2 Samuel 12

Shawn Bumpers

2 Samuel • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

0 ratings

· 65 views

Notes

Transcript

Handout

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Introduction:

The events of last weeks study in chapter 11 are very important to the events of this chapter.

In chapter 11, David remained in Jerusalem at his palace while Joab and the army of Israel went to battle the Ammonites.

And one evening David rose from bed and went out onto his roof.

There he looked down to the city and saw a woman bathing … that woman was Bathsheba.

Whether she was on her roof bathing … or perhaps in a open courtyard of her home, the text does not say.

Whatever the case, David saw her, he desired her, he inquired about her, he sent for her, and then committed adultery with her.

Her husband, Uriah, was with the army, fighting against the Ammonites.

Usually when we decide to sin, we imagine things turning out a lot different than they do and David soon discovered that Bathsheba is pregnant.

Instead of confessing to his sin and repenting, David came up with a plan to conceal what he had done.

His plan was to bring Uriah back home for a little R&R from the battle … hoping he would go home to Bathsheba and it would be assumed that 9 months later, the baby was his.

But no matter what David did, Uriah would not go home.

He said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

Do not read below:

2 Samuel 11:11 NKJV

And Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

So, Uriah would not do as David desired.

David then came up with and followed through with another plan.

That plan was to have Uriah killed on the field of battle.

David then took Bathsheba as his own wife.

And the chapter ended saying, “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

David had coveted another man's wife, committed adultery, and murdered.

Yet who can judge the judge, who can question the actions of the king?

The answer is in those words … “The thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

What seemed to David to be the ending to what would have been a very sticky situation is just the beginning of problems.

David was a great man, but he was also human … something that greatness cannot hide.

There are 62 chapters of the Old Testament devoted to the life story of David.

devoted to his life story.

There are more than 50 references to him in the New Testament, far more than any other biblical character, except of course, Jesus.

far more than any other biblical character,

except of course, Jesus.

Nevertheless, this man after God's own heart committed a series of terrible sins that led to terrible consequences.

committed a series of terrible sins

that led to terrible consequences.

But while these chapters reveal his weaknesses they also reveal the reality of his trust in and his love for God.

----

No matter how much we love or admire someone, they always have faults.

Friends fall short.

Heroes let us down.

An idealized parent disappoints. A friend we respect falls short. A political leader we support suffers his own particular Watergate. Discouraged and hurt, we feel a bitterness that is hard to overcome.

David, even though he was a, “man after God’s own heart,” and wrote much of the Psalms, defeater of Goliath and patient endurer of Saul … also had failings.

In fact, he had some major flaws.

David was an adulterer, murderer, schemer, at times very self concerned, and he had many wives despite God’s prohibition against that for Israel’s kings.

But David is not the only her of the faith who had some major flaws.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah … really you could list them all … they were all very sinful … just like all people.

And we wonder, “Why does God hold up as examples men and women who have such obvious flaws?”

Why not use people who are not adulterers and murderers?

Well, for one thing, God’s Bible does not white-wash man’s sinfulness because God wants us to understand how sinful man is.

God also wants us to know that in spite of our sinfulness we can come to Him through Christ.

For another thing, a revelation of saints’ failures as well as successes helps us to identify with them. If a David or an Abraham were represented as spiritually perfect, you and I would hardly feel close or similar to him. The truths that God is teaching us through their lives might be seen but might not be thought of as relevant. After all, we might think, “That’s all right for a spiritual giant like David! But what about poor, struggling me?” Then we discover that David struggled too. And sometimes he lost out to his weaknesses. David did know sin’s pull, just as we do. His experiences are relevant to us!

The New Testament affirms, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man” (). We are all bound up together in the shared ties of humanity. David knew the feelings and temptations that you know—and you know his! When the Bible accurately reports the failures and follies of God’s saints, it demonstrates this common bond and encourages us to identify our own inner struggles with theirs.

The good news of God’s love for man is not, “Trust Me, and be freed of your humanity.”

The good news of God’s love is that the Lord has committed Himself to deal with sin and to make us progressively more and more like Him.

