The Story Ch 12: Trials of a King

Cold Open

Last week we were introduced to David, God’s chosen successor to the rebellious King Saul, who rebelled against God’s plans for his kingdom and endangered all of Israel in the process. This week, we’re going to discuss King David’s reign MORE HERE

Intro Video

The Story Video

The Good Years

What our text skips over pretty quickly are some of David’s finest years. He is a successful young king, uniting the entire nation of Israel and leading them as God’s anointed king. In fact, David so sincerely seeks the Lord that God makes him this promise in 2 Samuel 7:

2 Samuel 7:9–11 NIV

I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:

2 Samuel 7:16 NIV

Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

Unfortunately, David did not stay faithful to the Lord throughout his reign

Failures of a King

Our text started off this week with the idea that something was off. It says:

2 Samuel 11:1 NIV

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

This David does not seem like the bold young man who chastised the Israelite army for allow Goliath to talk smack, and then volunteered to King Saul to face the giant himself! The rainy season has ended, and armies can effectively march to battle again. David sends out his forces to fight the Ammonites, but David remained in Jerusalem. He is no longer putting his duty to God and his people first, but rather, his own desires.

David doubles down on serving his own desires when he see Bathsheba from his rooftop. He was very attracted to her, and asked who she was. He was told that she was Bathsheba, daughter of one of David’s trustest advisors, and wife to Uriah, one of his loyal officers. David sent for her to be brought to him, and took her to his bed. While not much information about the nature of their relationship is provided in the scriptures, it’s safe to say that no woman brought before the king because he desired her was in a position to refuse him. Engaging in sex with someone who cannot say no is rape, and that’s exactly what David did with Bathsheba.

As a result of her rape at David’s hands, Bathsheba became pregnant. David worked hard to cover up his crimes, bringing her husband Uriah home to “give a report” and hoping that he would lay with his wife while he was home so that the baby could reasonably be thought to be Uriah’s. Uriah, however, did not lay with her, as the men of Israel abstained from sex, which made them ritually unclean, during a military campaign (1 Samuel 21:5).

Uriah’s response when David suggests he go home and enjoy himself while he’s in town show a direct contrast between his actions and David’s:

2 Samuel 11:11 NIV

Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

So David decides to cover up his crime another way, he plots for Uriah’s murder. Not even willing to kill him himself, David gives orders for Uriah to be sent into heavy fighting and then abandoned, using the enemies of Israel to cover his crimes. David then takes Bathsheba as his wife.

Course Correction

So far it looks like David’s path as king is following the same trajectory that Saul’s did. He has gone from God’s anointed leader to someone who openly sins and uses their power to cover it up. However, things change when God sends Nathan to confront David. This is where David and Saul’s paths diverge, because when David sees plainly the terrible things he’s done, David repents of his sins, and he is forgiven

2 Samuel 12:13 NIV

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.

Continued Consequences

While God show’s David grace, his actions still have consequences. The child conceived by David’s rape of Bathsheba gets sick and dies, and some time later another of David’s sons, Absalom, leads a revolt against his father the king! David is greatly troubled at the idea of fighting his own son, and instructs the officers of his armies to not harm Absalom, for David’s sake. However, Absalom is captured and killed by Joab, one of David’s highest ranking generals.

David mourns for his sons, but continues to praise the Lord. This is the primary difference between the hearts of David and Saul. When Saul’s wickedness was exposed, he became more paranoid, rebellious, and proud. When David’s wickedness was exposed, he repented, received grace, and praised God more fervently because of the grace he had experienced.

David spent most of the rest of his life preparing for the construction of the temple, where God would reside among HIs people, even though the Lord told David that the temple would not be his to build.

1 Chronicles 22:8–10 NIV

But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

David was a warring king, but God made peace so that Solomon could be a king of peace and rest, and build the temple that his father never could. David continued his preparations until he was very near death, until his wife Bathsheba told him “It’s time”, and he handed over his throne to his son.

Where’s Jesus

So where’s Jesus in this story? All over it. David is an incomplete precursor for Jesus, ruling over God’s kingdom on earth as well as any man can. Unfortunately for David, he proves that being the ruler of God’s kingdom requires more than any human could possibly handle, pointing to our need for Jesus.

Additionally, Jesus is mentioned right at the beginning of this Story, in a pretty important piece that wasn’t actually in this text.

2 Samuel 7:16 NIV

Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

And is mentioned again in

1 Chronicles 22:10 NIV

He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

God kept His promise to David, but not in the form of an unbroken Israelite dynasty that rules forever. No, God kept His promise to David through Jesus, who came from the house of David and who now and forever rules over God’s kingdom.

You see, when you go through the whole Bible, it all points to Jesus, the ultimate act of grace followed by the establishment of God’s kingdom, which is for everyone who puts their faith in Him, repents and is baptized. All of these things were like shadows of the fullness that arrived with Christ.

Summary

So we saw a lot happen in David’s life this week. When he was confronted with his sin, David submitted himself to God, and repented. God chose to show mercy and grace to David. That choice is why David was called “A man after God’s own heart”. Not because he always did the right thing, but because when he saw what he had become he threw himself on the mercy of the Lord rather than trying to “fix” things on his own. And next week we will be getting into Solomon’s reign and see some parallels and differences to David. No new resources this week but make sure you check out the ones listed in the description if you haven’t already. Let me pray for us before we go:

Lord, thank you for your grace. Thank you that we can repent of our sins and in Jesus’ name we can be washed clean. Thank you for Jesus, that he would die one the cross in our place so that we could receive your grace abundantly. Please show us areas in our lives where we are blind to our sin like David was, so that we can repent and come back to you. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Thanks for joining me this week y’all, it’s great to be progressing through the story with you again, grace and peace.