Bathsheba

Well that start with the word of Prayer by Grace's Father in Heaven how we thank you and praise you for being here in our midst for being in each of Our Lives of those who have called upon your name as Lord and Savior and desire to walk in your light. We pray that your spirit would be here in power and strength touching. Each of our hearts drawing is close to you and helping us to know you more and more. And father met your spirit guide me that as I open my mouth that it would truly be your words to proceed for for you are the light the hope and the strength and you're the only one who brings about change in any of our hearts. And so we thank you for this and praise your name. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we ask all these things. Amen. Alright, well, we're going to begin the last in the series of Women of Faith that we found in the Old Testament. And I think it's been advertised. Sheba is the one I had a friend that I knew a long time ago. And you know, we we were growing up and he was in a really good family who walk with the Lord. He love God are they love God, I'm not sure where he was in all this situation. But as he got into high school and started moving on his life begin to change a little bitty gotten involved with the tougher crowd in school and then head out on Saturday nights and do the things they did and they love to Get involved in fights and so he was kind of that that character and then he went into the army after he graduated from high school and when he got out of the army, he met a gal and married her and they were together for a few years and got a divorce met another person another gal married her. If we're together for a few years got a divorce. Got a third gal married her.

Then his life again to change a little bit. His wife started attending a Bible study and in that Bible study she came to know the Lord. I started to walk with him and it turned my friend's life around because he came to know the Lord began to walk with him. So after over the last 20-25 years, they've been truly faithful walking with the Lord and serving him as they could. life changes, you know and sometimes we don't starve very well are we have difficulties along the way and we kind of fall down and begin to struggle and sometimes we will look at lives like that and say wow, there's no hope Airwalk they're gone But you pray for people is we prayed for this. Man for all those years and then to see him come to know the Lord and then walk with the Lord up until now. So the rest of his why what a difference it makes. Well, we're going to take a look at a lady that had a really rough start as we come to know her but I think she finished very well and we'll take a look at that why it's not the beginning of life. It's where we end up that is the most important thing and so as we think about our lives and the lives of others Whitney know, it calls us to really concentrate on the Lord in our prayers and our desire for their lives and if we're struggling Turning back to the Lord can change everything as we trust in him as we trust in him. It will change everything. It's all we're going to take a look at the life of Bathsheba and see where her life and of course her life is totally intertwined with the life of David and so he's kind of involved in this situation as well. And so will take a look at their lives in 2nd Samuel chapter 11, it begins with David and he begins to have a struggle here. Okay, and that that struggle is that he has chosen not to do what kings are supposed to be doing leading their forces out and he chooses at this time to stay behind to send all his soldiers out with the generals and take his ease it home. Okay, so that's the picture where he is starting at verse 2 will read the first 5 vs. CRV vs. 225 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around the roof of the palace from the roof. He saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said isn't this that Sheba the daughter of helium the wife of Uriah the hittite if you study Uriah the hittite you'll find out that he was one of the 30 Men of Valor that David had. Okay, so he's an honored man in David's armies then David sent Messengers to get her she came to him and he slept with her. She is purified herself from her uncleanness and then she went back home the woman conceived and sent word to David saying I am pregnant.

You know, sometimes we get into life and we have these terrible starts and you look at a life like this. And you say well, there's no hope for Bathsheba. She really messed up and that's probably her life when we see throughout scriptures these struggles that people have and then they finally get their act together. I read earlier about Paul. Remember Paul said, he was the worst of Sinners. Well if we go to Acts chapter 8 We see where he truly is. One of the worst of Sinners. It says in the Acts chapter 8 verse 3, but Paul saw sawed began to destroy the church going from house to house. He dragged off men and women and put them in prison. In fact, he sometimes stood over their destruction. He was a violent man who killed other people for whatever cause he thought he was leading. And so when he says I am the worst of Sinners he really is describing his life. And you say well, there's no hope for that man. But when God gets a hold of people it changes them. Are David and Bathsheba or engaged in something that they think they can keep quiet? He's already let people in his staff know so he's not keeping it quiet but we see the struggles, you know, he isn't doing what he should be doing. And neither is Bathsheba. Both of them are in a faltering state in their life Proverbs. 6:25 says do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her a captive 8 you with her eyes. In other words Solomon is writing these words Solomon. The son of Bathsheba is writing those words. Don't let someone Captivate you And it works both ways. Both the men and the women get captivated by the beauty of someone else noticed that that Sheba a responded to David's call to come to him. She was captivated. This is the king of all Israel, you know, and I'm getting to go be with him. She was captivated as well as David was captivated by your beauty and were drawn into those things. Another proverb says Proverbs 7 18 and 19. Come let us drink deep of Love till morning. Let's enjoy ourselves with love. And of course they did. My husband is not at home. He is going on a long journey and of course husband wasn't at home. He was off fighting the wars that David sent him out to fight he was serving David.

