Jump Start # 3312

2 Samuel 12:7 “Nathan then said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.’”

Our verse today is that difficult and courageous conversation that the prophet had with the king. Nathan and David. Most know the story. Rather than being off in battle as usual, David was at home. Standing upon his rooftop he sees a beautiful neighbor bathing. She is married. She is married to a Hittite, who happened to be one of David’s mighty men. The very fact that a foreigner lived nearby the palace shows the confidence and trust the king in this man. David’s lust takes hold of him. He sends for the woman. They have sexual relations. In time, word reaches David that she is carrying his child. Scandal rather than shame and coverup rather than guilt fills David’s thoughts. He calls the warrior home from the battlefront. He sends him home, but he won’t go home. He gets him drunk, but he won’t leave the king. Time is ticking and David is running out of options. He sends the unsuspecting husband back to the front lines, carrying a note that will bring about his death. In the heat of the battle, Israel is to withdraw. They’ve never done that under David’s command. Uriah is killed. David now marries the widow and the coverup seems to have worked.

Time passes. God is patient. David does nothing. The baby is born. Then comes our verse. God sends the prophet Nathan with a critical message, David has sinned. “Thou art the man,” is the revelation that the prophet knew, God knew and David’s secret was demanding repentance.

Great lessons for us here:

First, great men of God stumble. Leaders make mistakes. Preachers fumble. We all sin. We don’t like it when our heroes have feet of clay. We want our parents to be perfect and our congregation to be flawless. Well, that’s not the way it is. Sometimes we are quick to toss leaders that sin. Maybe some patience, grace and help is what they really need. David sinned, but God wasn’t finished with him.

Second, there are times when we need a spiritual backbone and the courage to say what needs to be said. People can intimidate us and bully us to the extent that we give them a pass for the wrong that was done. Nathan had God on his side and David had the power of the kingdom on his side. Nathan did not know how David would receive these words. Would he lock the prophet up, like what happened to Jeremiah later on? Would he kill him, like what a ruler did to John the baptist? Fearing the consequences can keep our lips silent. But with truth and the Lord on your side, one must take the chance and say what needs to be said. Far too many places the guilty is defended, excused and justified, while others sit back in silence shaking their heads. Why won’t someone speak up? Why won’t someone speak as the Lord has shown us?

Correcting is to be done with gentleness and patience. But correcting will never bring about godly changes if one waters down the message so much that it stands for nothing. David was guilty. David had sinned. David needed to repent. Yes, preachers have been fired by ungodly shepherds who were more interested in their power than following the Lord. Yes, congregations have split over right and wrong, because some were unwilling to sell out to the popular notions of some. Oh, to have a Nathan among us in these times. Someone who will stand for the Lord. Someone who cares enough that he risks all to save a soul.

Third, there comes a time when action must take place. Jezebel, in Revelation, was given time to repent but she did not want to repent. Some are too quick on things and need conversations first. Others are much too slow, even to the point of doing nothing. God let David alone for several months. Nothing was happening. It looked like David had gotten away with multiple sins. Then God sent the prophet.

When no positive actions are taking place and no apologies or repentance is seen, there comes a time to put on the boots and get over to the person’s house and have a conversation. Take your Bible. Show Scriptures. Stand your ground. If change takes place, rejoice and start the process of reconciliation. If the person remains unmoved, then it’s time for some discipline from the church.

God sent Nathan. Nathan spoke. David listened. A soul was restored and saved.

It is impressing that Nathan obeyed the Lord. Nathan didn’t tell others. Nathan didn’t gossip. He did as the Lord wanted him to do. Nathan used a story to get David to see himself. Nathan was plain and pointed, “You are the man.” You are that wicked man in the story who stole his neighbor’s one pet lamb. You are the man what has given no thought to others. You are the man who violated the law of God. You are the man who ruined a home. You are the man.

Courage. Conviction. Truth. Good things happen when those all run together in our hearts.

Roger

Jump Start # 2095

2 Samuel 12:7 “Nathan then said to David, ‘You are the man!’ Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.’”

Our passage today is part of the long dark section of Scriptures that shows a mighty man of God who had feet of clay. David, the man after the heart of God, failed. He had a moral weakness that led to multiple sins, deception, cover-up and hurt the nation. It is during this period of David’s life that we find few prayers uttered, few Psalms glorifying God and praising His word, and little attention upon goodness.

