July 16, 2023 - Restoring the Ruin
Notes
Transcript
How many of you - TAKE ISSUE - with the rising Cable costs in this country?
How many of you take ISSUE - with the inflated gas prices in this country?
How many of you take ISSUE with the absolute incompetence at ALL levels of our government?
You know what that proves?
It proves that we ALL - deal with the same problems.
But deeper than that...
How many of you STRUGGLE - with poor attitudes?
How many of you struggle - with FEAR?
How many of you struggle - with DOUBT?
How many of you struggle - with ANXIETY?
WORRY?
Men - Lust?
Women - Control?
Listen - AGAIN -
We ALL deal with the same struggles...
Here’s HOW I KNOW THIS...
There is nothing new under the sun!
TODAY - we’re going to look at a very WELL-KNOWN aspect of David’s life.
I know - that when we see him someday - it won’t be something he’ll be proud of - YET - it’s part of his story.
TODAY - we’ll be looking at the account of David and Bathsheba
And not just the front end of the account…
But the back end as well.
The adultery and murder
BUT ALSO...
The repentance and restoration
On the FRONT END - the adultery and murder - I want to look at what he DID NOT do… within those choices...
And then on the BACK END - the repentance and restoration - I want to look at what he DID DO
So to start - let’s dive into the first half of the account...
Instead of reading thru ALL of chapter 11 of 2 Samuel - let’s piece meal the story together as we go....
So let’s start with v1-5
1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”
Let’s pause here -
One late afternoon - David goes to the rooftop of his house - and in looking out over his kingdom -
…he sees a woman - bathing.
NOW - many people have jumped at the notion that David should have been out fighting ...
Back to v1
1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
- So many have said - He should have been out - FIGHTING with his men...
BUT - I think there’s context to show that him NOT OUT fighting - actually made sense.
First thing - just last week - we read of David sending JOAB and ABISHAI to lead the men of Israel into battle...
ALSO - David’s OWN MEN had pleaded with him to NOT engage in battle - WHY?
Because they knew that if David fell - Israel could collapse...
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
So it shouldn’t be viewed as a dereliction of duty on David’s part that he wasn’t out fighting with his men....during this episode.
Nevertheless...
David - up on his rooftop - sees Bathsheba bathing - and he is tempted.
What does he do?
He INQUIRES of who she is...
and he has his servants go get her - to bring her to him.
He SLEEPS with her - and she gets pregnant.
Well now David understands the problem he has before him.
According to the law - David deserved to die.
What does he do?
6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.
Now - in context - this would have been a 40 PLUS mile trek back to Jerusalem for Uriah...
v8
8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.
David here was WANTING Uriah to go to his own house - to spend the night with his wife...
David wanted Uriah to break rank - and spend the night at home.
That way - he would lie with his wife (Bathsheba) - and it would LOOK like the baby was his.
What happens?
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”
So JOAB HERE - didn’t feel it would right for him to DO SOMETHING that his men would not be able to do THEMSELVES...
…Spend a night at home.
So he DECLARES - I WILL NOT DO THIS THING!!
So David here REALIZES that his plan wasn’t going to work.
So what does he do?
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”
And that’s exactly what happened.
Uriah ends up dying in battle.
NOW - let’s look at what David DIDN’T DO - in this situation...
Remember - we already discussed how we ALL deal with the same issues...
We ALL deal with sin...
We ALL deal with Lust...
We ALL deal with a desire for control...
We ALL deal with poor attitudes...
We ALL deal with anxiety...
We ALL deal with anger and malice…and hatred
There’s NOTHING NEW under the sun!
but what COULD David have done here - that he DID NOT do...
SLIDE: Failure of Faith: To Not Consider God
Failure of Faith
Failure of Faith
It might seem obvious that - CONSIDERING God would be the right thing to do - but as you know...
....we get to points in our walks of faith - where we DON’T DO the obvious!!
Sometimes we find ourselves - TOO CLOSE to it all....to - see it.
Paul speaks of this in Romans 7
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
THIS HERE - is the NATURE of man!
The nature of MAN - HATES EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY!
Your nature - HATES you!!
Your nature HATES your kids.
Your nature HATES your spouse!! - WITH a PASSION!!
Your NATURE - MORE THAN ANYTHING - LONGS - for your kids - to HATE God!