We always stand in need of God’s grace and aid and by it we grow.

God deals with sin by the means of forgiveness.

The greatness of David is not in his perfection but in his willingness to face his sin and to return wholeheartedly to God.

In fact, there is a very good comparison we can make in this regard between Saul and David.

When Saul sinned, he begged Samuel to stay with him, that the people might not discover God’s anger.

When the Prophet Nathan confronted David concerning his sin with Bathsheba, David not only confessed immediately, but he even wrote a psalm used later in public worship.

When the prophet of God came to him, he openly admitted his fault and recognized his inner anguish that accompanied loss of fellowship with God.

We cannot, and God did not, condone David’s sins and failings.

But we can praise God for moving David to share honestly with us.

Through David we learn wonderful things about the grace of God.

Through David we learn fresh lessons about the grace of God, and we are reminded that you and I are invited to come boldly to the Lord too that He may meet us—and our needs.

And we are reminded that you and I are also invited to come boldly to the Lord that He may meet us and our needs.

----

There are 3 major Hebrew word groups that communicate the concept of sin in the Old Testament.

Each of them is illustrated in these chapters.

In fact each of them is used in David’s prayer of confession as recorded in .

The primary Hebrew word for sin is hatat.

It means to miss the mark.

It assumes the existence of a divine standard which a person does not live up to.

The other major terms also assume the existence of a divine standard and describe human actions in relation to it.

Pesha indicates a conscious revolt against the divine standard.

Awon is a deviation from or twisting of the standard.

- Hatat is usually translated by “sin.”

- Pesha is rendered “rebellion” or “transgression.”

- And Awon is “iniquity” or “guilt.”

Interestingly, in Scripture the language of sin is also the language of redemption.

The word hattat means both “sin” and “sin offering.”

And so it speaks both of human failure, and the wonderful provision by God of forgiveness through an offering that removes our guilt.

Both of these realities are well illustrated in David’s life.

Let’s pray and dig into chapter 12:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for everyone here this evening. Thank You that You know each of us by name and have caused us to walk with You. Lord, we open up Your word desiring to hear from You ... not man's word or wisdom, but Your Words and Wisdom. Please soften our hearts to receive from You.

v1

Immediately after Bathsheba gave birth to their child, the LORD sent His prophet, Nathan to David.

He sent Nathan to David with a parable.

Previously, Nathan had delivered the message about God’s covenant with David and his descendants.

But now the prophet had to confront the king about his sins.

At this point, David had been concealing his sins for over 9 months.

This was not an easy task that the Lord had given Nathan.

But Nathan was not going to allow an uncomfortable situation to prevent him from doing what God has told him to do.

v2-6

When we look in the biblical record at David, certainly one of history’s exceptional men and one whose faith is mentioned in both Testaments, we discover that he too had feet of clay. The saint is revealed as a sinner. And we wonder, “Why does God hold up as examples men and women who have such obvious flaws?”

A look at David’s life suggests a number of possible answers, some more satisfying than others. For one thing, through David we are reminded that God is a realist. His Book contains no “let’s-pretend” whitewash of believers. Noting this, we may be helped to appreciate the fact that we can come to this God in spite of our own weaknesses. God won’t overlook them. But He won’t be crushed by our failures either. God knows that “we are dust” ().

Most importantly, when Old Testament saints are shown to be sinners, Scripture is expressing something basic about the Gospel. The good news of God’s love for man is not, “Trust Me, and be freed of your humanity.” The good news of God’s love is that the Lord has committed Himself to deal with sin and to make us progressively more and more like Him. For progressive growth we always stand in need of God’s grace and aid. God deals with sin by the means of forgiveness. The greatness of David is not in his perfection but in his willingness to face his sin and to return wholeheartedly to God.

How different from Saul! When Saul sinned, he begged Samuel to stay with him, that the people might not discover God’s anger. When the Prophet Nathan confronted David concerning his sin with Bathsheba, David not only confessed immediately, but he even wrote a psalm used later in public worship, openly admitting his fault and sharing the inner anguish that accompanied loss of fellowship with God!

