Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / May 12, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 14: David

Transcript

May 12, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 14: David · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hey, welcome to Crono this morning.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad that you're here.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray and get started.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: Father God, thank you for what we are going to see about David today in Scripture.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: And might it just impact us?
0:13
SPEAKER_00: Might your spirit imprint on us the things that you want us to see?
0:17
SPEAKER_00: We offer up this time to you in Jesus' name.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: David is one of the most fascinating people in Scripture.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: There's so much about him that you wouldn't anticipate or expect that a king would be written about.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: There are many things that you would think that should have been covered up or glossed over.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: And if he was living now in this present time, they probably would be, right?
0:46
SPEAKER_00: But God makes sure that we get a transparent, honest look at David's life.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't photoshop David in Scripture.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: David was a shepherd, he was a hunter, a warrior, a king, a poet, a champion, a general, a ladies' man, a musician, a prophet, a worship leader, an adulterer, a murderer, a brother, a husband, a son, a leader, a hero, a builder.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: He was in the ancestry of Jesus Christ and he was a man after God's own heart.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: That's one of the reasons he's such a fascinating person in scripture, is because he had so many hats that he wore.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: And it's so true.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: David is that, has it, has it all, has all of that.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: In talking about Saul, God said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16, do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: The Lord does not look on the things people look at.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: The Lord rejected Saul as king, because when he evaluated Saul's heart, he could see that his heart was not for God, that his heart was selfish.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: These verses are pivotal ones here in Scripture, and we see some important contrasts between them.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: David receives the Spirit of God with power, and Saul loses the Spirit of God.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: The divine blessing and anointing that had rested on Saul now rests on David.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: In contrast, the people look at the heart and wanted Saul.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they look at the outward appearance and wanted Saul, but God looks on the heart and he chooses David.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: These are troubling verses whenever it says, an evil spirit from the Lord tormented Saul.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: We turn to Sonic Light to find out what Dr.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: Constable has to say about that.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: He says, the evil spirit that Yahweh permitted to trouble Saul may have been a spirit of discontent, a demon who afflicted him periodically, or a demon who indwelt him from then on.
3:47
SPEAKER_00: In any case, it was a discipline for departing from God.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: Saul's evil bent was by the permission and plan of God.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: We must realize that in the last analysis, all penal consequences come from God.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: As the author of the moral law and one who always does what is right.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: Likely, Satan had always wanted to attack Saul.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: Saul had a great big target on him.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: He was he was Satan was always looking for an opportunity to take advantage and to bring him down.
4:29
SPEAKER_00: And God is simply giving Satan permission to have at it and to have at him.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: That's what persistent, unrepentant sin does.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: And last time we were together, we saw that downward spiral that Saul was in, and it just continues.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: There's no repentance, there's no turning back to God that we see.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: And when a person does that, they are vulnerable to the attack of the enemy of their souls.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, all things are under God's control.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: All things are under his control.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: So this evil spirit is part of God's judgment upon Saul for his disobedience.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: No one thought much about David.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: He was the youngest of seven sons, and he was simply a shepherd boy.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: He spent most or the majority of his time out in the fields taking care of the sheep and connecting with God.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: His father neglected to even bring him to Samuel whenever Samuel came, and his brothers belittled him.
5:37
SPEAKER_00: No one took him seriously except God.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindah says long days with simple sheep taught David patience.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: He would need patience for the following years as he fled from King Saul and his attempts to kill him.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: Daily slingshot practice developed disciplines that grounded David into the soldier who killed ten thousands.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: Nightly worship sessions grounded David's feet to the goodness, greatness, and power of God.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: MDA, MBA degrees alone do not make for good leaders.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: Patience, discipline, and an exalted view of God prepare men for God's service.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: All great men and women throughout the ages have that in common.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: They all have an exalted view of God.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: If you want to be great in God's kingdom, get yourself an exalted view of God and let that motivate everything that you do from there on in.
