Jump Start # 946

2 Samuel 12:14 “However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”

In our last Jump Start, we saw King David ordering the death of one of his valiant mighty men, Uriah, to conceal the adultery he had committed. The desperate David is now relying upon others in his deception and evil plots. Joab, David’s commander, carried out the withdraw of troops in a fierce battle so Uriah could be killed. Joab is now a part of this mess. David sent another message to Joab. This one was to make him feel better for what he has just done. The message read, “Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another…” Translated, this means: “Don’t worry, these things happen.” Really? David’s attitude is cold in all of this.

Time passes. David’s secret seems to remain a secret. He marries Bathsheba and it looks like everything is going to work out. The text doesn’t tell us how much Bathsheba knew. We wonder if David told her the real reason Uriah died. I tend to doubt that he did.

God sends Nathan the prophet to stir David spiritually. In that famous exchange, Nathan declares to David, “You are the man,” revealing that David has stolen another man’s wife. He also reveals that God knows the truth about Uriah. David’s secret is no longer a secret. Joab knew. Now, Nathan the prophet knew. God knew. Now, David knew that God knew.

A series of very serious punishments, all involving death, are revealed by Nathan. Bathsheba’s baby will die. The sword will not depart from David’s home. David himself will be spared death. God forgives him but the pain of those sins will be witnessed over and over as his children devour each other in violence.

From our verse today, two thoughts.

First, David’s actions gave the enemy occasion to blasphemy. This is the very opposite of what God wants. Through our actions, God wants people to glorify Him. All the good that a church does can be wasted by the ill living of members. Those who really know you will either respect you for your values or see that your walk and talk does not match. When that happens, your credibility as a Christian is ruined. People make three judgments through you.

Maybe they shouldn’t, but they do.

• They judge your faith by your lifestyle. They see you. They hear you. They see your attitude. They see what you purchase. Strangers. Friends. Family members. From what you do people make a judgment about you and your faith. They see if your are genuine or fake. They see if you are really trying or playing a game.

• Those that know you make a judgment about the church you attend by your actions. They see you as a representative of the church. Rightly or wrongly, they assume all the members of the church are like you. If your actions are not good, this is what they will think of your church. If they feel that you have cheated them in business deals or have been dishonest with them, those deeds have colored what they think of the church you attend.

• Through you they make a judgment about Christianity as a whole and even Jesus Christ. Some believe religion is a sham. They don’t get that impression from reading the Bible. They came to that conclusion by witnessing people who claimed to be Christians who were living a sham.

There is an old saying that states, “What you are doing speaks so loud I can’t hear what you are saying.” Our actions tell on us. Our choices, attitudes, words and behavior reflect what we really believe.

David’s deception gave the enemy reasons to blasphemy. Our deceptions do the same. One reason evangelism may not be working is not our methods in talking with people but our credibility. The actions of some hurt the work of all. When someone says, “I know someone who goes to your church…” their next words determine what they think of the church because of that one person. They may say, “He’s a great person, very kind and helpful.” Then that person has a positive image of the rest of the church. But, if he says, “He cheated me on a business deal,” then he has a sour taste and will want nothing to do with the church.

David gave the enemies reasons to blasphemy. Are we doing the same?

Second, God caused Bathsheba’s baby to die. The next verse is very specific. It says, “Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick” (v. 15). That’s hard for many of us to grasp. That sweet little baby didn’t do anything wrong. That baby didn’t make any wrong choices. Strike David. Strike Joab. Strike Bathsheba. But, not the baby. This is not the first time this happened. Remember Joshua and Achan? Achan took some spoil and hid it in his tent. He was not to do that. His punishment was that he and his wife and all his children were put to death. Remember the flood? It wasn’t just adults who drowned. There were children and babies. These thoughts are hard to get. Some see a mean side to God in all of this. Some want to throw the towel in on God because of this. Kill the sinner, but not the innocent.

In David’s case, there may have been a bigger picture that God saw. David’s sons were soon to kill each other or be killed by others. A disaster was just about to be unleashed at home because of David’s sins. Bathsheba’s baby, conceived in adultery, would fall in line to be king. That wasn’t going to happen. Another child between David and Bathsheba, Solomon, would eventually be the next king.

The innocent often suffer because of the sin of others. A drunk thinks he can handle driving home. His car plows into another car and innocent children are crippled or killed. A man has an affair and it ruins his marriage. His children are forced to move out of the house they grew up in, switch schools and be shared every other weekend. Their world changes because of the dad’s sin. A person is caught cheating at work. He loses his job. His family suffers financially because of that sin. A gambling addiction…a drug addiction…a lying addiction ruins the family. One of the consequences of sin is that the innocent suffer. Sin hurts. Sin doesn’t just hurt the sinner, it hurts the innocent.