We cannot, and God did not, condone David’s sins and failings. But we can praise God for moving David to share honestly with us. Through David we learn fresh lessons about the grace of God, and we are reminded that you and I are invited to come boldly to the Lord too that He may meet us—and our needs.

By telling a story about the crime of another, Nathan prepared David for dealing with his own sins.

It’s possible that David thought Nathan was presenting him with an actual case … maybe from the local court.

Things had been going swimmingly for David and he thought he had gotten away with his sin.

So by sharing this parable in the guise of a real life situation, Nathan was catching David off guard.

Nathan was catching David off guard and could study the king’s response and better know what to do next.

The king’s response to this story would enable Nathan to better know what to do next.

And as a former shepherd this parable about the theft of a lamb was designed for impact.

As a king, David was obligated to see that poor families were not taken advantage of.

Nathan chose his words carefully so that they would remind David of what he had said and done.

Since David had been a shepherd himself, he would pay close attention to a story about the theft of an innocent lamb; and as king, he was obligated to see that poor families were given justice.

The rich man’s many flocks and herds allude to David’s many wives and children.

But Uriah, the poor man, had but one small ewe.

It is Bathsheba who is represented as a small ewe.

Nathan said that the ewe lamb, “Ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom.”

Do not read below:

The prophet said that the ewe lamb “did eat of his [the poor man’s] own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom” (v. 3 kjv). This should have reminded David of Uriah’s speech in 11:11: “Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife?” (nkjv). But it wasn’t until Nathan told about the rich man stealing and killing the lamb that David showed any response, and then he was angry at another man’s sins! (See , , for another example of David’s anger.) David didn’t seem to realize that he was the rich man, Uriah was the poor man, and Bathsheba was the ewe lamb he had stolen. The “traveler” whom the rich man fed represents the temptation and lust that visited David on the roof and then controlled him. If we open the door, sin comes in as a guest but soon becomes the master. (See .)

2 Samuel 12:3 NKJV

But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.

This should have reminded David of what Uriah said in chapter 11: “Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife?”

2 Samuel

Do not read below:

2 Samuel 11:11 NKJV

----

Now notice that verse 3 speaks of the poor man’s ewe growing up, “Together with him and with his children.”

This seems to imply that Uriah had children of his own.

If that’s the case it means that David not only murdered Uriah, but stole a father away from his family.

But it wasn’t the man and his family’s financial situation that stirred up any response in David.

This should have reminded David of Uriah’s speech in 11:11: “Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife?” (nkjv). But it wasn’t until Nathan told about the rich man stealing and killing the lamb that David showed any response, and then he was angry at another man’s sins! (See , , for another example of David’s anger.) David didn’t seem to realize that he was the rich man, Uriah was the poor man, and Bathsheba was the ewe lamb he had stolen. The “traveler” whom the rich man fed represents the temptation and lust that visited David on the roof and then controlled him. If we open the door, sin comes in as a guest but soon becomes the master. (See .)

It was when Nathan told about the rich man stealing and killing the lamb that David responded.

Then he became angry at another man’s sins!

What was David’s anger like?

We saw an example of it back in 1 Samuel when his men were rebuffed by Nabal.

Then, David put on his sword and called his men to go to war with Nabal.

His intent was to raid Nabal’s town and kill all the males.

So, David could get riled up.

Of course that chapter also reveals David’s weakness for women.

There is an interesting play on words here in the original Hebrew.

The English translation swaps around some of the words, so we don’t see it here.

With verse 4, we have a traveler who comes to the rich man.

He is mentioned 3 times in verse 4.

The first time, he is called a Helek or “a wayfarer,” the next he is called Arach, meaning “a visitor.”

The third time he is Ish (meaning man, but with the connotation of master.)

And so we have suggested here, and perhaps it was there for David to pick up on …

… that an evil inclination might at first come as a wayfarer, who promises not to stay long or cause any trouble.

But once it has lured a person to sin, it becomes a visitor who stays for a while.

Eventually he becomes the master that completely dominates the host.

It is interesting that in the parable the rich man did not kill the poor man to take away the ewe lamb as David had killed Uriah to take Bathsheba.