And yet they thought okay. Well, we're going to have fun and then we'll just let it go with that. But you know God is watching he's watching you and he's watching me is watching how we live our lives and he has a hope and a direction for each one of us and sometimes when we get off that course of direction that he gives to us, so we become exposed in some respects and so I don't think it was any accident that then she became pregnant. I think it's God's way of exposing what the struggle was Proverbs 5:21 and to says for a man's ways are in full view of the Lord and He examines always pads the evil Deeds of the Wicked Man ensnare him in the cords of his sin holding fast. Wow, I wonder if when Solomon wrote those words he was thinking back to the struggles that David had in these times. Certainly he perhaps heard the story from his own mother about what the struggles were if you want to understand the story. Let's continue it on a little bit and what happened, of course, she comes to David David thinks. Well, I'll just call Uriah home and you'll have relations with his wife and everything will be okay because they'll think it's his baby and not mine. Well, he doesn't do that. He came home, but he never went to see his wife. And so there's a major problem there. And so rather than allowing himself to be exposed for the guilty already had he covers it even deeper and he sends you back to joab the leaders of his armies and has joab send him to the front of the lines so that he will die in battle.

Talk about falling into sin deeply. I don't know where Bessie but wasn't oldest the Bible doesn't describe where she wasn't all of this and that what she was thinking about her husband and the events that were occurring to take his life, but certainly She was there for David. I was there for David but there's there's the possibility that restoration can take place. But sometimes the pain of restoration is really really difficult. really difficult, you know in the process of the story The

the prophet Nathan comes to David and he points the finger at him in a very dramatic way and David then confesses his sins but it didn't end the struggle. You see when we step into send there are events that will occur as a result of that sin that will trouble us and certainly these events trouble David the rest of his life and we have this a big story is the eventual death of this child. Did David and Bathsheba first had but there's the next event occurs in the 13th chapter of 2nd Samuel. We have a his son and then and his daughter Tamar and their of different they are born of different ones, but they're David's children and a man falls in love with that Amarr and he wants to have her and he figures out a way to do that. He's sick as David to send Kmart or paint Margo's to take care of him as she's taking care of me grabs her and once they have relations with with Tamar and Taymar says these words. She says what about me? What could I get rid of where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you you would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel, please speak to the king. He will not keep me from being married to you. That was The Plea and you didn't listen and he took her and he raped and then on top of that he tossed her out of his home. Oster out of his home because he hated her as much as he loved her before while she had a she had a brother named Absalom. You probably heard that name before Absalom was a weather really handsome man, and he drew people into himself probably showed people who already Waze and eventually he rebelled against his father David after he had killed his brother amnon. So the struggles that David had predicted by the Lord would continue through his entire life even up to the end. We'll look at that one in just a little bit. But remember even though God forgives our sin. He doesn't take away the problems in the struggles that it brings about and it calls to each of us to try and make sure that we're walking as God would have us walk So what about that Sheba though? God actually? Team to her and demonstrated his love to her. She gave birth to a son 2nd Samuel 12:24 after the first son it die. David went to work and it says then David comforted his wife that Sheba and Andy went to her and lay with her she gave birth to a son and they named them Solomon the Lord loved him now. Isn't that interesting? It says the Lord loved him and it's seems to be from birth, but I get the idea as I begin to read into the text of what Bathsheba did that part of that love occurred because number one of David got to look for David, but also, I think that God also saw bathsheba's heart and it was changing and he had a love for her as well and will see that as we move along in the scriptures here. That John loved what she produced a child that she produced and she had a tremendous influence on this child.

the Friendship she developed was an interesting friendship remember it was Nathan the prophet that went to David when he had spend in the prophet called down God's judgement on David and and all of these things and you think we're out he's got to be the bad guy in all of this you would think but I don't think he was in fact scripture seems to indicate that he became very in a very good relationship with