Nationally, things were the best that they had been. There were still wars going on, but Israel was strong. Israel was large. And, possibly, at this time, David took his foot off the accelerator spiritually. When we are in valleys, God seems so close to us. But when we are on top of the mountain, we tend to forget about God. Prosperity, peace and good times can be all it takes to shelve our faith and to put our spiritual walk into idle. We want prosperity, peace and good times. We enjoy those things. But it may well be that those are the things that cover our eyes to our dependence and need for the Lord.

David lusted after Bathsheba, a neighbor’s wife. The wife of one of his mighty men. He did more than just look. He sent for her. He took her. He sinned. His sin involved leading her to sin. David had opportunity to stop this. He didn’t. Then the consequences came. She’s with child, his child. Today, it could be an arrest or a sexual disease. David dips lower into sin. He tries to deceive Bathsheba’s husband. Called from the front lines, he tries to get him drunk. He does all he can to send him home so no one would know. However, Bathsheba would know. David would know. And, of course, God knew. When none of David’s schemes worked, he sent Bathsheba’s husband back to the front lines, carrying his own death certificate. Troops were pulled back in retreat, which David’s armies never did. Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, along with others, was killed. Months pass. David sits on this sin. The baby is born. Still nothing.

Finally, the prophet Nathan is sent. It is here that our verse is found. A story is told about a wealthy land owner who had hundreds of sheep but steals the one and only sheep that a neighbor has. David is furious. The rich guy deserves to pay and pay big for what he has done. This is when Nathan says, “You are the man.” It’s you.

Identified. Exposed. Known. Revealed. David, you are the man. You are the man who stole his neighbor’s only wife. You have many wives. She did not belong to you. She was not yours for the taking. You cannot do whatever you want. You cannot be above the Law. It is God who put you in this position. It is God who has spared you, blessed you and taken care of you. And, now what have you done to God? You have trashed His commandments. You have violated most of the Ten Commandments. You have done this, without any movement back to God. You have done this without any sorrow, apology or attempts to make things right. There has been a long, long journey between God and David. Even before Goliath, there was the lion and the bear that God delivered into David’s hands.

Lessons, there are many here.

First, leaders can disappoint. The best among us are not, and will never be Jesus. There are promises not kept. There are promises that are broken. Our faith and our hope is not in the church, our family or in one among us. It is in the Lord. It hurts when spiritual leaders let us down. It hurts when those we have trusted have broken that trust. Leaders who fall into moral problems. Leaders who divorce. Leaders who are found to be dishonest. Leaders who are self serving. All of that can shatter a person and a church.

We must remember that the Lord has never treated us wrong. The Lord has never let us down. The Lord has never been unkind to us. We serve the Lord.

Second, leaders need help. David was the king. David was the giant killer. David had songs sung about him. David wrote many Psalms. David is the man, it seems. However, David needed help. Shepherds need to be shepherded. Preachers need help. We all do. Sometimes we assume that those who lead always have it together, always have the answers and are always upbeat. Not true. Discouragement can get the best of us. Temptation never leaves us. Being strong takes a price and sometimes helping others leaves one weary. How is your preacher doing? Do you know? How are the elders in your church? Do you know? Do you ever just ask them? Do you ever just take them out to show your appreciation? Are you close enough to them that they could talk to you?

Third, God wasn’t through with David. That’s a powerful lesson about forgiveness, hope and future. Someone like David makes sinful choices, and immediately some are ready to throw them under the bus, write them off and be done with them. For good. Forever. God wasn’t. God forgave David. God wasn’t through with David. David needed to solidify who the next king would be. David needed to make plans and arrangements for the future temple. David needed to hold down the fort.

Sometimes a person in leadership position needs to take some time off. Sometimes they need to regroup, rethink and get stronger, especially when they have made moral mistakes. Sometimes they need to get their priorities rearranged. Time, patience, trust, grace, love are all the necessary ingredients that not only can save a soul, but can restore one back to a better positon than before.

David made some serious mistakes. David sinned. Haven’t we all. We must learn. We must make better choices. We must keep our foot on the spiritual accelerator. We must not quit on God, for He has never given up on us.

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the role of Nathan, the prophet.

Roger