Besides his continued refusal to confess and repent, the killing of Uriah was the pinnacle of David’s sins.

But Nathan was being very shrewd with this.

If David had recognized too soon that this parable was meant to convict him … he may have responded less harshly towards the rich man.

But if David didn’t recognize himself in this parable his condemnation of the rich man (and thus himself) would be much harsher.

So, David heard this parable, not realizing that he was the rich man, Uriah was the poor man, and Bathsheba was the ewe lamb he had stolen.

David didn’t seem to realize that he was the rich man, Uriah was the poor man, and Bathsheba was the ewe lamb he had stolen. The “traveler” whom the rich man fed represents the temptation and lust that visited David on the roof and then controlled him. If we open the door, sin comes in as a guest but soon becomes the master. (See .)

And, as we noted, the “traveler” whom the rich man fed represents the Yetzer Hara … the “evil inclination” or we could say “temptation and lust” that visited David on the roof and then controlled him.

And like David, if we open the door, sin comes in as a guest but soon becomes the master.

----

So, David passed judgment on the rich man without realizing he was passing judgment on himself.

And he is quite harsh.

Stealing a domestic animal was not a capital offense in Israel.

And yet that is just what David decides should be done to the rich man in this story.

Like most of us, David had the kind of blindness that is toward ourselves … how easy it is to recognize the wrongs of others and how easy it is to ignore our own.

“Many men seem perfect strangers to their own character,” said Joseph Butler, and David was among them.

Stealing the lamb was not worthy of death, though it was despicable … however, what David had done to Uriah was worthy of death.

And because of Bathsheba’s participation, according to Torah, both David and Bathsheba should have been stoned to death.

Leviticus 20:10 NKJV

‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 22:22–24 NKJV

“If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. “If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.

John 8:1–6 NKJV

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

David was well aware of what the Torah said.

This is revealed in the fact that David said what was stolen should be restored fourfold as states.

Do not read below:

Exodus 22:1 NKJV

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

v7-9

David’s anger at the rich man of the parable opened the door for heavy conviction of himself.

And Nathan in verse 7 quickly revealed, “David - you are the man!”

At that point David was able to see in the mirror of the law, just how dirty he was.

With one quick thrust, Nathan said, “You are the man!” (v. 7 nkjv) and proceeded to hold up the mirror that revealed how dirty the king really was.

Nathan then delivered to David a message from the LORD.

And that message from God was 2-fold.

First, the king forgot the goodness of the Lord who had given him everything he had and would have given him more (v. 7–8).

Second, David had despised God’s commandment and acted as though he had the privilege of sinning (v. 9).

By coveting, committing adultery, bearing false witness, and killing, David had broken four of the Ten Commandments, and he thought he could get away with it!

And … It was bad enough that David arranged to have Uriah killed, but he brought Joab into his sin, and he used the sword of the enemy to do it.

v10-12

Having listed the accusations against David, Nathan now pronounces judgment for his sins.

David’s adultery with Bathsheba was a sin of desire.

It was a sin of the moment … and it overtook him for a moment.

But it more fully developed into his sin of having Uriah killed.

That was a premeditated crime that was deliberate and disgraceful.

This may be why later in there is emphases on “the matter of Uriah the Hittite” but no mention of his sin with Bathsheba.

David’s adultery with Bathsheba was a sin of passion, a sin of the moment that overtook him, but his sin of having Uriah killed was a premeditated crime that was deliberate and disgraceful. This may be why emphasizes “the matter of Uriah the Hittite” and says nothing about Bathsheba. But the Lord judged both sins and David paid dearly for his lust and deceit. God repaid David “in kind” (; ; ), a spiritual principle that David expressed in his “victory psalm” after Saul died ().

But the Lord did not excuse either sin … He judged both and David paid dearly for his lust and deceit.

It is interesting that in David’s own victory Psalm after the death of Saul, he wrote about God’s “in kind” response to sin:

Psalm 18:25–27 NKJV

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.

Psalm 18:

So, God repaid David “in kind.”

God repaid David “in kind.”