THEREFORE - your nature will do WHATEVER it TAKES -......
to make that happen!!
In THIS case - David’s nature - CONVINCED him to NOT consider God - and carry out his earthly desire!
his NATURE - HATED his family...
HATED Bathsheba...
and HATED - his God.
And lest we think we’re UNTOUCHABLE...
The bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart...
YET - here he found himself...
WHY?
Because in a moment in time - he did not CONSIDER - God.
Moment by moment - we are under attack!
Moment by moment - the spiritual war is at play...
We need to know - that we are ALWAYS - one choice away - from falling.
One THOUGHT away - from falling.
Could this be why the Bible says...
17 pray without ceasing,
And Jesus taught us to pray… HOW often?
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
Daily - petition to the Lord.
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Wow - this is a LOFTY goal isn’t it?
Take every thought captive...
Think about that call...
Would it make sense that the URGENCY of the call - REFLECT the URGENCY of the problem?
**Here’s what I mean...
If we ALL - right now - GOT ALERTS sent to our cell phones that said -
WHATEVER YOU DO - DO NOT DRINK THE WATER IN COLUMBIA STATION!!
Who here would go get a drink?
We wouldn’t BECAUSE the URGENCY of the warning - in our minds - would CORRELATE with the URGENCY of the PROBLEM!
The Bible says - TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE!!
WOW - ok, the ISSUE must be - HUGE!
Or more appropriately - FATAL.
SO we’re called to take every thought CAPTIVE for Christ...
But HOW?
If we stay in the same book (2 Corinthians), Paul will give us insight into the MIND of man...
14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.
The Israelites minds were HARDENED...
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Their minds - BLINDED by the evil one...
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
So Paul here - paints the picture that our thoughts - can be TAKEN CAPTIVE by the evil one...
BLINDED...
And so - Paul says - take EVERY thought - CAPTIVE… for Christ!
If our minds can be ENSLAVED to satan...
What would allow us to SET our THOUGHTS FREE from his clutches?
God’s - TRUTH!
The truth will set you free!
We must constantly PREACH God’s TRUTH to ourselves!
Isn’t that what we read here...
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
The BATTLE is before us…NOW!
David - when he saw Bathsheba… DID NOT - consider God - in setting his mind on God’s TRUTH!
Instead he set his mind on things of the earth!
AND IN DOING SO - We come to the next thing David DID NOT DO...
SLIDE: Failure of Faith: To Not Flee From Sin
Failure of Faith
Failure of Faith
Because David did not consider God in this situation...
He ends up - NOT FLEEING from sin.
3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
He see Bathsheba - bathing...
Instead of taking the thought captive… PREACHING God’s truth to that thought.
Instead of fleeing from that rooftop - and fleeing from those earthly desires...
Instead - (IN HIS MIND) - - he sits and dines with it.
Instead of fleeing from it…he INVITES it to come to him.
What does God say to us? (FLEE)
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
See the theme?
FLEE...
David did the opposite.
And Scripture speaks to us about the anatomy…of sin - and the danger of this
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
So if we just leave these verses on the screen - we can see how SIN comes to be manifested in our lives...
1. Sin begins with evil desire (1:14) The desire pulls at your soul. It entices you. So our desire/thoughts ENTICE us...
2. Evil desire conceives (1:15) It gains the consent of the will, and when that happens…
3. Sin is born (1:15) Sin has its own life, so no sin is an end in itself.
4. Sin grows (1:15) ...
5. Sin produces death (1:15)
So let’s think through this...
Where does Temptation fit into this?
Verse 14 tells us that temptation flows FROM the evil desires within us...
BUT...
We need to know that there are 2 types of Temptation...
When we say - I was TEMPTED...
That very well COULD mean - 2 different things.
Is it possible for someone to try to TEMPT me with Cheesy Fondue?
Yes!
Someone COULD try to tempt me with that.
So I could say - Yes, I was TEMPTED.
NOW - will I ACTUALLY be TEMPTED - INSIDE of me - to eat that cheesy fondue?
Absolutely NOT!
I wouldn’t touch the cheesy poo-poo
So someone can TEMPT me with that - but - AT THE SAME TIME - me NOT BE TEMPTED to eat it.
NOW - if someone walked in here right now - and tempted me with -
Chile Verde
Teriyaki Madness
Would i be TEMPTED - on the INSIDE - to eat it?
