The House of David

We are in our Game of Thrones series, and today we will be learning about the House of David and the story that we will use is found in 2 Samuel 11

Read it with me as prepare our hearts to hear what the Lord has to say to us through this story.

2 Samuel 11 (ESV)

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.

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.

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?”

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.

And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.

When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going.

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.

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.

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?”

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.”

Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

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 as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men.

And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.

Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting.

And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king,

then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?

Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ”

So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell.

The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.

Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”

David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.

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.

Lots of consequences that David has to deal with in this story. With that said, have you ever suffered from the consequences of your actions? For me, One comes to mind. I remember being on a roller coaster after eating, a bad idea. I'm going to leave it with just that one :) The consequences of those actions taught me a lesson no fatty foods and roller coasters.

In the same way, David learned some lessons based on his decisions. As I was researching this. I was wondering how I would connect it the house of David with our Game of Thrones series. I realized that this story has a lot of intrigue in it. It could be an episode of Game of Thrones. Pastor suggested for me to look at Jon Snow, a well-loved character. And as I researched him, I'm like, this guy will work! As we were reminded last week, Jon Snow got involved with Wildlings in Game of thrones. Specifically with one named Ygritte. These choices almost cost him his life, made him question his loyalties, and ultimately He lost Ygritte as she was a casualty of his decisions. Ygritte knowing him cost her her life. Decisions matter, and the consequences that come from those decisions hurt.

Look at David. He wakes up from an afternoon nap and goes on his balcony to see a woman having a ceremonial cleansing bath. He liked what he saw and took it. In the process, not only does he commit adultery, he tells a series of lies that culminate in murder. And his sins take about a year to be found out. It doesn't mean that there weren't rumors of what had actually happened, but it was after a year that the prophet Nathan came to talk to David. He very cleverly gives David a hypothetical scenario in which he condemns someone. He finds out it is about him, but the prophet Nathan tells him he won't die, but there will be severe consequences.

First: Nathan said the sword would never depart from David's house (2 Samuel 12:10). This was fulfilled in the successive violent deaths of at least three of his sons—Amnon (2 Samuel 13:29), Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14), and Adonijah (1 Kings 2:25).

Second: Nathan also prophesied to David that his own wives would be humiliated before all of Israel (2 Samuel 12:11). This was fulfilled when Absalom "lay with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel" (2 Samuel 16:22).

Third: Nathan pronounced the fatal end of the son conceived by David's sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:14). This was fulfilled seven days after Nathan's judgment sentence (2 Samuel 12:18). To David, the death of his son was a far greater punishment than his own death.

David incurred significant consequences from one wrong decision. It snowballed, and if you have ever made a bad decision, you can concur. Decisions snowball, for good and bad choices alike. When you do something positive, isn't it amazing how it seems more good happens. But if you make a bad choice, the subsequent things that follow go from bad to worse. I always tell my seniors to be wise in their decisions because they will affect them for at least the next ten years, and decisions they make in their mid-twenties will bless or haunt them till their forties.

God forgives us, but we still have to deal with the consequences.

Look at it this way, you get on the roof here at rondo, and you slip and fall. Trevor would forgive you. It might cost you a couple of cigars, but he would forgive you and treat you as usual,

But your slipping and falling off the roof cost you two broken legs, a concussion, and maybe a broken arm, and it will take time for all of that to heal.

So is it with David, so is it with us. God forgives, but the law of gravity applies when you fall off a building.

In David's case, his indiscretion lets his son Amnon think it was okay to treat a woman like an object, and he violated his half-sister. Still, because David had also objectified a woman(Bathsheba.), it was a difficult conversation for David to have with his son because he wasn't any better. That led to his other son Absolom feeling that David was weak and incompetent as a father and leader. And if Absolom wanted justice, he had to kill Amnon himself, which he did. He was also coincidentally the one next in line to the throne, and with his brother Amnon out of the way, he could pursue that now. He had no patience to wait till David passed and decided to oust his dad, whom he had no respect for based on their history. So he formed a coalition that included Bathsheba's grandfather Ahitophel to get rid of David.

None of it was successful, but as I said earlier, the Game of Thrones and Jon Snow had intrigue and mystery. But The house of David could have had its own series! It would be a mix between Game of Thrones and keeping up with the Kardashians.

But in all seriousness, what we can see is that no matter how much we mess up our lives, God is there, and he loves us.

He knew that we would make David-like decisions. He knew we would be paying for the effects of our actions, and in some cases, that would stay with us for a long time. However, just like David, he lets us know that he still loves us. Even though we might be on crutches or in rehab from the consequences of our actions, He sends his son to be the Doctor to save our life, the physical therapist to help us be functional, and that best friend to help us through those dark days.

Yes, we have all done things that we regret. Maybe it was adultery, like David, fornication, divorce, violence, stealing, lying, etc. No matter what it was. If you have confessed your sins, we serve a faithful and just God who will cleanse you of all sins. He removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. I am here to encourage us. God has forgiven us. We don't need to live under condemnation. But let's say it's still burdening you. I invite you to let it go this morning and sing these words with us based on Psalm 51, which David wrote after the Prophet Nathan confronted him

Create in me a clean heart, oh God

And renew a right spirit within me

Create in me a clean heart, oh God

And renew a right spirit within me

Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord

And take not Thy holy spirit from me

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation

And renew a right spirit within me