6:45
SPEAKER_00: Today we're going to look at five relationships that David had and hopefully learn some valuable lessons that will apply to our lives.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: I know the slide says six relationships, and that's because I cut out one, unfortunately, for time's sake, but we're going to look at five of them.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: The first relationship we will see and examine is David's relationship with Saul.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: As David enters the courts of King Saul, he knows absolutely nothing.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: He's been in the fields with the sheep.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: He has no concept of how court protocol works or the an understanding of political pressures or intrigue.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: He knows none of that.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: But he could play a mean harp.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: David, who was once a faithful shepherd, now becomes a faithful and humble servant.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: But it's not long before Saul realizes that playing the harp was only a side gig for David, because he also finds out that he could also throw a mean stone.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: And here's where we see the smallest insignificant ability used by God.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: That's what we see here.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: He can play a harp, he can throw a stone, and God used both.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: Who knew that a slingshot and five smooth stones could produce such a huge outcome?
8:18
SPEAKER_00: That teaches us to never underestimate our talents or our abilities.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: It may not seem like much to you, but to God, it's an opportunity.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: As soon as that stone lodges in Goliath's skull, David is an immediate hero.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: And his popularity brings out, of course, the worst in Saul.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 18.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: The women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: As they danced, they sang, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: It goes on to say, Saul was very angry.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: This refrain displeased him greatly.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: They have credited David with tens of thousands, he thought, but me with only thousands.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: What more can he get but the kingdom?
9:19
SPEAKER_00: From that time on, Saul kept a close eye on David.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Saul's insecurity in his ability and his leadership led him to a downward cycle.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: His displeasure led to anger, and then that anger led to anxiety about losing the kingdom, and that anxiety led to a full-blown contempt for David.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: David's rise to the palace from the pasture started with God's rejection of the people's choice, the very flawed King Saul.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: And God's rejection of Saul had nothing to do with his acceptance of David.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: The more David prospered, the more Saul hated him, and the more he tried to do away with him.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: When he couldn't kill him outright, he would send him into battle against the Philistines, hoping that he would be killed in battle.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: When that didn't work, he puts out a contract on his life.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: Saul's insane jealousy of David cost him the respect of both his son Jonathan and his daughter Mikal, and probably many of his other men, who all see the jealousy, see the outrageous way that Saul is treating David, and they they go to David.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: They side with David.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: Saul had tunnel vision where David was concerned, and he couldn't see anything else.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: David could have become fighting mad and he could have taken revenge on Saul, but instead he allows God to use this difficult circumstance that he is in to build godly character.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: That's what we see David doing.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Godly character can be the outcome of difficult circumstances.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: If that is not the outcome, then it has been a wasted experience.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: And if it's a wasted experience, sometimes God brings another difficult circumstance until we learn that these difficult circumstances are intended to build a godly character.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: David had plenty of those opportunities.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: And he had opportunity to take matters into his own hands, but he doesn't.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: The best example of that is when is when he had Saul in his hands, and his men were encouraging him to go ahead and kill Saul, but he wouldn't do it.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: What was David's response to that?
12:00
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 24 10.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you.
12:14
SPEAKER_00: I said, I will not lay my hand on my Lord because he is the Lord's anointed.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: David was absolutely convinced that if God was intent on making him king, he would have to do it his way and in his timing with no help from David.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: That was his determination.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: What character that displayed?
12:38
SPEAKER_00: The men who were following saw that character, even though they thought he was foolish by not taking advantage of Saul and killing him, they still respected him for it and they trusted him.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: Some relationships can be messy, and sometimes there's just nothing you can do about it.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: Especially if that person who is the messy one and causing the problems really does not see the need to change and won't change.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: Those are really extremely hard situations.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: And oftentimes it's in our own family that we have those and that we can't get away from.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: And so, how do you how do you deal with those messy relationships?
13:24
SPEAKER_00: Here's the example of faithfulness that David shows us in this difficult, messy relationship with Saul.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: First of all, he didn't do evil when he had the opportunity to do it.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: He just flat out wouldn't do it.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: He didn't do evil.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: He was loyal to Saul because Saul was the Lord's anointed.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: He knew that.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: And so he was honoring God by honoring and being loyal to Saul.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: He tried to work things out between them, but at the same time, he kept good boundaries.
