Last time we talked about David and Bathsheba, and though I think it is important to recognize that both of them had some responsibility in it, it is important to note that God was displeased with what David did. He is the focus and bears the majority of the burden here. I think it is safe to say that no matter what Bathsheba did or didn’t do, David had greater power here and so has greater responsibility. This is true for us as well. The more you know, the more mature you are, the more authority you have, the greater the accountability before God.

In chapter 11, David allowed himself to desire something he knew was not good, explored ways to get what he wanted, and then when he finally gave himself over to it, became blinded to greater and greater sin in his life until he put out a contract on one of his own men to have him murdered and was totally devoid of all feeling towards the death of Uriah. That’s how it is with us too. The more we give into sin the less aware of sin we become and the less aware of the guilt and sorrow of sin.

But thanks be to God that he does not leave us alone but chastises all this children. Last time we experienced the path to temptation. Today we experience the road to redemption.

1

I’m sure Nathan was not a little concerned when the Lord let him know of what David had done. I would not have liked to have been Nathan, approaching an unrepentant king and calling him on the carpet. It is of the Lord’s mercy that he gives Nathan this story that bypasses David’s sin-drunk mind and gets him to understand what is really going on. If you have ever been the one to address a serious sin in someone’s life you know how difficult this can be. I have been in this situation and you are never guaranteed as to the outcome. Your job is to bring the truth—but do it in love. Blasting someone out of the water is not going to see them restored.

Galatians 6:1-3 Brothers,  if anyone is caught in any transgression,  you who are spiritual should restore him in  a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2  Bear one another's burdens, and  so fulfill  the law of Christ.

Nathan here brings the truth in love and gentleness and bears David’s burdens by helping him to be restored to the Lord. The attitude of the heart is vital. God knew David and he knew that approached in the right way he would repent.

2 – 6

Couple of things to point out from this story. First, David would have had immediate empathy with both the shepherd caring for his sheep, and with the plight of the poor. David also seemed to have an affinity for justice and fairness. Notice that David got upset because the man “had no pity.” Love of his fellow man was huge with David. Sin, however, had blinded him to his own nature.

Notice too David’s response. Death? Stealing a sheep was not a death sentence. Exodus 22 says that a man should repay four fold for a stolen sheep, but not forfeit his life. Is this perhaps a slip? The penalty for lying with another man’s wife was death. So now Nathan has David in his hypocrisy. What he values comes out in his response to the story, but his values are not being carried out in his actions.

7 – 9

Once the hook is set, Nathan lets the whole thing out. God had given much to David, and promised him so much more, including an eternal kingdom (chapter 7). And notice how Nathan words it: “why have you despised the word of the Lord?” God’s character is revealed in his word, and it is by that that we judge whether we are following the Spirit or the flesh.

James 1:22-25 But be  doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law,  the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts,  he will be blessed in his doing.

This is not legalism. God is not looking for people who will just act perfect. He wants to transform you by invading your life and taking up permanent residence. But you can resist this process. Ignoring the Word of God is one way to resist. We get what we want. If we want to follow the flesh then we’ll forget what the Word showed us in the mirror. But if we desire to become like God we will try to remember and ask the Spirit to bring to our remembrance all truth! (John 16:13).

As with all sin, though, restoration does not mean lack of consequence. Notice that even though the death of Uriah came by the hand of an enemy, God says “you” killed him. So it is with the consequences of sin, they follow what we have done.

10 – 12

Sleeping with Bathsheba was a sin of the moment, a sin of passion and lust. But killing Uriah was premeditated and so God focuses on that. The sword never left David’s house and he indeed paid four fold: the baby died, along with his sons Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah. His daughter Tamar was raped and his concubines were publicly humiliated by Absalom. In another way, David suffered the consequences of a rebellious Israel. God promised that their sons would be slain in battle (Lev 26:17), their wives would be taken away (Deut 28:30), their children would be taken (Lev 26:22) and they would be sent into exile (Deut 28:63 – David went into exile when Absalom took over the kingdom).

So after all of this we are pretty bummed. But Lev 26:40 also contains a passage that when the people remembered their sin, that God would remember His covenant. As David now reacts we see him realize what he has done, and to whom.

