Sermons
We are in a series on some of the OT Kings -to see what we can learn from them.
They can wield incredible power and yet they are just human beings.
Decisions they make have power over many, but the processes behind them, the thoughts, the struggles the fears common to all.
Last year watched a documentary series on the Vietnam war, which caused untold suffering. LBJ escalated it because he didn\\\’t want to look weak. He was on tape talking with I think it was McNamara and committed 50,000 soldiers like that to not look weak and stupid.
So going back 3,000 years we can learn from these kings too.
David – man after God’s own heart is how he is remembered by teh Apostle Paul in Acts 13:22
Became King at 30, having been anointed by Samuel as a teenager and in between some of the famous stories that are known to many in and out of the church – David and Goliath and the one I want to look at today Bathsheba.
David was a man after God’s heart, led Israel mostly well, united the kingdom and made teh central city the capital. But he it had a mid-life crisis that was a disaster.
2 Sam 11:1-5
Path to his moral failure – leading to adultery and murder, repentance and forgiveness, but long-lasting consequences.
Desensitisation
2 Sam 5v13 And David took more concubines from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron and more sons and daughters were born to David.
Deut 17 laid down some regulations for kings
i) not acquire many horses
ii) not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away
iii) not acquire too much silver and gold
The culture of the day (not the Bible) accepted bigamy, but kings were warned not to indulge
But David did, “he took”, he used his power to get what he wanted.
The more he had, the more desensitised he was to what it was doing to him.
The Bible is pretty clear that sex is a wonderful gift of God between a husband and wife for pleasure and for children. A one-flesh joining together of two people.In the NT we understand it is also picture of Jesus and his bride the church an even more mystical union.
In pre-marriage prep I glue two bits of paper together and pull them apart – there’s pain when sex is not in a committed life-long husband and wife marriage.
David was desensitised by the culture around him – using his power and prestige to get the women he wanted.
The world desensitises us to sin. It makes things acceptable that aren’t. The media pumps messages your way 24/7 and you can become desensitised to God\\\’s best.
Ask the Holy Spirit what you have become to desensitised too? what’s acceptable to watch, do or think that actually isn’t?
Relaxed
Life is pretty stressful and we need to relax, to rest and recreate.
But David was beginning to relax too much.
Not being military minded I never got v1 of 1 Sam 11 In the spring of the year, the time when Kings go out to battle”. Reminded of it with teh Ukraine war – the offensive to retake ground needed to be going better than it is before winter stops it. It’s -20 in Mariupol and I dread to think what how freezing those soldiers are. IN WW2 Hitlers biggest mistake was invading Russia to late in the year and millions paid the price.
So David was meant to be back out at war, but he’s 50 and has done well and has good people under him so he stays home. Probably relaxing too much now.
He goes on the roof and sees a woman bathing. He should have turned away and started thinking about a new song to write instead. But he doesn\\\’t
The look becomes a sinful stare and then a burning, libidinous sweaty leer. In a moment the man after God’s own heart, becomes a dirty leering old man.
Bonhoeffer made the observation that when lust takes control, “At this moment God… loses all reality. Satan does not fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God.” What a wise statement. In the grip of lust the reality of God fades. Not only that he loses awareness of his identity, his call, his frailty and the consequences of sin.
Men, in particular, has God faded from view? Are you trapped in late night films and internet, are certain people tantalising to you at the moment.
Rationalises
We are not told David\\\’s thought processes at this moment. Brain probably not working too well!
He asks who she is and one of the servants, who I think is an embodiment of 1 Cor 10:13 says, “Isn’t that Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urriah the Hittite.” That servant’s hints were not enough. Messengers are sent to get her.
Maybe as one author put it,
Uriah is a great soldier but he's probably not much of a husband or a lover—years older than she is—and he'll be away for a long time. This girl needs a little comfort in her loneliness. This is one way I can help her. No one will get hurt. I do not mean anything wrong by it. This is not lust—I have known that many times. This is love. This is not the same as finding a prostitute on the street. God knows that. And to the servant, “Bring her to me.”
Sin
He took her – the ESV uses that almost violent language of a older powerful man powering up on a beautiful woman to bed her.
She conceives, and sends message that she is pregnant and so starts a sordid tale of getting Urriah killed, marrying her and hoping no-one will notice how quick the child will be born. Uriah was a better man drunk at that time than David was sober. v27″ But the thing David had done displeased the Lord”
He’d broken so many of the 10 commandments – coveting his neighbour\\\’s wife, adultery, false witness, dishonouring his parents and thus dishonouring God too.
The consequences run on
The baby dies, another daughter is raped by his son Amnon, Amnon is murdered by another son Absalom, Absolom hated David of his moral lack and reign loses the smile of God and stability.
Sin has long lasting consequences, even though it was repented of and forgiven, its effects mar the rest of his days.
Our culture has minimised sexual sin – desensitised people to it.
God created sex to be a beautiful act between a husband and wife that joins them together not just physically but emotionally and spiritually too. We break God\\\’s ideal at our peril.
And yet once Nathan had broken through the stubborn pride, rationalisations and denials with his prophetic story, David repented found grace and eventually they bear another son Solomon.
In the midst of his anguished recognition of his sin, David pens Psalm 51. Verse 10-11 reads “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
In v17 he admits his broken spirit and that heart that had been so after God is a \\\”broken and contrite heart O god, you will not despise.”
God restores him, makes him clean, fills him again with the Holy Spirit, the power to be holy again.
David the man after God’s own heart
- Don’t be desensitized by what you watch, listen to and think about.
- Watch out for God’s ways out of temptation
- Don’t relax your moral compass or rationalise “I need this, my job is so stressful”, “my wife is not interested in sex anymore” or whatever.
- Don’t look twice.
- Stay close to God
Find grace, mercy and forgiveness to live right again.