12 February 2017
I. Introduction
-- turn
in Bibles to 2 Samuel 11:1-5
2 Samuel 11:1-5
(NIV)
1 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 bathing. 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.”
-- a
couple of years ago, I ran across some strange structures out on a remote part
of Moody AFB called Dudley’s Hammock -- in the middle of the woods, there were
brick ramps and concrete pads and piping -- and for the life of me, I couldn’t
figure out what they were from or what their purpose was -- this is a very
isolated part of the base that has no development and no human activity -- I
could tell these things were decades old and had apparently been constructed
out there for a reason and then later abandoned, so I got curious about them
-- I
sent photos out to all my archeologist friends, but no one had ever seen
anything like it -- but one person pointed out that since these items were
recent in terms of history, that maybe I should take the base historian out and
see if he had any idea or any record of what these might be
-- so
one fine spring day I found myself leading an expedition of sorts out to
Dudley’s Hammock to show the historian these structures -- like I said, these
structures were in the middle of the woods, right on the edge of the wetlands,
and they weren’t marked at all -- so I led the way through the forest --
pushing through the thick vegetation -- stepping over logs -- and trying to
find a path back to the area that everyone could follow -- all the while I was
scanning the area around me, looking for the structures
-- at
one point I stopped at the edge of a clearing and was waiting for everyone else
to catch up -- as everyone made their way through the woods to the clearing, I
started to step forward again, but the guy beside me caught my arm -- he
pointed to the ground and said, “Watch out -- you almost stepped on him”
-- I
looked down, and there was a canebrake rattlesnake about three feet from me,
crawling past in the clearing -- now I pride myself on being a woodsman -- on
knowing the forest and being observant of the things around me -- of knowing
the animals and the plants and the habits of each, and keeping a keen eye out
for wildlife as I wander through the woods -- but I never saw that snake until
my friend grabbed my arm
-- I was
looking for something else -- I was singularly focused on finding the site
where the strange structures were located, and I wasn’t paying attention to the
things around me like I usually do -- I was distracted -- complacent -- and
simply didn’t watch where I was putting my feet and hands to make sure I was
safely leading the people through the forests -- and, as a result, I almost
stepped on a rattlesnake
--
there’s a lesson there in my experience for us this morning about our spiritual
lives -- as Spurgeon points out, “those who think themselves secure are more
exposed to danger than any others -- the armor-bearer of Sin is
Self-confidence”
-- and
as the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “If you think you’re standing
firm -- if you think you’re standing strong -- be careful that you don’t fall”
-- a few
years ago there were several prominent Christian pastors and leaders who fell
from their position because of dramatic sin -- what was it that caused these
men to fall? -- what was it that led to their spiritual downfall?
-- it
was complacency -- it was self-confidence -- they thought they had made it
spiritually and that they were above any petty temptations or desires that
would lead to sin -- they thought they were secure, and just like me with that
rattlesnake, they were more exposed to danger than those around them -- they
let their guard down and temptation and sin flooded through the door and,
before they knew what was going on, they found themselves fallen, given into
sin
--
that’s the exact same thing we see here in the familiar story of David and
Bathsheba -- let’s look at it together and see what we can learn from David’s
example that we might apply to our own lives -- because we’re never as far from
temptation or sin as we think we might be -- and we need to learn to guard our
hearts and our spirits from the dangers around us
II. Scripture Lesson -- The Story of David and
Bathsheba
-- look
back with me at 2 Samuel 11:1
2 Samuel 11:1 (NIV)
1 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.
-- as this
chapter opens, David has finally been firmly established as Israel's king -- former
King Saul has been defeated -- most of Israel's enemies surrounding them had
either been destroyed or subjugated and were now paying tribute to Israel with
money and manpower annually -- David had established his palace and throne in
God's holy city of Jerusalem -- and, to borrow a phrase from the musical Porgie
and Bess, it's summertime -- or spring, in this case -- and the living is easy
-- David has it made in the shade
-- David
apparently has decided it's time to enjoy the fruits of his labor -- instead of
going out to war with his army as he had in the past, he sends them out with
Joab and stays home alone
-- here we
see the first step in David's journey to sin -- he abdicates his responsibility
and instead of doing what he should be doing as the leader of Israel, he stays
behind to rest and relax and enjoy himself
-- verse 2a
2 One evening David
got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.
