, ten inches high, Mother Teresa, spoke like she was a giant, that day, with her words. 

Those who were present, were captivated, as she spoke of the poor in the world. Then they were stunned as she addressed the topic of abortion, especially since the pro-abortion president and vice-president  of the United States were sitting at the head table. As she addressed the 

topic, Mother Teresa, noted: “By abortion . the mother does not  learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he doesn’t have to take any responsibility at all for the child that he has brought into the world. “ then she added  a silent indictment of the president of the US and  his nation: “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That’s why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”

As the frail nun returned to her seat, the entire audience rose and gave her a sustained standing ovation.------ well, almost the entire audience. President Clinton, Mrs. Clinton and vice-president Gore remained seated, as others stood to recognize her. Mother Teresa had used her opportunity  to confront the president if the US with the truth of God, regardless of how unwelcome the words may have been to the powerful politicians.  In doing that, on that day, she was following in the tradition of the great prophet Nathan, as he spoke the word of God to King David.

David had spent nearly a year, suffering from the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual fallout, from his sins. (In Psalm 51:2-4, David wrote, “Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from sin. For I recognize my rebellion, it haunts me day and night. Against you and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”) 

He was like a small child who was hiding in a closet, guilty of some misbehavior, his cries drowning out the voice of his father, who was trying to coax him out.  David may have withdrawn himself from God’s presence, but God didn’t remove Himself from David’s! Since David wasn’t able to hear the Holy Spirit’s whisper, above the sound of his own groaning----God chose another way to get through to David: He sent His messenger and David’s preacher, Nathan, to him.  Nathan was a prophet and a friend to David. David had even named one of his sons after Nathan. When Nathan went to David, he went, not just as God’s spokesperson, but as David’s loved and trusted friend. 

It was probably the hardest thing he’d ever done----to go to the king, with a message of rebuke and judgment was bad enough-----but to go to a friend and confront him about his sin, and then, to hold him accountable to God, for it, would have been even worse. 

(How does a man or woman of God point out sin to a friend? It has to be very carefully---with honesty and clarity and kindness---and with the Holy Spirit going before them, paving the way and softening hearts. We have to pray for courage and skill and tact. If we want the person to respond positively and constructively, we have to think through what we’re going to say----how we present what we say, can be as important as what we actually say---we have to season our words with wisdom from the scripture and we need another believer praying for us.)

Nathan used the utmost tact in delivering his message to David----To get the truth across; he wrapped the message in the language of a parable, which we know from Jesus, (the master communicator) is a simple story that teaches a spiritual lesson. Nathan made the truth accessible and pertinent to David, by placing a lamb in the center of his tale------which would have appealed to the gentle shepherd part of David, that God knew was the real David. David was insensed at the injustice of the rich man to take the poor man’s pet lamb-----and he called for the death penalty and restoration of the man’s property 4 times over---little did he know, that in pronouncing the man guilty, he was unwittingly, declaring his own guilt!!!!! (David had become insensitive to his own sins, and he didn’t realize that he was the bad guy in Nathan’s story. 

A lot of times, the qualities that we condemn in others are very often, our own character flaws (When you point your finger, look at how many fingers are pointing back at you.) Which family members or friends do we find it easy to criticize, and their behavior or attitude, hard to accept? Instead of trying to change them, we need to ask the Lord to help us understand their feelings and see our own flaws more clearly----we may just discover, that, in condemning someone else, we are really condemning ourselves.)

David didn’t see what was coming----as he had sprung the trap on himself----and as it clamped down, Nathan dramatically indicted David as the culprit. In stunned silence, David listened to the charges against him. In His message to David, through Nathan, God spend more words explaining what David had---and could have----if he’s only asked---than He did elaborating on David’s crimes. Through Nathan, God reminded David that He had anointed him as king, saved him from Saul, several times over, had given him many healthy children, and had showered him with property and possessions. In going over the list of the ways that He had provided for David, God seemed to be underlining important lessons about greed and covetousness, that were at the root of his sins of murder and adultery. 

(We all struggle with the innate desire to have what doesn’t belong to us----how can we conquer it----we have to consciously *learn how to be content---it doesn’t come naturally to us---we have to choose it through prayer and counting our blessings and choosing to be happy for the person we are jealous of. And we have to consciously choose * to learn to trust God---we have to choose to believe that God will make sure that we get everything that we need----we have to choose to believe that He is the ultimate provider and that He will always care for us, with our best interests in mind.)

God spoke to David through Nathan, as though David had forgotten all the things that God had given him----that David had forgotten that he hadn’t done anything in his own strength-----God accused David of clinging to his riches, rather than clinging to the God, who had blessed him.  Then God spelled out, in no uncertain terms, the judgment that would fall on David. His private sin was going to bear public and painful penalties. Nothing would change concerning the David Covenant, but his household, from that point forward would be marked by violence and conflict. 

God made it clear, and David recognized immediately, that after all that he had done against Bathsheba and Uriah----- first and foremost----- David’s sin was against God. 