Deuteronomy 19:21 NKJV

Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Exodus 21:23–25 NKJV

But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Leviticus 24:20 NKJV

fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.

And the sword did not depart from the king’s household, and later his wives were taken and violated just as he had taken Bathsheba.

For the rest of David’s lifetime, he experienced one tragedy after another, either in his family or in the kingdom.

The punishments God assigned to David were already stated in the covenant God had with Israel and which the king was expected to obey.

and say that if the nation rebelled against God, He would slay their sons in battle, take away their children, give their wives to others, and even take Israel out of its land into foreign exile.

These things will happen to David … wives taken, sons killed, exile … and they would happen to Israel as well.

And as for David’s own pronouncement that the loss of the ewe should be repaid fourfold … David did pay fourfold.

Bathsheba’s baby died, and his sons Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah were slain.

Indeed, David did pay fourfold, for Bathsheba’s baby died, and his sons Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah were slain (13:29; 18:14–15; ).

He and his house paid quite a price for those moments of passion with Uriah’s wife.

The punishments God assigned to David were already stated in the covenant God had with Israel and which the king was expected to obey (; ).

Because of Absalom’s rebellion, David was forced to flee Jerusalem and live in the wilderness.

But the covenant of and also included a section on repentance and pardon, and as we will see, David took it seriously.

Leviticus 26 NKJV

‘You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord. ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright. ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate. ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas. I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest— for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it. ‘And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away. ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt— then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.’ ” These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Deuteronomy 30 NKJV

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. “Also the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Deuteronomy 30 NKJV

Leviticus 26:40ff NKJV

‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt— then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.’ ” These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

v13-14

David knew that the verdict was true.

He knew that the sentence was just.

And so, without any finger pointing, deflection, or argument, he confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

And Nathan assured David that the Lord had put away his sin.

The condemned prisoner knew that the verdict was true and the sentence was just, so without any argument, he confessed: “I have sinned against the Lord” (v. 13). Nathan assured David that the Lord had put away his sin. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” ( nkjv). “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” ( nkjv).

Nathan assured David that the Lord had put away his sin.

In the original Hebrew, David’s statement “I have sinned against the Lord” amounts to only 2 words: hatat al-Yahweh.

Confession doesn’t need to be long to be real and sincere.

And notice that David uses “I” … he did not use “we.”

Certainly, he was not the only sinner in this whole thing but it was his sin that he had to deal with.

And so David showed personal responsibility for his sin.

And we should also note that David did not soft coat it … he didn’t say “I have made a mistake against the Lord” … he said SIN.

And he expresses the enormity of his sin.

His sin against Bathsheba, Uriah, and others was great.

But his sin against the LORD was the greatest of all … there are no small sins against a Holy God.

In regard to our own sin, the Bible says to us:

1 John 1:9 NKJV

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

For David, God’s forgiveness was immediate.

When Nathan said, “You shall not die” it meant that David was spared the penalty of the law.

David later wrote that the Lord “forgives all your iniquities … [and] redeems your life from destruction.… As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (, nkjv).

Do not read below:

Psalm 103:3–4 NKJV

Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Psalm 103:12 NKJV

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

While God forgave David, and David was spared the penalty of the law … there were still consequences.

It did not mean David or anyone else would be spared earthly consequences for sin.

“If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” ( nkjv).

No wonder David later wrote that the Lord “forgives all your iniquities … [and] redeems your life from destruction.… As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (, nkjv).

In verse 14, Nathan said, “However.”

David had to face the consequences of his sin … beginning with the death of his child born by Bathsheba.

All during David’s months of silence, he had suffered intensely, as you can detect when you read his two prayers of confession ( and 51).

pictures a sick old man instead of a virile warrior, and describes a believer who had lost almost everything—his purity, joy, witness, wisdom, and peace—a man who was afraid God would take the Holy Spirit from him as He had done to Saul.

David went through intense emotional and physical pain, but he left behind two prayers that are precious to all believers who have sinned.