YES!
Here’s why I say all this -
The bible tells us - that Jesus was tempted in all ways - YET without sin.
SO - BEING tempted from the OUTSIDE - isn’t sinful.
Jesus was TEMPTED - in the sense that he was OFFERED anything and everything...
He had access to all the earthly pleasures that we have access to...
YET - on the INSIDE - He wasn’t tempted - because He had no EVIL desires.
WE - on the other hand...
We DO have evil desires...
WHICH MEANS -
Every outside temptation that comes our way - will find an ALLY on the inside of each of us...
My NATURE is an ally to every outside temptation that comes...
And in a lot of cases - that temptation goes from being EXTERNAL - to INTERNAL...
As my Nature tries to CONVINCE me - to TAKE THE BAIT!!
David took the bait - because his earthly desire WANTED the bait!
And he didn’t WAR against the temptation inside of him.
He didn’t FLEE from it.
He wasn’t - resolute in his convictions.
Which leads us to our last failure of David regarding Bathsheba...
SLIDE: Failure of Faith: To Not Learn from Godly Examples
Failure of Faith
Failure of Faith
Do you remember how Uriah responded to David when David asked him to spend the night at home with Bathsheba…?
What did he say?
8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”
11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”
Now - I understand that this conversation between David and Uriah happened after the adultery...
But what do we see in Uriah here?
We see a man - who was RESOLUTE in his convictions...
He had decided - I will NOT break from my men - and go LOUNGE at home - with my wife...
WHILE my men sleep in the open fields - APART from their wives.
“As long as you live David - I will NOT do that!”
I WILL NOT go there!
Think of the irony...
Here you had - URIAH - NOT WILLING to sleep with Bathsheba (his own wife) - for the SAKE of his FELLOW kinsmen...
WHILE DAVID ....
WAS willing to sleep with Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife) - for the sake of his own earthly desires.
This conversation between David and Uriah happened after the fact - but as we can see...
David could have learned a lot from Uriah…!
What a great example Uriah could have been for David!
But David wasn’t following any Godly examples around him...
He was too consumed with catering to his earthly desires.
What did the apostle Paul say?
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Paul says - follow my example…AS I follow Christ!
David could have learned a lot from Uriah…and hopefully been inspired to Godliness through him...
Yet that didn’t happen.
We all can learn from each other.
And as I have said before -
We all should BE EXAMPLES for others...
But that can only happen - AS WE SEEK to BECOME examples.
I will ONLY EVER be a good example for others...
IF - I am SEEKING to BECOME an example.
MEANING - anyone that ever gets to a point and says:
Alright!! - I’ve figured ALL THIS OUT - Follow me!!
That person has STOPPED seeking to become an example...
Instead - they are declaring that they’ve ARRIVED!
At that point - they’d be a terrible example to follow.
The only good examples out there - are people who are CONSTANTLY seeking to BECOME an example.
Paul said...
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
Paul clearly says - I HAVEN’T ARRIVED!!
I PRESS ON...
He’s saying - Follow ME - AS I PRESS ON!!
FIND someone who you feel has the spiritual backbone...
a heart posture of love
And a willingness to keep it real
And live life with them…Seek counsel from them...
Find someone that you can GET REAL with...
Someone who will listen...
And give wise counsel...
9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
I’m grateful to have friends here.
And so may we NOT be like David here - and may we edify each other day-by-day...
NOW - We’ve seen what David DIDN’T Do....
SLIDE:
David
Did Not Consider God
Did Not Flee from Sin
Did Not Learn from Godly Examples
NOW - let’s finish this narrative account - and look to what David DID DO well...
Uriah had died…and David ends up making Bathsheba his wife.
And chapter 11 ends like this...
27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
As I said earlier - according to the Law - David deserved to die...
So obviously God had something to say about this...
And so He does - by way of Nathan.
1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds,
3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,
6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
We can’t forget here - that God is the one speaking to David - through the prophet Nathan...
So God comes to David - and actually gets David to judge HIMSELF on this matter.
What was David’s VERDICT?
Guilty!
AND - that the man who took the lamb DESERVED to die!
So David judges himself…NOT KNOWING it...
What happens?
6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.
9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
First thing that jumped out at me is this....
It’s amazing to me that David DID NOT connect the dots - that Nathan’s story was about him.
I think this speaks to the power of sin in our lives!