13:59
SPEAKER_00: And that's really important.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: If you are in a messy relationship, you have to have good boundaries.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: If you are in one and you don't know how to handle it, read the book Boundaries by Townsend and Cloud.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: He didn't hold on to his hurt and pain, but he poured it out to God.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: And he continued to love even when he was unloved.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: And he didn't let Saul's evil mistreatment of him mistreat of him.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: He didn't let Saul's evil mistreatment of him emotionally, physically, or spiritually destroy him.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: He had that internal anchor of God so that emotionally, physically, and spiritually, that didn't destroy him.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: If you are in a messy relationship, make sure you are grounded in who you are in Christ, because that can help you and not be destroyed by the difficult, messy relationships.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: These are the things that you can do to stay to stay sane in those messy relationships.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: And all of this shows us that David was a man of integrity because he allowed God to work through those difficult circumstances.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: The next relationship we see is David and Jonathan.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: It's so amazing, so amazing that from a man like Saul comes a son like Jonathan.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: And what a man and what a true friend he was.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever noticed how sometimes whenever you go, you you meet somebody and you become friends, and all of a sudden that friendship is something that you need desperately.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: It might be that you're going through something or starting to go through something, and you become friends with somebody who's already gone there and gone through it.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: And afterwards you're like, I needed that relationship.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: God brings those relationships to us before we actually have the need.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we see here with Jonathan.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: God knew the rough times that were ahead for David, and so he sent him a faithful friend.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 18, 1 through 4.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic and even his sword, his bow, and his belt.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: Jonathan just takes it off and gives it all to him.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: This act is very significant.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: And when Jonathan took off his robe, which was his symbol of authority, and gave it to David, he was in effect transferring his own status as heir apparent to David.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: That's what this is all about.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: In essence, he's saying, you will be the king.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: And so you should be clothed and dressed like the crown prince.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: That's what he's representing here.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: In Jonathan, we see a willingness to sacrifice, a willingness to sacrifice.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: Sonic Light says the covenant of friendship referred to in verse 3 was a covenant in which Jonathan committed himself to David with complete disregard for self.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: Godly Jonathan turned over the symbols of the crown prince to David.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: He willingly sacrificed what was rightfully his.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: That is powerful.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: In Jonathan, we see loyalty and confidence.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Saul saw David as a threat to his security, but Jonathan saw him as God's choice for the throne.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 19, 4 through 7, Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, He took his life in his own hands when he killed the Philistine.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: Remember when that happened, Dad?
18:40
SPEAKER_00: You saw it and you were glad.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?
18:48
SPEAKER_00: Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath, as surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before, until Saul went off the deep end again.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Jonathan was trustworthy.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 20, David hid in the field and didn't go home to Bethlehem or to any of his other friends who could have kept his presence a secret.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: Instead, it seems that Jonathan is the only person that David trusted, and with good reason.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: Jonathan was also a consistent encourager.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Haresh and helped him find strength in God.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: Don't be afraid, he said.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: Even my father Saul knows this.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: Jonathan risks his own safety to encourage his friend.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: And Jonathan is cooperating with God and God's choice of David.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: Well, Saul resisted that plan.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: Jonathan is an example of what a great relationship looks like.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: Some of the qualities of Jonathan and David's relationship are that there was mutual trust and admiration.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: Each had the other's best interest at heart.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: Comparisons and selfishness were absent, and it was a giving relationship, not a taking relationship.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: Covenants and commitments were made and they were kept.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: These kinds of relationships are rare.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: And if you enjoy this kind of relationship or many relationships like this, it's probably because you are a friend like this.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: If you don't have relationships like this, then be a friend like this.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: And you will have those kinds.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: These kinds of friendships are rare, but they are significant.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: And when you find them, hold on to them.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: The next relationship that we see is between David and Bathsheba.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: Now we come to one of the darker portraits of David in scripture, and that's his adultery with Bathsheba.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: David is about 50 years old.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: He's been king for about 20 years.
21:34
SPEAKER_00: He's a good visionary king.
21:37
SPEAKER_00: He's a mighty warrior.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: He's a man after God's own heart.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: He's a gifted musician and a songwriter.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: David has it all.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: But he wants more.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: 2 Samuel 11 1 sets the stage for this sorry tale.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David said.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Joab on with the king's men and the whole Israelite army.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: By mentioning the fact that they normally, that the that a king normally goes out with his armies into battle in the spring, the writer implies that David was not acting responsibly by staying in Jerusalem.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: This is a problem.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: Why did David stay behind?