He had ceased to humbly acknowledge, that God was the giver of all that he had and all that he was-----David had chosen to take what he wanted, instead of relying on God, to provide what he needed----

And, he had chosen to disobey 3 of God’s commandments----and he knew that he had-----and because, he knew, that he had----and because he loved God, and he missed Him, the guilt and sorrow was eating his soul up----(sin may give us momentary pleasure, but eventually, it grieves the Spirit who indwells us, and then we can’t take pleasure in the sin and it makes us sick)-----that’s the place that David had reached and God knew it----so He sent Nathan at just the right time….

When David was confronted with the facts, his confession was immediate! He didn’t try to justify his sin or rationalize it----he took full blame for it-----and he poured his heart out to the Lord in complete and total repentance. His repentance, wasn’t just the fruit of Nathan’s rebuke; it was more David’s response, to the work that God had been doing in his heart, before David had confessed, while he was still trying to cover up his sin.

David confessed his sin without any excuses and without any finger-pointing, toward anyone else. Psalms 32 and 51 clearly indicate to us, that David had given his sin a great deal of thought and the more he reflected on it----the more heinous it became to him----and the more he could see that his sin, was against God alone. This in no way diminished the evil, that he had done to Bathsheba and Uriah, but the truth is, that all sin, is ultimately, the breaking of God’s law.  Crimes are offenses against people, but sin is only against God. 

David didn’t presume against God’s grace, expecting to be forgiven and to have his life spared. He knew what he deserved and he didn’t ask to escape from it.  From Psalms 32 and 51, we know that David’s repentance, resulted in renewed joy in the presence and service of God, and a commitment to teach others, to turn from sin. Drawing near to God and clinging to Him alone, is what changed David’s heart and allowed him to confess and repent of his sins, and to accept God forgiveness for them, and to live with the consequences of what he’d done. ( no matter how miserable guilt makes us feel, or how terribly we’ve sinned, we can pour our hearts out to God and seek His forgiveness, like David did. There is always forgiveness available, for us, when we sin, if we ask for forgiveness and we truly repent)

According to the Law, David should have died for his sins----but based on divine grace, through the death of the Christ, who was coming, David’s sins were forgiven and he was assured that he wouldn’t die. Nathan’s words must have been an unimaginable relief to David, who was fully aware that all he really deserved from God, was his wrath. 

But his relief was tinged with great sadness because part of the consequences that needed to be dealt with, was the death of David and Bathsheba’s newborn son. Their son became sick within the week, and despite David’s fervent fasting and prayer, the child died.  By taking the life of the child, God was revealing just how much He hates sin and just how serious the consequences for it, are. God allowed that baby to die because He had to discipline David----it wasn’t a judgment on the child for having been conceived out of wedlock----it was a judgment on David for his sin. The child’s death was a horrible punishment for David, and Bathsheba to have to bear------- God took the child, but He still had work for David to do, in building the kingdom.   

God also, had to preserve His reputation, to the nations….God allowed David’s baby to die, because David had given Israel’s enemies, reason, to show contempt for God. To say that David’s actions had given the ungodly Canaanites, reason to scoff at the Israelite’s God was an understatement-----the leader of God’s people----David who had gained the respect of not only the Israelites but the other nations as well----had committed adultery and murder---crimes, even the ungodly nations hated----God couldn’t allow the sins to go unpunished, in a way all people would understand-----a baby’s death is tragic, but despising God, will brings death to whole nations.

Once the child had died, David immediately got up; cleaned up; prepared himself ritually; and then, went in to worship the Lord. 

In explaining his unexpected and uncustomary behavior to his puzzled servants, he told them, that as long as the baby was alive, he had hope that God would change his mind and let him continue to live, but then, once the baby had died, he had to accept that the death was final, and that he couldn’t do anything to bring the baby back, so it was useless to continue to plead with God----- but that someday, it would be his turn to die, and then, he would be able to join the baby----but until that time, life was for the living and God was to be praised! We need to learn to fully accept God’s answer to our prayers, even when the answer is no.

Following the death of their son, David went in to comfort Bathsheba, and as a result of their union, God blessed them with the birth of a second son, Solomon, who became the next great king of Israel. Nathan prophetically named the son Jedidiah---which means ‘loved by the Lord”.  God showed great favor to Solomon, for his whole life. 

One more time, we can see in David’s life, how God used his mistakes and his heartaches and his struggles, to teach and train and refine him, into the man He wanted him to be.  It is significant, that the closing action of this passage, described David returning to his place, as the leader of Israel’s army, the role he had shirked, that led to his fall into sin,-----and claimed victory over Rabbah of the Ammonites, once and for all.

(David chose not to dwell on his sins or the consequences----he chose to return to the Lord God, and God forgave him, and renewed their relationship-----which opened the way, for David, to pick up his boot straps, and keep on moving forward-----When we have sinned and we return to God, He will give us a fresh start too----we just have to accept his forgiveness, choose to leave the guilt behind, and change our ways by continuing to walk forward, with our eyes fixed on Jesus.)

If we read about the heinousness of David’s sins and leave it at that, we haven’t learned very much, we’ve just learned about the frailty of mankind-----but if we read and understand, about the mercy of God, then we have learned something tremendous---we have learned that the depth of God’s love has no end-----and that is something to be cherished….