What happens is that adonijah? One of the sons of David designs at the end of David's life that he is going to become the king. Even though David is said to Solomon's going to be king. He decides that he's going to be king and so he gathered around him some of the big men of Israel joab. The leader of David's armies and a few others that decide to go along with him and Crown Him King instead of Solomon. And so Nathan comes to comes to Bathsheba and he speaks with her. 1st Kings 11 and 12 then Nathan ask basheba Solomon's mother. Have you not heard that it adonijah the son of hey gif as get has become king without our Lord. David's knowing it now then let me advise you on how you can save your life and the life of your son Solomon. You see there was a relationship there that he had that is being revealed here. And I think it's a relationship that is more powerful than we might imagine one of the things that we learn as we look through the the children that basheba actually produced work was a son named Nathan.

So there was a relationship going on there. And you wonder how did Solomon gain all of this wisdom and understanding and knowledge that he had I mean the lord gave to him. Well, somehow he had a connection. And I believe that that was through the prophet Nathan that Solomon studied under Nathan and he learned a lot of the things that were part of his substance when he became the king of Israel that there was a relationship between Nathan and Bathsheba and then this child and that's why Nathan was so concerned about Solomon becoming the king God is working there and that gives us hope that gives us hope when we see the hand of God working and all these circumstances so Nathan their Reveals His plan to to David r two best Shiba and veggie pad goes to David and she speaks with him and he hears the words of David 1st Kings 1:30. I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the Lord the god of Israel Solomon your son shall be the King after me and he will sit on my throne in my place. UC following the Lord brings about good things and I believe that that Sheba was truly a follower of the Lord. Yeah. She put that terrible incident behind her. And look to God to be your guide in her strength. And we will see later on that. She was an honored woman and this go to that that's read proverbs 31 1 through 9. This is a a passage that was written by Solomon and I believe that he wrote these words.

Probably early on in in his writings. It does it talks about King Lemuel and there are questions about well, who is this King Lemuel but Jewish tradition has it that he is Solomon and so if we realize that this is Solomon that is writing these words that's read about what he says about his mother and what she had to say. The sayings of King Lemuel in Oracle his mother taught him. Oh my son. Oh, son of my womb o son of my vows do not spend your strength on women your Vigor on those who ruin Kings It is not for Kings old lamielle. Not for Kings to drink wine. Not for rulers to Crave beer less. They drink and forget what the lawn decrees and deprived all the oppressed of their rights. Give beer to those who are perishing. Why did those were in anguish let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves for the rights of all who are destitute speak up and judge fairly defend the rights of the poor and needy I think about that or those words of one who is not walking with the Living God. Truly her life has been changed. Her life has been changed in Solomon recognizes that she is a lady who is is honored honored by being and by the people we have this scenario where adonijah has has fallen back and he's giving up that claim for kingship, but he has a desire laid in David's life. There was suffering from cold and they couldn't it just couldn't get warm and so other people went out and they found this lovely young lady to be their comforter for his life abishag. She was evidently beautiful and she was a great comfort and kept him warm and adonijah wanted to have a baby as his as his wife. And so he goes bad. She been asked about Shiba to go and talk to this King so she does and herein 1st Kings 2:19. We see this scenario. She goes to him. When does Sheba went to the King Solomon to speak to him for adonijah the king stood up to meet her bow down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the King's mother and she sat down at his right hand. in other words She was honored in the Kingdom. I he did so much as to Val towards his mother because he trusted in her he loved her a great deal and was willing to listen to her. We won't go into the results of that struggle there. But but just the idea that she is honored on her for who she was and what she did. she talks about three things in this a text that we find in in Proverbs that we just looked at the first one had to do with marriage and if we take a look closely at the life of Solomon and all he was and all he did we see that he sees steps that