The baby died. That little grave was a reminder of the poor choices and deception that David made. There are many other graves that mark the sins that we have committed. Our sins have hurt our families and our congregations. Good and innocent people have been hurt by our sins.

This is a side of sin we don’t think about. Maybe we ought to.

Roger

Jump Start # 945

2 Samuel 11:14 “Now in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.”

Our Jump Start yesterday discussed the lustful king David taking advantage of Bathsheba and committing adultery with her. For a while his escapade was a secret. Then Bathsheba sent word, “I am pregnant.” With her husband off in war, all fingers would point to the king. David becomes desperate in trying to cover this sin up.

David does three things. All of them are a downward spiral of fear, panic and desperation.

First, he brings Uriah home and asks him about the state of the war. That is something that normally would never happen. If David really wanted to know, he’d ask Joab, his general. Uriah was one of David’s mighty men—fierce, loyal and tough. He needed Uriah on the front lines. David’s thinking is that after sleeping in tents and eating grub with smelly soldiers the sound of home couldn’t be resisted. Home cooked food. His own bed. His wife. David thought this will work. It didn’t. Uriah is so loyal and dedicated and focused that he refuses to go home while his fellow soldiers are fighting. He sleeps at David’s doorstep.

Second, David invites Uriah to eat with him. Again, something that a king wouldn’t do with a common soldier. The text says, “He made him drunk” (v. 13). David knew. David is smarter than some of us. He knew what alcohol will do. A man of principle like Uriah will not compromise, at least not sober. Get enough booze in a person and they’ll say and do anything.  Drinking and violence go together. Drinking and sex go together. Get someone boozed up and they will let their guard down. They will do things they would never do if sober. David knows that. Get Uriah drunk and he will go home to his wife. It’s a shame that too many believers do not see the danger of drinking. They stick their toes in the water without seeing a tidal wave of trouble is coming. A drink here, soon becomes two, soon becomes many. I’ve noticed drinking lately. My wife and I have gone to some classical concerts. Among the pearls and fancy dresses and all the bling, bling is booze. It’s at all professional sports. Can’t we go to a show or a game without alcohol? Alcohol flows like rivers in our country. The affects are seen in cancer centers, divorce courts and empty dreams. Uriah drank. Uriah got drunk. Uriah still did not go home. A drunk Uriah had more principle than the sober David.

Third, David sends Uriah back to the front with a note. The note called for David’s men to retreat, which they never did. Uriah was to be left behind. Uriah was to be killed. Others would also be killed. Uriah carried his own death note. David knew he could trust Uriah. He knew that Uriah wouldn’t peek. He knew he could spell out the death of one of his mighty men and all would be fine. The plan worked. Joab pulled the troops back in the heat of fighting and Uriah and others died. Uriah died a war hero. He probably never knew about his wife being unfaithful nor that he was being used as a pawn by a crooked king. He never knew that all this was a plan to cover the king’s sin. Uriah was not the only one to die in that ugly plan. Others died. Their blood was upon the king’s hand.

A few observations:

• Temptation can be so strong that we fail to see straight. That happened to David. The pleasure of sin can blind us to the consequences and path of destruction it leaves behind.
• Guilt will lead us to fall on our knees before God or it will cause us to break every rule to cover it up. Guilt will make us come home like the prodigal or guilt will lead us to lie to the people we love the most. The shame of sin and the desire to hide it will lead us to being dishonest, deceptive, and ungodly.

• We have a task before us that we must stay committed to. Uriah is a great example of that. Uriah is a giant in principle. Uriah is one giant that David could not conquer.

Uriah is a great example of commitment, dedication and determination. He was a faithful and trusted soldier. He was true to his cause. What a true example the Hittite Uriah is.

NOTE: My apologies to the readers of my home congregation. This is a summary of my sermon last Sunday. It fits with our series. If you would like to listen to the sermon, go to: www.charlestownroadchurchofchrist.com

Roger

Jump Start # 944

2 Samuel 11:1 “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.”

Our look at David continues this week. Most folks who know even a little bit about David know two things: David and Goliath; David and Bathsheba. The first made him a national hero. The second showed that he had feet of clay and the depth of deception he sank in order to hide his sin.

Our verse sets the stage for this great tragedy: “Then it happened in the spring…” Then is the dark page in David’s life. The “then” will forever change things in his life. We can have a “then” in our lives as well. It is a moment that is with us and changes us, often not for the better. It is the “then” that we wish would go away or that we could rewind and do over. A hasty and rash statement that ruins a friendship. A moment like David which leads to the death of a marriage. The “then it happened” moments change everything.

