| The Freedom of Forgiveness - David and Bathsheba |
Pastor Daniel Rolfe
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Mountain Springs Church
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| 02/17/2008 |
The Freedom of Forgiveness
Embracing undeserved Grace
2 Samuel 11-12, Psalms 51, Ezekiel 36
- “The Purity of Man precedes the Presence of God”
- What is our part to consider with ushering in a move of God?
- Today we’re going to look at a foundational biblical account of sin and grace, repentance and the presence of God.
2 Samuel 11
- 2 Samuel recounts the triumphs and defeats of King David.
- It scripts for us his rise to the throne to his famous last words.
- As King, David took a divided nation from his predecessor King Saul and build a prominent nation.
- Like most political & military-based biographies, Second Samuel highlights the character traits that enabled David to succeed.
- However, it also describes the tragic consequences of David’s lust and pride.
- 2 Samuel demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of man but the continual, unconditional love and grace of God.
2 Samuel 11:1-5
1It happened in the spring of the year, 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 people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child." NKJV
- David is about 50 years old at this point.
- He has successfully ruled Israel for some 20 years.
- He has gained great renown and things are going very well for the most part.
- God is with him – the presence of God was sustaining him.
- Observation, We need to have our guard up at all times.
1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us…
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. NKJV
- We especially need our guard up when things are going well.
- It’s during the times when things are going well that we fall.
- I think this is in part because we are tempted to take our eyes off of Jesus and believe our own news.
- Prominent leaders often fall at the height of their success.
- We become spiritually sleepy – it’s always 5am spiritually…
- He was beginning to forget about the Lord and His hand in his life.
- He had neglected his leadership in the spring-time battling.
- He had become complacent and pride was creeping into his life.
- We are told that pride goes before a fall.
James 4:6-10
6 Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. NKJV
- David had began to think that he was above the law.
- The sin of David with Bathsheba is the conclusion of a series of poor choices on his part.
- As Pastor Steve said a couple of weeks ago, “Don’t deem the patience of God as the favor of God.”
- We get caught up making some small compromises in our lives and we presume that God’s patience is his direct agreement with our behavior.
Galatians 6:7-9
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. NKJV
- EX: Farming plant analogy – What you sow, you’ll reap…
- Observation #2 - David’s sin in his room with Bathsheba was the result of earlier sins he had committed.
- David didn’t fall suddenly – he fell as a result of choices.
- 2 Samuel 5 tells us that David multiplied concubines for himself – this was in direct disobedience to God. (Deut 17:17)
- David was filled with lust and was feeding it more and more.
- You don’t feed lust, you starve it.
- EX: Dog analogy – You feed “Rover”, your dog…He follows you…
· Life’s downfall is slow and gradual – it’s a little give here and there and before you know it, you’re trapped!
o Are you allowing things into your life that stir up lust in your heart?
o David would later write…
Psalm 101: 2-3
2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
NKJV
· What are you setting before your eyes?
o Are there images in your mind that continue to trouble you/ create comparisons?
· Life’s downfall is slow and gradual – it’s a little give here and there and before you know it, you’re trapped!
o Sin blinds you
· David was blinded by sin.
· David fantasized about sin.
· David acted upon sin.
· He was blinded to what was really happening.
o Sin finds you
· The first time we sin – we repent.
· The second time we sin in the same manner – we begin to identify this as a struggle.
· We go on through the stages of rationalization and justification…
· Eventually we arrive at the place of realizing the “wages of our sin is death.”
o Sin won’t mind you
· Sin is no respecter of person.
· It will devastate you and your entire life.
· It does not care who you are or who your family is.
· It doesn’t care for your background or your future.
- David was feeding lust and was ready to collapse into sin at the earliest opportunity.
Look again at the text…
2 Samuel 11:1-5 (with >> for edits)
2 …It happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. >> 4 Then David >>took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, and >> the woman conceived. NKJV
- “Why was David in the Palace – why was he not on the battle field?”
- When he should have been in battle, he was in bed!
- While David chose to take some time off from the battle the enemy was prowling around seeking someone to devour.
- This would have been a temptation for any man but David was not prepared to look the other way – he crumbled and requested her presence.
- David wanted this woman and wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
- It’s also interesting here to note though, why was Bathsheba bathing in an obviously visible place?
- Was she seeking to gain the eyes of the King?
- Where was the enemy in this plan to see him fall?
- I’m not by any means excusing David’s behavior – I just think it’s important we look at this situation from both sides.
- EX: We are to avoid sin – but also avoid causing others to sin.
Romans 14:12-13
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore (so live in such a way) let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.
NKJV
· A progression of logic with me:
o “If lustful looking is bad then those who dress and expose themselves seeking to be looked at not less guilty but maybe more guilty in this.”
· Our culture propagates the thought to gain attention – from magazine covers to webpages, from fashion to the mall.
· Young ladies are bombarded with messages to dress in such a way to draw the eye of a young man.
o There are certain things that you can do or not do that draw the attention of a man.
· Bathsheba did have some responsibility in this situation – the wrong has been done and now a message has been sent.
o David is going to be a father!
· David’s reaction is not one of full disclosure – he seeks to hide what has happened.
o He comes up with a plan and brings Uriah back to be with his wife for a night…
· David’s plan to cover his sin is not developing in the way he had hoped – Uriah will not go be with his wife.
· Plan B
2 Samuel 11:14-18
14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die." 16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, NKJV
· David would now hurry to marry Bathsheba in order to make it look as normal as possible and cover up his sin.
o David overlooked one important detail though…
2 Samuel 11:27
27…The thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
NKJV
· David was a torn, twisted, yet believing man.
o He would later write that his strength was evaporated (Psalm 51 & 32) from him and he was struggling during this time…
· New heart thread… >>>
Psalms 51:1-4
1 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight--
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
NKJV
Psalms 51:5-6
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
NKJV
Psalms 51:7-13
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
NKJV
· Heart:
o The Hebrew word here for “heart” is leb and lebab – both words speak about a person’s inner being.
o To the Hebrews, the leb (heart) was considered to be the seat of affections, will and mind.
· EX: One’s emotions and understanding were centered in the heart therefore blurring the lines between mind and heart, intellect and emotions.
o Therefore, to have a clean heart is to have pure thoughts and desires.
o To have a hardened heart or a heart of stone is to have a closed mind and deadened emotions.
o God comes to remove our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. NKJV
· God will not allow his children to get away with sin.
o God disciplines those he loves – he loves his children.
o David was in effect guilty of adultery and murder.
· The Lord sent Nathan the prophet to speak to David.
o Some 12 months later…
2 Samuel 12:1-6
1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."
NKJV
· David over-reacts and says he should be put to death…
o Maybe because he had something to hide.
o I’m always on my guard when I’m with people that always point the blame towards others and are exceptional at highlighting the sin areas in others…
2 Samuel 12:7-13
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.' " 13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. NKJV
· Our sin always comes out.
o We think we are the only one that can hide help.
· Let’s live Godly lives!
o Hold onto your purity.
o Be faithful to your wife/ husband (someday you’ll be married).
· Greg Laurie - “The world doesn’t need more ammunition to fire at the Church.”
· David is both an account of failure and forgiveness.
o God gave a second chance to David.
Proverbs 15:13
13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
NKJV
Jeremiah 31:33
33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. NKJV
Matthew 5:27-28
27 You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
NKJV
This sermon was produced at Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, with Senior Pastor Steve Holt. www.mountainsprings.org
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