22:29
SPEAKER_00: We don't know.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: Scripture doesn't say exactly, but we do know that that one choice set into motion an avalanche of sin and cover-up.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: An absolute avalanche.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: In Deuteronomy 17, 17, God said that Israel's kings should not have many wives because their heart could be led astray.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: The king's heart could be led astray if he had too many wives.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: It's on your sheet, the handout there.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: But this is what Swindah says about that.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: A king's hair, as David's harem grew, so did his lust.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: The passion of sex is not satisfied by a full harem of women.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: It is increased.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Having many women does not reduce a man's libido.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: It excites it.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: It stimulates it.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: One of the lies of our secular society is that if you just satisfy this drive, then it'll be abated.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: What a great quote for our time.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: David's temptation followed that age-old pattern that we've seen from the beginning.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: He saw, he desired, and he took.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: He could not help seeing, but he could have stopped watching.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: He could have stopped lusting and sending for Bathsheba.
24:06
SPEAKER_00: He could have stopped anywhere along that path.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: He could have stopped and not lay with her and have sex with her.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: 2 Samuel 11, 25.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: From the roof he saw a woman bathing.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: The man said, She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Iliam, and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: Then David sent messengers to get her.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: She came to him and slept with him.
24:43
SPEAKER_00: Then she went back home.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: The woman conceived and sent word back to David, saying, I am pregnant.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: David's conscience has been dulled by his lust and his desire.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: And it's so much so that when the servant sends that warning, she is married.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: She is Uriah the Hittite's wife.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't even register to him.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: Uriah was one of the mighty men of valor of King David that's recorded in 2 Samuel 23, 39.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the alarms should have been going off.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: Imagine Bathsheba.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: She's probably somewhat flattered that she's been summoned to the palace, and she may have tried to resist his advances or call out for help, or she could have brought someone with her to the palace, and maybe she did.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: But the words in Hebrew imply that she was silent and that she was willing.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: This was not a rape.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: But just because she didn't cry out does not mean she's complicit with this, and it does not negate David's guilt in this.
25:59
SPEAKER_00: He is guilty of taking what is not his to take, and unfortunately, both of them are going to bear the consequences, and the consequences are grievous.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: Instead of confessing his sin to someone, David compromised his sin by coming up with a three-prung cover-up to this.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindahl said, David tried that three-prunged cover-up: a clean plan, a dirty plan, and a criminal plan.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: First, the clean plan.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: David calls Uriah to come back home and asks him how Joab and the soldiers were doing, and then he sends him home, hoping that he will go and sleep with his wife, Bathsheba.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't go home and sleep with her.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: In his noble reply, he says, The Ark of Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my men's lord, my lord's men, are camped in the open country.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: How could I go to my house and eat and drink and make love to my wife?
27:08
SPEAKER_00: As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: David's hypocrisy is clear.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: He totally underestimates the character of Uriah and his faithfulness to David, which is probably one of the reasons he's one of his mighty men.
27:24
SPEAKER_00: The dirty plan.
27:26
SPEAKER_00: David's next plan was to get Uriah drunk, hoping that he would, in that condition, return home and have sex with his wife.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: But again, he underestimates Uriah.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: And David's hypocritical behavior contrasts amazingly with the noble behavior of Uriah, who displays more control in a drunken state than David did in a sober state.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: Consumed with how to cover up this mess that he is in, David rebels against God and he comes up with the criminal plan.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: When he orders Uriah to carry his own death warrant to Joab, he has absolutely crossed the line.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: Uriah died because of David's orders, and David is responsible for his death and the death of all the men.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: Joab sent David a full account of the battle, and he tells him that Uriah the Hittite had died.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: It's almost as though David thought he really had gotten away with it, with murder, when we see this response and how he minimizes it and how flippant he is when he gives this response to Joab in 2 Samuel 11, 25.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: David told the messenger, say this to Joab.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: Don't let this upset you.
28:47
SPEAKER_00: The sword devours one as well as another.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: Press the attack against the city and destroy it.
28:53
SPEAKER_00: Say this to encourage Joab.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: How flippant.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: His heart has hardened toward what is right and good and God.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: David lost credibility with his leaders.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: He lost his reputation was compromised because of this.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: And what a high price to pay for a sexual fleeing.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: But the greater loss was that David had displeased God.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: What got David into this mess?