We find those in and

In , David wrote:

Psalm 32:7 NKJV

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

And in , David wrote:

Psalm 51:17 NKJV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 51:

Because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, God is able to save lost sinners and forgive disobedient saints, and the sooner the lost and the disobedient turn to the Lord and repent, the better off they will be.

David wrote, “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found” ( nkjv).

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” ( nkjv).

v15-23

Chastening is not punishment handed out by an angry judge who wants to uphold the law.

Rather, it’s difficulty permitted by a loving Father who wants His children to submit to His will and develop godly character.

The letter to the Hebrews quotes from in chapter 12 using a Greek word that means, “Child training, instruction, and discipline.”

Chastening is an expression of God’s love (), and the Greek word used in means “child training, instruction, discipline.”

Do not read below:

Proverbs 3:11–12 NKJV

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Hebrews 12:5 NKJV

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

Hebrews 12:5–13 NKJV

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

Chastening isn’t always God’s response to our disobedience.

Hebrews

Greek boys were taken to the gymnasium early in life and taught to run, wrestle, box, swim, and throw, exercises that were assigned so the boys would develop “a sound mind in a sound body.”

Sometimes God chastens us in order to prepare us for challenges yet to come.

In the Christian life, chastening isn’t always God’s response to our disobedience; sometimes He’s preparing us for challenges yet to come, like a coach preparing athletes for the Olympics.

This world is messed up enough … can you imagine what it would be like if God withdrew His hand of chastening?

If there were no painful consequences to sin or subsequent chastening from the hand of God, what kind of a daring and irresponsible world would we be living in?

God told David what would happen, but David still fasted and prayed and asked God for healing for the child.

The Lord didn’t interrupt David’s prayers and tell him to stop interceding.

but David still fasted and prayed and asked God for healing for the child. The Lord didn’t interrupt David’s prayers and tell him to stop interceding; after all the sins David had committed, it didn’t hurt him to spend the day in prayer. During those months of silence and separation from God, David had a lot to catch up on! The baby lived only a week and the parents weren’t able to circumcise and name their son on the eighth day. Their son Solomon ended up with two names (vv. 24–25), but this son didn’t even have one.

And Nathan didn’t visit David to tell him he was wrong for interceding.

And yet as sincere as David was in his pleading and fasting, the child still died.

During those months of silence and separation from God, David had a lot to catch up on!

The baby lived only a week and the parents weren’t able to circumcise and name their son on the eighth day.

Their son Solomon ended up with two names, Solomon and Jedidiah, but this son didn’t even have one.

Why would a loving and just God not answer a grieving and repentant father’s prayers and heal the child?

After all, David’s sin wasn’t the baby’s fault.

For that matter, why did God allow Uriah and some other soldiers to die at Rabbah so that David would marry Bathsheba?

Following that line of questioning, you end up with, “Why does a loving God permit evil in the world?”

The thing is that David eventually looked back and saw this painful experience as God’s “goodness and mercy” both to him and to the baby in .

Do not read below:

Psalm 23:6 NKJV

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

In Genesis 18, Abraham, when speaking with the LORD about saving people from the destruction of Sodom said, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Do not read below:

Genesis 18:25 NKJV

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Even the backslidden priest Eli, after hearing God’s judgment on his family said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him” ( nkjv).

Do not read below:

When he heard the bad news of God’s judgment on his family, even backslidden Eli confessed, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him” ( nkjv).

1 Samuel 3:18 NKJV

Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

There are no easy answers to settle our minds, but there are plenty of dependable promises to heal our hearts, and faith is nurtured on promises, not explanations.

What we can know from this is that David loved the LORD, he loved Bathsheba and this child … and he had great faith in God.

In spite of his sins, David was still a tender shepherd and a man after God’s own heart..

Very few Eastern monarchs would have shed a tear or expressed a sentence of sorrow if a baby died who had been born to one of the harem “wives.” In spite of his many sins, David was still a tender shepherd and a man after God’s own heart; he had not been “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (). He washed himself, changed his apparel, worshiped the Lord, and returned to life with its disappointments and duties. In Scripture, washing oneself and changing clothes symbolizes making a new beginning (; ; ; ; ; ; ). No matter how long or how much the Lord chastens us, “He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep his anger forever” ( nkjv). Because of God’s grace and mercy, we can always make a new beginning.