Did Bathsheba had had given him? For the most part in the first part of his life and then there was a change that occurred in Solomon's lie, if we we read the text that he makes a major change in attitude towards these things that bass cheap is talk to him and I would guess that perhaps the best cheap is passed on at that point and that he's no longer following the lead that she instructed his in his life. The first one was that he wasn't too married too many women. You knowing and is your look at Solomon's like, you know, that that went out the window because he had 700 wives that's a little too many I think and he had 300 concubines so he had a bit of a struggle there. But that was but her desire was that he wouldn't do this. Do you know why that was her desire? Well, she was following God's lead if we go all the way back to Deuteronomy chapter 17 verse 17 talking about kings that says he must not take many wives or his heart will lead him astray in the second part. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. And if we leave read the life of Solomon. He failed on all those accounts. As his life went along. He didn't listen to the Lord. Even though he was a wise man and wrote many wonderful things about God. Certainly he had a failure in a lot of ways because he refused to listen to God even as he was instructed by his mother that she either to do the second thing is that he was supposed to help others. Those who are struggling was in that was supposed to be part of his life and early on he did that. He helped people along the way we read in job 29 12 and 13 because I rescued the poor who cried for help and the for Our Lives who had none to assist him the man who was dying blessed me. I made the widows aren't saying In other words looking at jokes like he's saying yeah, I did all those good things. I was supposed to do in his way to look at Solomon's life. He did at the beginning. You left? I ate out a Wonderful Life as we see instructed in scripture until he began to falter. Finally the idea of Justice. There's the story they tell where two women have a children. And one of the woman's child woman's child died and she went and stole the baby from the other one. And so then there was this claim that went out and they came before the king and the King hears the Cry of both the mothers and he said, okay. Well, let's cut the baby in half and give half to one of the women in after the other one of the women and you know logical right one woman who had stolen the baby says. Oh, yeah. Let's just go ahead and do that and let the other mother the true mother of the child says no, please. Don't I give the baby up? Just don't kill it. Solomon says give the baby to that woman because she is the truth. So anyway, it says in 1st Kings 3:28, when all Israel heard of the verdict the king of given they held a king in awe because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer Justice Solomon was a king who admitted. Always teaching them. That Solomon had they were directed by his work with the prophet Nathan I believe and with his mother who taught him wisely as he grew up. You know, sometimes those struggles we have are the things that really help us to understand what life is all about and the realization of the difficulties.

then we have and so I believe

The best cheap I was one of the most faithful. Witnesses of the lord we have in Scripture. It doesn't really express that to deeply but I think as you look at her life and the end of her life rather than the beginning look at the expense of her life, you can see that she was an extremely faithful woman to the Living God and she helped director son in the right path. When she passed on the sun changed his attitudes. And eventually some of the decisions that he made brought the division of about of Israel. In the two tribes and said to a nation's instead of one. Anyway, some of the things that we can learn from it. While we are still living the story is not totally written about our lives. You know, it's There's still something left. There is an ending to our lives that can be different if we have struggled. It can change. And if you're struggling with something in your life right now and it's kind of taking you away from the Lord you can turn back as best Shiba turn back. You can turn back as Saul Paul turned back to the lord and there are others in Scripture. Who even though they had fallen away turned back? So just remember the ending of anybody's life is not written until they pass from this life. There's a lot there. So what does that call us to do? The second thing I want you to remember is that there had to have been a lot of prayer put into the lives of Bathsheba and David. And others or how they developed. You know and I think back to my friend and how much prayer was made for his life as he went along and they struggled for some 20 years of his life going from Woman to Woman. And yet in the end got grabbed ahold of his wife. And God grabbed ahold of that. She was lying. And I think that a lot of that had to do with the prayers that were given by people who truly are trusting in God and want the best for others people's life. And that's why we need to be in prayer for many who are struggling with life now because there are a lot of people that you know, and I know that don't know the Lord didn't need to have a change in their lives. And God is faithful when he hears our prayers given for others lives. He does respond. You may not respond right away. It may take years as it did with our friend, but he does respond and he makes a difference.

so number one don't judge somebody until they pass from this life and you even then you shouldn't judge them because their lives are the way God has worked through them and pray that he will work through them to the very best. And be in prayer for all those in need we need to be people that really fall on our knees before the Living God day by day. because we don't know how much longer we have in this world. We don't know. The God does and he's coming back and we want those dear ones of ours to know him. Earth Brite

precious father thank you for the lives of people that have difficulties and struggles. who make you judge mistakes like that Sheba like David like Saul like Peter so many in scripture we can go through and see how they

have struggles and difficulties in their lives and it gives us hope hope for the battles that we've faced hope for the battles that our dear ones face is somehow through all those experiences that you can touch hearts and lives and bring them to yourself helping them to know you and love you above all else. Oh Father help us to remember to be Warriors that stand or kneel before you giving the lives of people into your hands. Help us to recognize you in all things. A living God in Jesus name. Amen.