-- let's
stop there and consider for a moment what is not being said in this verse --
why? -- why did David get up from his bed and walk around the roof of the
palace -- most commentators say David did so to enjoy the cool evening air on
the roof -- and maybe there's some truth to that, but I think this verse
implies more
-- first,
you have to ask why David was in bed anyway -- the text indicates it was in the
evening, not at night -- he obviously had taken to his bed earlier than normal
-- maybe he was tired and decided to take a nap -- but I think something else
was going on
-- I think
David was bored -- I think he was bored and restless, and just like a lot of
us, when we get bored, we just sit there and do nothing or we take a nap or we
just mindlessly veg out in front of the TV
-- there's
nothing wrong with taking a break from your labors -- for resting and just
taking a moment and letting your mind and your spirit and your body be revived
and restored -- science has shown we are much more productive if we will take a
break from our labors periodically to do just that -- that's the purpose of
vacations and of the Sabbath -- it's to give us time to recover from the
stresses of our work
-- but the
text implies David was doing more than just taking a day off or even a week off
-- it implies David was done with work -- he had retired -- and when a person
who is used to being active and doing stuff on a routine basis takes too much
time off, they get bored and restless and look for something to do -- and
that's when trouble starts
-- as the
old proverb says, "Idle hands are a devil's workshop" -- and I think
that's exactly what was going on with David when he got up from bed and went
for a walk on his rooftop that night
-- look at
the second part of verse 2b-5
2b From the roof he
saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
3 and David sent
someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this 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. (She had
purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5 The woman conceived
and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
-- once
again, there's a whole lot implied in these verses -- now get the picture --
David is walking around the roof and he looks down and he sees a woman bathing
-- now if we saw that going on, most of us would turn away -- that's a natural
reaction -- we'd see it -- we'd realize what was going on -- and we'd look away
-- and
knowing David as well as we do through his Psalms and through the biographies
of his life in the Bible -- knowing that David is described by God as a man
after God's own heart -- I feel that in normal circumstances David would have
done the same -- he had already shown his honor by turning away his wrath from
Nabal and not taking Abigail as his own wife when he clearly desired her in 1
Samuel 25 -- David respected God's law and the covenant of marriage, but not
this time
-- David
didn't see a woman bathing and turn away -- he saw a woman bathing and his gaze
lingered -- it lingered long enough that he saw she was very beautiful -- and
he desired her -- he lusted after her
-- he was
bored -- he was lonely -- he saw something that attracted his attention -- and
he decided he wanted it, regardless of the cost or the rightness of his actions
-- even
after finding out Bathsheba was married -- and married to one of his own mighty
men of valor, Uriah the Hittite -- David said, "I don't care -- I want her
-- go get her"
-- Bathsheba
came to David -- they slept together and she became pregnant -- the penalty for
this sin under the law of Moses was death for both of them
-- David's
story doesn't end here -- deadly sins like lust can result in more and greater
sin in our lives -- when David realized he was caught, he tried to cover his
tracks -- he had Uriah brought back from the war to Jerusalem under the
pretense of giving a report to David on the status of the battle -- you see,
David hoped Uriah would go home and sleep with Bathsheba and they could claim
the child was his -- but Uriah was more honorable than David and did not go
home, despite all of David's attempts to get him to do so
-- when
that failed, David had Uriah killed through in a battle so he could marry
Bathsheba and they could claim the child had been conceived lawfully
-- skip
down to verse 27 and let's end the story there
2 Samuel 11:27 (NIV)
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.
-- David thought
he had gotten away with it -- only Joab knew the truth, and he wouldn't tell
because of his relationship to David -- but you never really get away with sin
-- David’s actions displeased the Lord and the consequences of David’s sin were
enormous -- his lust had destroyed a marriage, ended in murder, and eventually
resulted in the death of his son from this union
III. Living in Godliness
-- James
gives us the pattern of sin in his epistle -- James 1:14-15 says, "each
one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed --
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin -- and sin, when it is
full-grown, gives birth to death."
-- which
begs the question, "What do we do about it?"
-- the best
way to avoid sin is to remain vigilant -- to not become complacent -- to not
let down our guard or think we’re protected from the risks of temptation and
sin because we are standing firm at the moment
-- we need
to constantly guard our hearts from temptation and prepare our spirits to
resist evil desires and temptations when they come our way
-- here’s
some ways we can do that:
1. Think clearly
-- don’t empty your mind
2. Guard your eyes
-- Spirit-filled Life Bible: one pattern of attack on our moral purity comes
through the improper glance that lodges in the mind -- guard your eyes -- be
warned that a lustful gaze will often lead to lustful thoughts and can result
in immoral action
2. Focus on Jesus
and the call of God in our lives -- don’t be complacent
3. Don’t indulge
yourself
4. Flee temptation
-- be certain that you are always where God wants you to be or you put yourself
in jeopardy -- if you find yourself in a place where temptations occur, flee --
that can mean a physical, spiritual, or emotional place -- divert yourself from
your own evil desires -- flee that place -- playing Tetris causes people to
forget hunger -- use Tetris or other diversions to distract from your desires
5. Realize that we
make our own actions -- choose not to sin
6. Tell the truth
-- don’t hide behind lies or hypocrisy
7. When you attack
a person, you attack God -- be a friend to God
8. Remember God is
watching -- seek godliness and a Godly life -- “you should be separate from the
world in your actions -- walk worthy of your high calling and dignity”
[Spurgeon]
9. Remember the
sting of guilt -- don’t receive the sting in exchange for a few minutes of
self-pleasure
10. Repent of sin
-- Spirit-filled Life Bible: confess and repent of known sins -- do not hide
them -- doing so usually leads to greater sin -- understand that continued
refusal to deal with sin can lead to serious, even fatal consequences, such as
what happened to David and the effects it had on Uriah, Bathsheba, and David’s
illegitimate child
--
Godliness is living by God’s Spirit -- in the fear of God -- under the eye of
God -- according to the will of God -- with an uninterrupted consciousness of
God’s indwelling presence -- living this way will keep us from much trouble and
tragedy [Spirit-Filled Life Bible]
-- let
us pray