Our FALLEN hearts are SO ready and willing to make RIGHTEOUS judgments on others - ALL without ever looking inward!
David’s judgment of the man in the story was a RIGHTEOUS judgment…!
Yet David was STILL BLIND to his own failures!!
It literally TOOK GOD - to awaken David to the reality of this sin!!
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
God says - YOU are THAT man!!
God then lays out for David all the blessings bestowed on him BY God...
And then God gets DETAILED!!
9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
And God gets DETAILED for a reason!!
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
What did David do here that we can take with us today?
SLIDE: Restoring the Ruin: Confessing to the Details
Restoring the Ruin
Restoring the Ruin
God had laid out the details of what had happened...
And David then says - “I have sinned against the Lord”
By confessing in this way - David was acknowledging that he was GUILTY of the details of the case!
He acknowledged that he was guilty of the adultery - and the murder.
Listen to the Proverb...
13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Can you hear the call here to - Confess to the details?
David - would have agreed with this!
He says so - In Psalm 32
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Maybe there are times when you simply haven’t gotten down to the details of it all - before the Lord!
Maybe there’s something you’re walking through now…and you haven’t acknowledged the details of it.
What did David say?
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
“I confess to DOING what the man in the story DID”
“I confess to doing what Nathan SAID I did!”
What God said I did!
I confess!
Go there!
Confess the details...
AND THEN… - the 2nd part of this...
SLIDE: Restoring the Ruin: Pleading for Joy in the Big Picture
Restoring the Ruin
Restoring the Ruin
Let’s go back to v13
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
The Lord has put away your sin, you shall not die (you shall not GET WHAT YOU DESERVE)
If you know the story - you know that WHILE DAVID WAS forgiven - consequences still came from his actions!
But it seems that David gained an understanding that - the adultery and the murder - were merely SYMPTOMS of a deeper issue!
And in GAINING this understanding - he ends up PLEADING with God - for the REMEDY to the DEEPER issue!
**We all go to the doctor - and we get - 20 questions!
WHY?
Because the doc is looking to get to the ROOT problem!
If I go to the doc for a sudden drop in weight - if the doc doesn’t ASK questions - he may just tell me to - EAT MORE Mr. Hero!
Well - that MAY FIX it - BUT - if the REAL issue is CANCER - then eating Mr. Hero won’t fix a thing will it?
David got a place where he understood that the adultery and the murder - were merely SYMPTOMS - of a deeper issue!
Let’s go to where he PLEADS with God for the remedy to his deeper problem!
This next Psalm was written by David after Nathan came to him...
David pleads for forgiveness....and then says this...
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
This is the REMEDY to David’s MAIN problem!
Adultery wasn’t David’s MAIN problem...
Murder wasn’t David’s MAIN problem!
a LACK of JOY - in GOD - is the MAIN problem!
David REALIZED this - and asked for the remedy!
David KNEW that when his JOY in God faded -
Adultery became an option
When joy in God FADES...
Murder becomes an option.
RESTORE to me - the JOY of Your Salvation!!
What does God want us to do?
Confess the details!
And REJOICE in the Big Picture!!
“I’m SAVED!!”
“My FUTURE is SECURE!!!”
Yes - I messed up!!
I failed - i SINNED against the LORD...
I CONFESS…!
But I”M SAVED!!
**As silly as this sounds - College Baseball - when I would make an error
God wants us to REJOICE in the big picture!!
Listen to this exchange by Jesus...
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
SUMMARY
We can look at David - and I know - see ourselves in him.
The first half of today - was looking at what David SHOULD have done…but DID NOT DO...
SLIDE:
David
Did Not Consider God
Did Not Flee from Sin
Did Not Learn from Godly Examples
David would have done well to LEARN from Uriah...
Instead he had him killed.
This is the power of sin.
But as we know - ON THIS side of the grave…we ALL WILL deal with sin.
How do we handle it?
How did David handle it?
SLIDE:
David
Confessed to the Details
Pleaded for Joy in the Big Picture
Come clean to the Lord...
He ALREADY knows!
Lay it at His feet -
confess the details...
And BE RESTORED!!
Restoration awaits!!
He longs to RESTORE!!
There is no wrong TOO heavy for our Lord!!
Amen?
I’d like to close with a song… Psalm 143 - a prayer of David himself.
Prayer