In the spring is when nations battled. The winter was rainy. It was too hard to travel and the conditions were too rough for war. David is about 50 years old. He has been the king for 20 years. Usually he is off with the troops. This time he stayed home.

Most know the story and the sequence. David on his roof top of his palace, looking at the city below. He sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing. He doesn’t look away. He doesn’t go into the palace. His looks spread. Lust grows and takes over. He is the king and he can have anything he wants, including Bathsheba. Some have faulted Bathsheba for bathing when she could be spotted. The text doesn’t put any blame on her. What she did seemed innocent.

David sends messengers to find out who she is. That takes time. It is told that she is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. She is married. She is married to one of David’s mighty men. The fact that she lives close to the palace, within view, indicates that David trusted Uriah. He was a foreigner, a Hittite, but he loved Israel and was out on the battlefront.

David was told that she was a married woman. That didn’t stop him. He is spiraling out of control now. Lust has taken over and he will not stop at anything. He sends for her. That takes time. All through this process, there was plenty of opportunity for reason and faith to stop David.

Some wonder why Bathsheba didn’t refuse to go to David’s home. He was the king. It would be an honor to be invited to the palace. I expect the invitation did not reveal David’s plans and purposes. She went. They had sex. David sends her away. She was just a toy for the king. She was used and no longer needed.

David got away with it. He coveted his neighbor’s wife and he committed adultery. In a strange twist of things Bathsheba sends word to David. Throughout this text, David “sends.” He sends Joab to battle. He sends messengers to find out who the bathing beauty is. He sends for Bathsheba. He sends for Uriah. He sends Uriah back to battle. David is in command. He sends, sends, sends. However, in verse 5, Bathsheba sends. She sends a message to the king, “I am pregnant.” Panic fills David’s mind. He must keep this quiet. All his servants must know. Somehow he must hide this.

Tomorrow we will look at Uriah. But for now, consider for us:

• The consequences of sin are greater than the pleasure of sin. The old adage, “Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go; sin will keep you longer than you wanted to stay; and sin will cost you more than you wanted to pay” is so vivid and true in this story. It is repeated over and over every day. A young person likes the thrill of shopping lifting a CD from a store. They have the money, but they like the rush of trying it. Four steps outside the store they are snagged by security. The police are called. Their parents are called. The fun is no longer fun. They are in big trouble now. The thrill of chugging booze on a college campus changes when trouble catches up. The thrill of cheating on test. The thrill of stealing items from work. The thrill of wrong changes when the consequences catch up. A preacher is fired because of immoral activities. An elder must resign for indiscretions. Reputations ruined. Names tarnished. The consequences are great. The wages of sin is death!
• The sin of David began when his relationship with God started to crumble. A person doesn’t go from being very strong, to being very weak just like that. It is a slow, gradual, drifting that takes place. Most don’t even notice it. David didn’t. Not praying like he did in the Psalms. Not hitting on all cylinders spiritually. Selfishness grows. The same happens to us. We back off our intensity with God. We get a little sloppy in our spiritual life. We become a bit lazy. Less prayers. Less Bible reading. Skip a service here and there. A little looser with our tongue. A little departure with our attitudes. This is when we are ripe for trouble. This is when we are most vulnerable. David’s sin was not that he stayed home. His sin was that he did not recognize temptation and stop it. A spiritual David would have seen Bathsheba and walked away. He would have thrown that image out of his mind. A weak David stays and stares. A weak David sends for her. A weak David sins.
• Satan was ready. He recognizes our weakness and provides every opportunity to jump ship and sin. A weak David and a naked Bathsheba was all that Satan needed to trip the king. Satan always provides an opportunity for us to sin. He watches, like that lion, as Peter describes. He waits. He moves closer. He watches. He waits. At the best time, he plunges. Don’t you think that Satan has been watching you for a while. He’s there. He’s waiting. Will it be today, tonight or tomorrow. He can wait. He’s patient. He waiting for a moment when you are alone. He’s waiting for a moment when you are tired, lonely, stressed, bothered, vulnerable and of course, weak. He’ll keep watching you. You don’t see him, but he sees you. He’ll be at work and school today. He’ll be in the store today. He’ll be at home today. He’s there. All it takes is a moment. Satan always provides a time, a reason and an opportunity for us to sin.

God wants us to know this story about David. It is left for us to learn lessons from. We do not have to walk the steps of David. We see him, but now we must see ourselves.

Roger