29:29
SPEAKER_00: He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: He should have been with his men on the battlefield.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: He had inappropriate thoughts, which led him to take sinful actions.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: If he would have turned off the thoughts, if he would have taken control of the thoughts at that point, then it maybe wouldn't have led to the action.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: He ignored the Holy Spirit, and all these things should have been warnings to him.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: He compromised his morals and he jeopardized his character.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: He tried to control his circumstances to the point of murder.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: How incredible.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: How incredible this was.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: And it took its toll.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Fortunately, David is going to respond appropriately and turn this downward cycle around.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: And that leads us to the relationship of David and Nathan the prophet.
30:31
SPEAKER_00: For a whole year, David's misery took its toll on him.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: He still conducted the affairs of state, met with the same people, had the same schedule.
30:42
SPEAKER_00: Everything on the outside looked like normal except on the inside.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: Everything had changed.
30:50
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 23, Psalm 32, 3 through 4 tells us how he is feeling during this time.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: For day and night, your hand was heavy on me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
31:12
SPEAKER_00: For the first time, David knew what it felt like to be out of fellowship and favor with God, what that felt like to him.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: And what it felt like to be totally alone in that misery, with the weight of his sin weighing him down.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: The silence of God took a toll on him and probably everyone around him, because sin is like that.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't just affect us, it affects everybody around us.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: God in his graciousness gave David months to confess his sin.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: But when he didn't, the Lord sent Nathan to confront him.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: 2 Samuel 12, 1 says, the Lord sent Nathan to David.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: Wisely, Nathan didn't burst in with accusations against David.
32:11
SPEAKER_00: God wanted David restored, not destroyed.
32:14
SPEAKER_00: He wanted him restored.
32:16
SPEAKER_00: So the Lord gave Nathan a parable that would speak to his heart.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: God, the good shepherd of his sheep, used something very familiar to David to get his heart back.
32:33
SPEAKER_00: 2 Samuel 12, 2 through 4.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: When Nathan came to him, he said, There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: He raised it, it grew up with him and his children, it shared his food, drank from his cup, ick, and even slept in his arms.
32:58
SPEAKER_00: It was like a daughter to him.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.
33:17
SPEAKER_00: 2 Samuel 12, 5 through 10.
33:19
SPEAKER_00: David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: He must pay for the lamb four times over because he did such a thing and had no pity.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: Then Nathan said to David, You are the man.
33:44
SPEAKER_00: It's you, David.
33:49
SPEAKER_00: And this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says I anointed you king over Israel.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
34:00
SPEAKER_00: I gave your master's house to you and your master's wives into your arms.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: I gave you all Israel and Judah, and if that had been too little, I would have given you even more.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?
34:19
SPEAKER_00: You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.
34:25
SPEAKER_00: You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: 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.
34:39
SPEAKER_00: How excruciating those words would have been to hear and feel the guilt of the truth being exposed.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: Probably not just to David, but to everyone within the hearing of Nathan's voice.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: And even though those words hurt, at least it had to have been a relief that finally it was uncovered.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: Finally, the truth has come out.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: Finally, the elephant in the room is acknowledged.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: No more pretending that everything was okay.
35:16
SPEAKER_00: God had broken the silence and he had broken David's heart over his sin.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: Restored relationship would be the outcome, but there would still be those sticky consequences that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
35:34
SPEAKER_00: What was David's immediate response?
35:37
SPEAKER_00: 2 Samuel 12, 13.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: I've done it.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: Nathan replied, The Lord has taken away your sin.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: You are not going to die.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: How often we've seen people in Scripture blame others.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: The woman you gave me gave it to me to eat.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: The men in that city might kill me.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: It's really refreshing to see David claim his baggage.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: That is one of the reasons he's considered a man after God's own heart.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: And what assurance does Nathan give him?
36:15
SPEAKER_00: God forgives you.
36:17
SPEAKER_00: You're not going to die.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: He's not going to take your life.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: You're just going to have to live with the consequences of what you've made, the mess that you've made.
36:25
SPEAKER_00: What do we learn about this relationship from David and Nathan?
36:28
SPEAKER_00: It's pretty, it's pretty interesting because there are times to confront.
36:33
SPEAKER_00: There are times that we have to confront people.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: And when we are called to confront a friend, we must do it in the right way with the right motives.
36:43
SPEAKER_00: So what is the right way?
