I Have

2 Samuel 12:7-13

Reluctant Obedience

February 9, 2020

Open:

Story:

Transition:

The text today is not a distant narrative of history.  While the story is gripping with adultery, murder, and drama – we would miss the text if we were unable to see ourselves in the story.  Maybe different “stuff” in our lives, and maybe not for some of you… but regardless, this is the story of being human, and of being reluctant to our awareness of God… this is not just about David – this is about us.  This is not just about David’s God – this is about our God.

Text:

2 Samuel 12:7-13

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Sermon Body:

• David’s Power and Desire: 2 Samuel 11

11:1

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.

• David ceases to be the kind of King Israel asked for:
• 1 Samuel 8:19b-20 “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
• David has had success, what got him to this point he has pulled away from
• David has “arrived”

11:3

and David sent someone to find out about her…

• David has incredible power as King
• He has people who help him get what he wants
• What he would find out:
  • The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
• David knew who she was; whose wife she was
• David’s desire for her with his power makes for fast action

11:4

 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.

• Knowing full well who she was
• Having plenty and all for himself
• Unchecked power and desire
• Notice the lack of details – pure lust:
• He saw, he wanted, and he took.
• Sexual Assault; power and desire

As quick as the text captures the action of David, is as quick as the news came back to him that Bathsheba was pregnant. 

Now David has a problem… back to his power

11:6

So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.”

• What follows is the foiled attempts to pass off his paternity to Uriah. Uriah throughout the schemes of David stands as a juxtaposition of David’s lust, his unchecked power, and desire… Uriah is one of loyalty, sacrifice, integrity, and self-denial in this story.
• Uriah’s character does not seem to influence David at all – whereas he could have seen in Uriah a better road, David is focused on himself…
• More power, more victims for David.

11:14-15

 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it, he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

• The Lord Sent

Chapter 11 ends by letting us know that the Lord was not pleased with David.  But, the story is not over.  The story does not end or even pinnacle with David’s sin or the Lord’s displeasure. It is now time for the Lord to do the sending.

12:1

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.

• Nathan’s Obedience

• God asks Nathan to be bold and brave
• Risk is huge for Nathan, David killed someone who did not know what he did, what will David do to someone who does know what he did?
• Nathan is a master storyteller; he is able to capture David through a story to have David see the degree of his sin, the injustice of his power, the consequence of his desire.

He (David) listens to Nathan preach a sermon about (he thinks) somebody else and gets all worked up over the unnamed person’s terrible sin.  This is the religion of the dormitory bull session, the TV spectacular, the talk-show gossip.  It is the religion of moral judgmentalism, self-righteous finger-pointing, a religion of accusation and blame.

Eugene Peterson in First and Second Samuel

• Nathan was brave and bold to confront David – The LORD sent him
• Nathan was prepared for the confrontation

• David’s Submission

• “I have”
• We might think he was cornered; he was not.
• He owned his sin; 3 commandments he broke
  • Killing, adultery, coveting
• He still had room for God and God’s Ways
• We learn that for God, it is never too late for repentance
• He will always extend forgiveness

Application:

• Obedience Orders Power
• David had because of God
• He forgot what got him there
• He forgot whose he was
• He put his own power above the power of God
• He made his own rules and not live under anyone else’s rules
• See the Genesis story in this Story?
• I see, I want, I take. Nothing new here…

Illustration: Greg Fields, best boss I ever had.  From Forest Home, he was Vice President and always picked up trash… remembered who he was, remembered his calling, never let his success remove him from the people he served.  I pray this to be true of me.

• Obedience Battles Desire
• Battle used her very intentionally
• Sin feels good. Desires are strong. Wired for resistance.
• Our desires for safety, sex, achievement, gratification will battle a life of obedience to God.
• Do you see why we sing what we do? From the Inside Out Lyrics

A thousand times I've failed

Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out,
Lord, let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
I give You…

Illustration: Brain Plasticity: science is showing that the brain can as our ability to learn and modify our behavior. 

Romans 12: Renewing of our Minds… we are not a people without hope.  He who has begun a new work in you will finish it.  This is the work of obedience, this is the work of our lives being conformed to Jesus…

Obedience battles desire, but obedience can and will win.  But to win, we must see that:

• Obedience Requires Prodding
  • Our sin is close we cannot see it ourselves sometimes
  • Awareness of what we want and what we have dominate us
  • We need others to help us see
  • Christian community means confrontation
  • You need to help others see what they are not

Story: “confronting” my friends’ logic in why he was considering divorce.  Used a story and a prepared sentence to show the inconsistency and self-centeredness.

• A confrontation that leads to repentance and restoration
• Consequences of sin can remain … but:

• Obedience is Repentance
  • Turning toward God
  • Awakened Awareness of God
  • Awareness of what we have forgotten, what we have done
  • No justifications; no excuses; no blame

Illustration:  Own what one does; a culture of blame and a culture of justification.  

• It is never too late for repentance
• God is ready to extend
• This is a turning point for Israel, will lead us to Jesus
  • Bathsheba keeps her name – Uriah’s murder is captured in the genealogy
  • The struggle of obedience of God’s people and the very son David and Bathsheba will have later – will continue the struggle of God’s people..
• But, this all leads to God – desiring to extend the dame forgiveness he did to David to all of creation…

This is why this is not simply David’s story, this is our story.  The story of misused power.  The story of lust and desire.  The story of creating a scheme to cover our sin.  The story of us being too close to ourselves and needing others. BUT – the story of owning our stuff.  Owning our sin… and the pinnacle of the story is the God who forgives and removes that sin from us… there might be consequences, but there is hope. 

Close:

Time of confession to own.  To say “I have”.  If you desire and can, use the kneelers and allow me to walk us through a time of confession through prayer.