Be sure your sin will find you out
Passage 2 Samuel 11
Speaker Hugh Bourne
Service Morning
Series David: Following the True King of Israel
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11 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman washing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant.’
6 So David sent this word to Joab: ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’ And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’ So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10 David was told, ‘Uriah did not go home.’ So he asked Uriah, ‘Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?’
11 Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!’
12 Then David said to him, ‘Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, ‘Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so that he will be struck down and die.’
16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: ‘When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, “Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?” If he asks you this, then say to him, “Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”’
22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, ‘The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’
25 David told the messenger, ‘Say this to Joab: “Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.” Say this to encourage Joab.’
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
This transcript has been automatically generated, and therefore may not be 100% accurate.
As we stand. Let's pray, Father. We echo the words of that song as we pray. Now we pray, Father, that you might send your holy spirit fill us afresh. May he be the one who interprets your word for us and the one who spurs us on to maturity in Christ.
In his name we pray. Amen. Please, do take a seat.
Well, welcome back. Or welcome, perhaps for the first time. Perhaps it's even your first time here at all saints today. You're really welcome. And we're currently in a series in the books of one and two.
Samuel. Looking at the life of David. It's not normally our pattern to deliberately pick the hard bits, to pick the king committing adultery. But what we do is we look at the whole story. So sometimes we have good stories and sometimes hard stories.
And today is a hard story. If you were with us last week, we were in two Samuel, chapter seven. And we saw that David was very uncomfortable in his house. Perhaps you were here last week. Alan was preaching for us.
David said in two, Sangha, seven. Here I am living in a house of Cedarwood, while the ark of God remains in a tent. David found his position, his home, somewhat uncomfortable. But today we're in two Samuel, eleven and twelve. And we skipped over a few chapters in between, which mostly tell us about some of David's military victories.
But the scene shifts in chapter eleven, and David is no longer uncomfortable. In fact, he's very comfortable, perhaps too comfortable. We pick up in verse one of chapter eleven. It's spring. It's the time when kings go out to battle.
But this king is not fighting. He's remained at Jerusalem. He sent Joab and some of his soldiers off to fight, but he stayed at home. He's comfortable, and he's now very comfortable in his house. At verse two, we're told late one afternoon, David arose from his couch.
I guess many of you have reached the point in life when you can justifiably have an afternoon nap. And that is what David is doing here. But it's not really justified for David. He should be off fighting battles. But here he is at home having an afternoon nap.
He's very comfortable. Too comfortable. You see, sometimes temptation comes when we face trials and suffering. But sometimes temptation comes during a time of peace and comfort. David was very used to fighting giants, quite literally.
But now he faces a very different battle. It's a beautiful afternoon in Jerusalem. David is rested. He's enjoying the peace and security that the Lord has won for him. And his eyes should have been on worshipping the Lord or should have been on fighting a battle.
Rather, his gaze is caught by a beautiful woman bathing on another rooftop. The action in this story moves quite quickly. He finds out her name, discovers the names of her father and husband, and he's undeterred in the knowledge that he would be committing adultery. Verse four. The action moves very quickly.
So David sent messengers and took her. And she came to him and he lay with her.
There's not really any hint that Bathsheba's done anything wrong. We don't hear from her. But you don't refuse the king, do you? If it wasn't bad enough that here the king is committing adultery, on top of that, he disregards any sense of honour or loyalty. We read later on in chapter 23 that Bathsheba's husband, Uriah and her father Aliyah, were part of an elite group.
Just 37 men, David's mighty warriors. They were his special forces, men who were unquestionably loyal to the king. Here, David dishonours and cheats them both.
Two things are clear in this sad story. Firstly, David committed adultery and sinned against Uriah. Secondly, David abused his power and status to have sex with Bathsheba. Sadly, we've seen many recent examples in politics, in entertainment, in the media and, sadly, in the church. Men with power and influence, using their status, position, fame or wealth to coerce, control and consume.
It's not appropriate anywhere, and certainly not from the king of God's people. And definitely not within the church of God's people. Friends, if you see this kind of behaviour anywhere in life, please report it. This is serious stuff. And then the story moves on.
David then receives the hardly unsurprising news from Bathsheba. Verse five. She sends message. I am pregnant. Now what's he going to do now?
How is he going to get out of this predicament? Well, David's always been one to have a plan up his sleeve and so he gets to work on that plan. Verse eight. Here's the first part of his plan. Then David said to Uriah, go down to your house and wash your feet.