He washed himself, changed his apparel, worshiped the Lord, and returned to life.

----

And one more thing … notice what David says about his son.

“I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”

This is a very good indication of there being an age of accountability … an age before which God does not hold a child’s sins against them so that they go to heaven.

A child may die because of sin, but it might not be because of his own sin.

I have some really good ideas about what that age may be.

This is an indication that babies and perhaps children who pass from this world to the next will go to heaven.

But THAT is way beyond the scope of our study tonight.

David’s words in verse 13 have brought great comfort to people who have experienced the death of a little one, but not every Old Testament student agrees that the king’s words are a revelation from God. Perhaps he was just saying, “My son can’t come back from the grave or the world of departed spirits, but one day I shall go there to him.” But what kind of comfort does it bring us to know that everybody eventually dies? “He shall not return to me” states that David believed that his dead son would neither be reincarnated nor would he be resurrected before the Lord’s time. It also affirms that David expected to see and recognize his son in the future life. Where was David eventually going? “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” ( nkjv; see also 11:7; 16:11; 17:15).

v24-25

We may experience chastening from the Lord and at times that chastening may be very harsh.

But no matter how difficult the chastening there is always comfort available from the Lord (see , , ).

Before her son died, in verse 15 God called Bathsheba “Uriah’s wife.”

That might be because that’s who she was when the boy was conceived.

But in verse 24, she is David’s wife.

This suggests that, like David, she is also making a new beginning.

And what a great evidence of God’s grace that “the wife of Uriah” is mentioned in the genealogy of Messiah, along with Tamar, and Rahab and Ruth.

---

Verses 24-25 contain at least 9 months of time.

It was God who caused the conception to occur.

And in a very special way, “the Lord loved him” and even gave Solomon (“peaceable”) a special name, “Jedidiah—loved by the Lord.”

Since “David” means “beloved,” father and son were bound together by similar names.

God had told David that this son would be born and that he would build the temple, and He kept His promise.

Every time David and Bathsheba looked at Solomon, his very presence reminded them that God had forgiven their past and guaranteed their plans for the future.

v26-31

But there was still kingdom work for David to do, including helping Joab finish the siege of Rabbah.

Apparently, the siege of Rabbah lasted for a long time.

It began before David met Bathsheba and it was still in progress when Solomon was born.

Little by little, the Israelite army had taken over the city.

They first took the area where the royal palace stood, and then they took the section that controlled the water supply.

Joab was now ready for a final assault, but he wanted the king to be there to lead the army.

If he was commanding the army when the city was taken, it might be renamed for him.

He thought it better that David receive the honor.

Joab had a lot of faults, but at least wanted to bring honor to his king.

So David went to Rabbah and led the troops in the final foray that brought the city to its knees.

God in His grace gave David this victory even though he had been a rebellious man.

No king could wear a crown very long that weighed from fifty to seventy-five pounds, so David’s “coronation” was a brief but official act of state, claiming Ammon as his territory.

(The imperial state crown used by the kings and queens of England weighs less than three pounds, and monarchs have found wearing it a bit of a burden!) The crown was very valuable, so David took it along with the abundant spoil he found in the city. Most of this wealth probably went into the Lord’s treasury and was used in the building of the temple.

He and his army then returned to Jerusalem where he would experience further chastening, this time from adult members of his own family.

David put some of his prisoners of war to work with saws, picks, and axes, and others to making bricks. God in His grace gave David this victory even though he had been a rebellious man. He and his army then returned to Jerusalem where he would experience further chastening, this time from adult members of his own family. He had forced the Ammonites to drop their swords, but now the sword would be drawn in his own family.

He had forced the Ammonites to drop their swords, but now the sword would be drawn in his own family.

Let’s pray.

Prayer: Lord Father we thank You for this time we’ve had together studying Your Word and we ask that You would make it fertile in our lives to do what You desire. Thank You for loving us so much and may Your desires be the desires of our hearts.

Related Media

Related Sermons