36:47
SPEAKER_00: Wait and pray for God's timing.
36:52
SPEAKER_00: Wait and pray.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: That's what Nathan did.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that David's sin was brought to Nathan way before he came to David to make this announcement.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: But Nathan waited and he prayed.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: He waited for God to call him to it.
37:11
SPEAKER_00: Nathan was going at the command of the Lord.
37:14
SPEAKER_00: We don't always know.
37:17
SPEAKER_00: You and I don't always know when God is truly leading us to do something.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: So here is what I do.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: I rehearse with God what I think I need to say and I'm supposed to say to that other person.
37:32
SPEAKER_00: I rehearse it very well with God.
37:36
SPEAKER_00: And so I know what I'm going to say.
37:38
SPEAKER_00: And then I tell him, now I'm going to wait for you to open the door.
37:43
SPEAKER_00: And if you open the door, I'm ready to step through and say it.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: If the door doesn't open, I'm going to assume I wasn't the one that was supposed to say it.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: It's unbelievable how many times God has opened that door for me.
38:00
SPEAKER_00: I speak what He wants me to say, and the result is always acceptance and understanding and restoration.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: It's absolutely amazing.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: If you are in a position where you need to do that periodically, then absolutely use this.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: Wait and pray for God to open the door.
38:26
SPEAKER_00: Be ready when he opens it.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: And then start by asking, have I earned the right to be heard?
38:32
SPEAKER_00: If you have something really difficult and you've earned that right, then ask it.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: If you haven't earned the right, then don't keep your mouth shut and earn the right.
38:42
SPEAKER_00: Nathan, as God's prophet, had earned the right to be heard, and God was telling him what to say.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: And then use wise words and word pictures, if at all possible.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: This is an unbelievably great word picture that Nathan uses.
38:58
SPEAKER_00: And because that story touches David's heart deeply and it moves him toward repentance.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: And that's what God wanted was repentance.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: And then go in God's strength, not your own.
39:11
SPEAKER_00: What is the right motive?
39:13
SPEAKER_00: Always truth and love.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: Truth and love.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: Speak the truth in love and base any charges on truth, confront with truth, but in love.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: And then speak up with confidence.
39:26
SPEAKER_00: If God opens the door, you can have confidence that God just opened that door.
39:31
SPEAKER_00: And in love, you can speak the truth.
39:35
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully the person will be restored.
39:39
SPEAKER_00: David is a good example of what we hope to see with a repentant person.
39:44
SPEAKER_00: And this is really important.
39:47
SPEAKER_00: This is what we see from a person who wants to be restored to God.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: He gave an open, let me go back.
39:58
SPEAKER_00: He gave an open, unguarded admission of guilt.
40:03
SPEAKER_00: He displayed a broken and humble heart.
40:06
SPEAKER_00: He claimed God's forgiveness and grace.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: He accepted the consequences of his sin.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: If you don't see a number of those things, then the person who is caught in sin is probably just sorry that they got caught and not truly repentant.
40:26
SPEAKER_00: With a truly repentant person, you will see some of these, a lot of these, in that person.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: Those things are evident in true repentance.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: The last relationship that we are going to see is David with his children.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: David has truly repented.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: What are the consequences?
40:56
SPEAKER_00: First, David and Bathsheba's son dies.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: Their newborn son dies.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: Next, Amnon rapes Tamar, his sister, David's daughter.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: What does David do about it?
41:10
SPEAKER_00: In a word, nothing.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: He does nothing.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: Maybe David felt too unworthy or hypocritical to judge Amnon because of his own sin and his own lust.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: Tamar desperately needed her father to come to her aid and to vindicate what had happened to her.
41:31
SPEAKER_00: Was she so little that Amnon could abuse her in this way and get away with it?
41:36
SPEAKER_00: If David wouldn't restore her dignity, Absalon, her brother, would take it into his own hands, and he did.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: Absalon murders Amnon.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: Absalon waits for two years for David to act on Tamar's behalf.
41:57
SPEAKER_00: Because of David's passivity, Absalon, his hatred festered and grew, and so he plots the murder of Amnon and he carries it out.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: Next, Absalon flees from the home to the home of his grandfather, where he remains for three years.
42:17
SPEAKER_00: No contact, zero contact from David in all that time, and it took its toll on Absalon's heart because he became angrier and angrier with his father.