He gets Uriah and says, go and have a wash. Go to your house, go and be comfortable in your house. Go and spend some time with your wife. He wants to get Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba to cover up his own crimes. But.
Verse nine.
Verse nine. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with the servants. But Uriah was a man of honour. He wasn't going to go home while his fellow soldiers were sleeping out in the fields. He's asked verse eleven, why didn't you go down?
Why didn't you go to your house? He says, well, the ark of the Lord's living in a tent. Joab and the army are living in tents. Why should I go to my house? Uriah is a man of honour and integrity.
Verse 13. This is plan b. What's David going to do next? And David invited him and he ate in his presence and drank so that he made him drunk. That's the plan.
Let's get him drunk, then he'll go home and sleep with his wife. But he did not go down to his house. So move to plan c. This is the nuclear option. At verse 15, let's get him killed.
In the letter David wrote, set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting. Send him into battle, send him into the toughest place in the line. Make sure he died. And this time David's scheme works. Verse 17.
We're told Uriah the Hittite also died. And David doesn't even express any remorse, any sadness or guilt. Look at his response on hearing the news. It's there in verse 25. Do not let this matter trouble you.
Don't let it trouble you, Bathsheba laments, but David is quick to move. In verse 27, when the morning was over, David sent and brought her to his house. And the chapter finishes with some brief, understated reflection. End of verse 27. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
It sounds a very british way to say it. I think the translation is closer to evil. What David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.
Look at what David's doing in this chapter. He's committed adultery and now he's trying to cover up his crime, trying to whitewash his sins. It's a very familiar story. It sounds quite a bit like a story we read in Genesis chapter three. Remember the story in Genesis chapter three?
Adam and Eve are walking around. They're in this place of comfort, this paradise, and they see something pleasing to the eye. They take, they eat, and they know they've done wrong, so they cover up. The same thing happens here. David is walking around, he sees something he likes, he takes, he consumes.
He knows he's done wrong, so he tries to cover it up. And this story is so sad. Sad at so many levels. But it's sad because we thought David was supposed to be better than this. In the end of Genesis chapter three, after Adam and Eve fallen, it ends with this hope that one day a son would be born who would crush the serpent who would break the curse of sin.
And when we read on earlier in the story, we read about David defeating this enemy, this giant Goliath who's covered in this scaly armour, we think, is this the one who's going to defeat the serpent? Who will finally defeat the curse of sin? And yet now this hero, this otherwise good king, this hope of the nation, is ensnared by this temptation. You wonder, is this the end of the road for David? Will there yet be some hope amid this shameful story?
And where does this leave God's promises? Last week in chapter seven, we saw all these promises that God made to David. That God would build David a house, that his descendants would rule on the throne forever, that God's kingdom would last forever, that his steadfast love would not leave David. Can God really keep his promise now after this terrible episode, after all that David's done? Now, as we read on, I want us to simply see two truths spoken in the narrative.
Help us to understand David's sin and the miraculous hope that he's given, and truths that I hope will speak into our own stories, too. Here's the first. This man deserves to die. This man deserves to die. David's not really aware of how far he's fallen.
He needs some help to see just what he's done. So enter the prophet Nathan in chapter twelve. And Nathan tells David a parable. We don't have time to read it now, but you can read it in the beginning of chapter twelve. It's about a rich, selfish man who steals a lamb from a poor man.
And David's response in verse five of chapter twelve, when he hears that story, he says, this man deserves to die.
At which point Nathan reveals the meaning of the parable. Verse seven. David, you are the man. You're the man in the story. He goes on, and God speaks through Nathan.
He says, why have you despised the word of the Lord? To do what is evil in his sight. And the Lord says to him, there'll be consequences. Verse ten. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house.
And in the following chapters, we see how the sword will be very present in David's household, not least as we read on. In chapter twelve, we read of the death in infancy of the child which Bathsheba bore, a tragedy which Nathan prophesied in verse 14. You see, here's what's clear. Sin leads to death. Sin leads to death.
From the very beginning, back in Genesis three, it's been clear that sin that is following our own desires rather than God's commands, leads to death. And that's not just some ancient law stuck in the old testament. It's how it's always been. And it's how the apostle Paul writes to the christians in Rome. He tells them, the wages of sin is death.
Death here wasn't the only consequence. Israel was left without an effective king. Uriah died. Bathsheba was widowed, Iliam bereaved. David compromised his family, in effect, cursed.
You see, we need to be honest about the serious nature of sin. When I choose to follow my own desires, rather than walking in God's ways, I'm taking the path that leads to death.