13 – 14

David’s six simple words say it all: “I have sinned against the Lord.” There are a number of ways he could have responded to Nathan.

·         Denial—I did nothing wrong

·         Transference—it was her fault!

·         Tantrum—how dare you accuse me!

·         Depression—Nobody likes me and everyone hates me so I’m going to go eat worms.

·         Justification—did God really say…

·         Comparison—Is this really so bad compared to what others have done?

·         Ultimatum—if this is what it means to serve God then I’m taking my mitt and ball and going to another field.

·         Passive Aggression—I’ll change my ways (no I won’t)

·         Pleading—I’ll do better next time, can’t we just forget this?

David did the one thing that was right—he acknowledged the sin and took responsibility for it.

What was going through his mind? We actually know thanks to the fact that David wrote songs about his heart attitudes. In this case it is Psalm 51. In it are some vital concepts when it comes to repentance and cleansing from sin.

Psalm 51:1 It is through mercy and love, not justice that we find forgiveness (we cannot justify ourselves)

2) we need to be washed and it is God who does it

            3) Awareness of our transgressions is the first key to forgiveness

4) When we sin, it is first and foremost against God

5) Sin is endemic to the human race. We sin because we are sinners, we are not sinners because we sin

6-7) God is good and pure. He hates evil so much that he will actually hurt us if it means in the process we are purged from the evil

8) In our sadness over sin we need the hope of cleansing from God to go on

9-11) we must ask for the cleansing, trust that he has done it and cling to the presence of the Lord in our lives as our number one aim

12) Look for the joy that comes from true repentance.

13-15) The results of acknowledgement, repentance, forgiveness and restoration is not only joy, but the desire to tell others of the freedom you have found from the slavery to sin and praise to the God who did it all for you.

16-19) Doing better or being more religious is not the answer but being broken to be made whole by the Lord. It’s a tough way to go, but the right way.

15

Nathan went home. There is no point in berating David. There is a point where we should also leave off and leave time for the Holy Spirit to convict. The child (unnamed) gets sick, just as the Lord said. David’s response shows the real David is back. No longer the hardened and uncaring murderer, he now places himself in a position of weakness to intercede for someone who is suffering innocently—the child.

16 – 23

David’s servants thought he was despondent and close to suicide. But in reality David was reliant on the Lord. He knew God’s gracious nature. Though he had no guarantees, he still sought the Lord for healing. When it did not come, then David arose. His response in verse 23 (and in 24) shows his pragmatic spirituality.

24 – 25

David knew what he had to do—come before the Lord for his dying son, then comfort his wife in her own loss. The fact that Bathsheba had another son does not justify what David did, but God “causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him, to those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). It was God’s purpose to have an heir through Bathsheba, leading to the Lord Jesus Christ.

This isn’t the first time God has used something we might think was broken to fulfill his purposes. Remember Rehab? She was an enemy of God in Jericho who came to trust in Yahweh and ended up in the line of Jesus. How about Ruth? She was a Moabite, but was David’s grandmother.

1 Corinthians 1:27-30 But  God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;  God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to  bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Verses 26 – 31 show us the results of sin, repentance, forgiveness and restoration—a return to the thing David should have doing all along.

26 – 31

Joab had started fighting against Rabbah back in chapter 10. Now that God has dealt with David the battle can begin again. In the end it is all about doing God’s work. He works in us to cleanse us so we can be the work of bringing the good news of the gospel to others.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 Now in  a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay,  some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore,  if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house,  ready for every good work.

So just a couple of things to not in conclusion:

1. If it can happen to David it can happen to you

David was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). If he can fall to temptation so can you so be alert and be transparent to the Lord.

1. When it happens, not if, be quick to admit and seek God’s love and mercy

You can always repent, but the road back becomes harder the further down it you go. If David had slept with Bathsheba and immediately repented, things might have been different. The sooner you repent the less discipline you must undergo and the fewer consequences.

1. God is in the mess-fixing business

You cannot get in jam so tight that God cannot get you out and get glory for it. So even in your worst sin, one you just know is unforgivable, know that His mercy is everlasting and able to wash you from every sin.