42:30
SPEAKER_00: David finally brings him back to Jerusalem.
42:34
SPEAKER_00: He gives him a home, he gives him money, he gives him servants, but he refuses to give him the one thing that Absalom wanted and needed, and that was his father's heart.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: Absalom leads a conspiracy and stole away the hearts of the men of Israel from David.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: And when David hears about it, he's afraid and he runs away from Absalom.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: And finally, there's a battle, and Absalom is killed in the battle.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: What terrible consequences! And all of these things not only affected David and his entire family, but the entire nation of Israel.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: The stakes were high, and of course, Satan was watching to take advantage of David.
43:23
SPEAKER_00: David also had a huge target on him.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: And Satan had been watching and waiting for some way to take advantage.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: And when David's eyes strayed and he lusted after Bathsheba, Satan knew that he had him.
43:39
SPEAKER_00: And we see all that trickle down consequences of that.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: When one leader falls, there's always collateral damage.
43:50
SPEAKER_00: Always.
43:52
SPEAKER_00: David did many things wrong in his parenting, but um, and and these really need to be a warning for those of Us who are parents or grandparents.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: These are warnings of what he did wrong.
44:05
SPEAKER_00: First of all, don't play favorites.
44:07
SPEAKER_00: He played David's favorite was Absalon, and everybody knew it.
44:13
SPEAKER_00: Take care of the problem in the home swiftly and judiciously.
44:16
SPEAKER_00: Amnon rapes his sister, and David did nothing about it, so Absalom vindicates him.
44:22
SPEAKER_00: Take care of it swiftly and judiciously.
44:26
SPEAKER_00: Parent with an abundance of love and grace.
44:30
SPEAKER_00: Realize that the silent treatment is no treatment.
44:34
SPEAKER_00: That's what David did with Absalom.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: That was no way to handle that son.
44:41
SPEAKER_00: And then seek to restore relationship as soon as you possibly can where there's been trouble.
44:46
SPEAKER_00: Don't let it linger and fester into something more.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: And then make discipline and correction more about restoration rather than punishment.
44:58
SPEAKER_00: Those are really, really, really good things to keep in mind as parents.
45:03
SPEAKER_00: It's hard to see the negative aspects of someone that we so admire, like David, and seeing these things in him.
45:12
SPEAKER_00: I love how the chronologic, this chronological Bible, how it intersperses all of the Psalms in through what's happening with David, because we see clearly how he turned back to God in the midst of the sin that he committed.
45:28
SPEAKER_00: He turned to God in the pain of rejection from Saul.
45:32
SPEAKER_00: He turned back to God for the fear of the future or the losses that he suffered.
45:41
SPEAKER_00: His turning to God in all those times of need are part of what made him a man after God's own heart.
45:50
SPEAKER_00: He turned back to God from the sin.
45:53
SPEAKER_00: He turned back in the rejection.
45:55
SPEAKER_00: He turned back to God in the pain and the losses and the fear.
46:13
SPEAKER_00: We all sin.
46:16
SPEAKER_00: We all need to turn back to God from time to time.
46:21
SPEAKER_00: David teaches us that no matter how many times we fail, we can still turn back and find a place of security and refuge close to the heart of God.
46:37
SPEAKER_00: If he hadn't had the failures, he wouldn't be the example.
46:43
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: Father God, we thank you for this vivid example that David is to us in so many ways.
46:59
SPEAKER_00: He really is such an incredible example of a man who had it all, had everything going for him, and still wanted more, and had to live with the consequences of those desires.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: We see in this story your faithfulness, your incredible faithfulness.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: We thank you that you know that we are all flawed, that we all sin, that we all have baggage, and that you're just waiting with open arms for us to turn back to you, to run into your hearts, to be tucked up close to your heart.
47:47
SPEAKER_00: We thank you that that's the kind of God you are.
47:51
SPEAKER_00: That's the example of you in David's life that we see, and that's who you are for us.
47:58
SPEAKER_00: We give you praise and thanks.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being with us this day, and I ask you to be continue to be with my brothers and sisters.
48:11
SPEAKER_00: In mighty and powerful ways, God, we pray this in Jesus' name.
48:16
SPEAKER_00: Amen and amen.
48:19
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening in, and I will see you next time.