This week, you might find yourself, figuratively speaking, walking on that rooftop, surrounded by wealth and comfort. You might see things that attract you.
Money, sex, power, things that lure us, that tempt us, all sorts of things. And there'll be different things for different people, but things which are tempting you to follow your desires rather than God's ways.
If you find yourself in that position, that is time to hit the pause button to ask yourself, am I seeking the Lord's way in this? Am I seeking to follow him and be faithful to him? Or are there things in the world which are luring me, which are tempting me?
See, the Bible's attitude to sin is very strong and how to deal with it. The Bible tells us to kill our sin before it kills us.
Sin leads to death. This man deserves to die. But here's the second thing we read. You shall not die. You shall not die.
By this point, David acknowledges his sin. Chapter twelve, verse 13. He says, I have sinned against the Lord. And again, writing in psalm 51, the psalm which he penned after this event, he writes, against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. And as he writes these things, you can't help but think, yes, David, but what about Uriah?
What about Bathsheba? Didn't you sin against them, too? Surely this can't just be all about the Lord. But then, even more shockingly, then, Nathan pronounces some kind of forgiveness. Verse 13 of chapter twelve, he says these words, the Lord also has put away your sin.
You shall not die. How is it that God is able to put away David's sin? How could it be just to let David live? Adultery was punishable by death. Leviticus, chapter 20.
That was the punishment for adultery, death.
How can it be okay for the Lord to forgive him? Well, here's where I think the answer lies. When David writes psalm 51, he begins with an appeal for God's mercy based on God's character. And that's the same character by which God seals his covenant with David. In two Samuel, chapter seven.
In two Samuel, chapter seven, the Lord says to David, my steadfast love will not depart from you. And so David prays at the beginning of psalm 51, have mercy on me according to your steadfast love. David trusts that God will keep his promise even where he has failed. Now, David doesn't make the appeal here to anything good in himself, any past performance. Lord, remember all the battles I won for you.
He doesn't make the appeal based on any recompense he might do. Lord, I'll do better next time. No, he simply asks for mercy according to the love which God has promised him. This steadfast love sometimes translated kindness or we might say, grace. David's already received so much grace from the Lord at the beginning of chapter twelve, he's reminded of all these things.
Remember that the Lord anointed you, chose you to be king. He delivered you from Saul's hand. He's given you a kingdom to enjoy friends. When you're tempted to sin, when you're tempted to follow your own desires away in the world, remember with thankfulness all the blessings that God has already given you. Remember all that he's done.
It's like Nathan's saying to David, it'd be folly for you to choose another path. Look where God has already brought you. And now in psalm 51, David asks the Lord to cover him. David spent most of two, Samuel eleven covering up himself, covering up his own crimes. Now David says to the Lord, please cover me.
Blot out my transgressions, wash away my iniquity, cleanse me, make me whiter than snow. Hide your face from my sins.
For David, his sins were forgiven, a miracle of God's grace, this free, undeserved gift of God.
But it wasn't without cost, not least for his own son.
Friends, we may or may not be adulterers, but we're all sinners. We're all those who plotted our own plans and desires in opposition to God's ways. A road that leads to death. But in his grace, in his loving kindness, at great cost to himself, giving his own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for us, he is able to freely forgive. He blots out your mistakes.
He washes away your shame. He cleanses the past, renews your future. As David writes in psalm 103, as far as the east is from the west, so far have you taken away my sin.
You see this king by a miracle of God's grace, will not die.
But this king points to a king who did die. You see, David was the king who deserved to die, but was allowed to live. King Jesus, the better. David, the one to whom David points, didn't deserve to die. He'd done nothing wrong.
He was blameless, innocent and pure. And yet he chose death to bring us life. You see, Jesus is the better, David, because Jesus is the king who was tempted to sin, but didn't sin. And so we're told. He's the one who is able to help us when we struggle, when we're tempted.
So pray to him. He can help. Jesus is the king, not like David, who stays at home, but the king who goes out into battle. He's with you in the fight against sin, so trust him.
Jesus is the king who left the comforts of his home to come to this world to die in our place. So give thanks to him.
And Jesus is the king who has the power and authority to speak those words. Son, daughter, your sins are forgiven. What great news. What great news of his grace. So, friends, I know many of you have been following him for many years.
Perhaps some here you haven't. What a great invitation today, afresh, anew, to come to him, to find the riches of his grace, his lovingkindness, his mercy that is able to cover every sin. Friends, come and follow him today and find new, forgiven, freed life in him. Amen.
