Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction:
The events of last weeks study in chapter 11 are very important to the events of this chapter.
In chapter 11, David remained in Jerusalem at his palace while Joab and the army of Israel went to battle the Ammonites.
And one evening David rose from bed and went out onto his roof.
There he looked down to the city and saw a woman bathing … that woman was Bathsheba.
Whether she was on her roof bathing … or perhaps in a open courtyard of her home, the text does not say.
Whatever the case, David saw her, he desired her, he inquired about her, he sent for her, and then committed adultery with her.
Her husband, Uriah, was with the army, fighting against the Ammonites.
Usually when we decide to sin, we imagine things turning out a lot different than they do and David soon discovered that Bathsheba is pregnant.
Instead of confessing to his sin and repenting, David came up with a plan to conceal what he had done.
His plan was to bring Uriah back home for a little R&R from the battle … hoping he would go home to Bathsheba and it would be assumed that 9 months later, the baby was his.
But no matter what David did, Uriah would not go home.
He said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields.
Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife?
As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”
Do not read below:
So, Uriah would not do as David desired.
David then came up with and followed through with another plan.
That plan was to have Uriah killed on the field of battle.
David then took Bathsheba as his own wife.
And the chapter ended saying, “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”
David had coveted another man's wife, committed adultery, and murdered.
Yet who can judge the judge, who can question the actions of the king?
The answer is in those words … “The thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”
What seemed to David to be the ending to what would have been a very sticky situation is just the beginning of problems.
David was a great man, but he was also human … something that greatness cannot hide.
There are 62 chapters of the Old Testament devoted to the life story of David.
devoted to his life story.
There are more than 50 references to him in the New Testament, far more than any other biblical character, except of course, Jesus.
far more than any other biblical character,
except of course, Jesus.
Nevertheless, this man after God's own heart committed a series of terrible sins that led to terrible consequences.
committed a series of terrible sins
that led to terrible consequences.
But while these chapters reveal his weaknesses they also reveal the reality of his trust in and his love for God.
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No matter how much we love or admire someone, they always have faults.
Friends fall short.
Heroes let us down.
An idealized parent disappoints.
A friend we respect falls short.
A political leader we support suffers his own particular Watergate.
Discouraged and hurt, we feel a bitterness that is hard to overcome.
David, even though he was a, “man after God’s own heart,” and wrote much of the Psalms, defeater of Goliath and patient endurer of Saul … also had failings.
In fact, he had some major flaws.
David was an adulterer, murderer, schemer, at times very self concerned, and he had many wives despite God’s prohibition against that for Israel’s kings.
But David is not the only her of the faith who had some major flaws.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah … really you could list them all … they were all very sinful … just like all people.
And we wonder, “Why does God hold up as examples men and women who have such obvious flaws?”
Why not use people who are not adulterers and murderers?
Well, for one thing, God’s Bible does not white-wash man’s sinfulness because God wants us to understand how sinful man is.
God also wants us to know that in spite of our sinfulness we can come to Him through Christ.
For another thing, a revelation of saints’ failures as well as successes helps us to identify with them.
If a David or an Abraham were represented as spiritually perfect, you and I would hardly feel close or similar to him.
The truths that God is teaching us through their lives might be seen but might not be thought of as relevant.
After all, we might think, “That’s all right for a spiritual giant like David!
But what about poor, struggling me?” Then we discover that David struggled too.
And sometimes he lost out to his weaknesses.
David did know sin’s pull, just as we do.
His experiences are relevant to us!
The New Testament affirms, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man” ().
We are all bound up together in the shared ties of humanity.
David knew the feelings and temptations that you know—and you know his!
When the Bible accurately reports the failures and follies of God’s saints, it demonstrates this common bond and encourages us to identify our own inner struggles with theirs.
The good news of God’s love for man is not, “Trust Me, and be freed of your humanity.”
The good news of God’s love is that the Lord has committed Himself to deal with sin and to make us progressively more and more like Him.
We always stand in need of God’s grace and aid and by it we grow.
God deals with sin by the means of forgiveness.
The greatness of David is not in his perfection but in his willingness to face his sin and to return wholeheartedly to God.
In fact, there is a very good comparison we can make in this regard between Saul and David.
When Saul sinned, he begged Samuel to stay with him, that the people might not discover God’s anger.
When the Prophet Nathan confronted David concerning his sin with Bathsheba, David not only confessed immediately, but he even wrote a psalm used later in public worship.
When the prophet of God came to him, he openly admitted his fault and recognized his inner anguish that accompanied loss of fellowship with God.
We cannot, and God did not, condone David’s sins and failings.
But we can praise God for moving David to share honestly with us.
Through David we learn wonderful things about the grace of God.
Through David we learn fresh lessons about the grace of God, and we are reminded that you and I are invited to come boldly to the Lord too that He may meet us—and our needs.
And we are reminded that you and I are also invited to come boldly to the Lord that He may meet us and our needs.
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There are 3 major Hebrew word groups that communicate the concept of sin in the Old Testament.
Each of them is illustrated in these chapters.
In fact each of them is used in David’s prayer of confession as recorded in .
The primary Hebrew word for sin is hatat.
It means to miss the mark.
It assumes the existence of a divine standard which a person does not live up to.
The other major terms also assume the existence of a divine standard and describe human actions in relation to it.
Pesha indicates a conscious revolt against the divine standard.
Awon is a deviation from or twisting of the standard.
- Hatat is usually translated by “sin.”
- Pesha is rendered “rebellion” or “transgression.”
- And Awon is “iniquity” or “guilt.”
Interestingly, in Scripture the language of sin is also the language of redemption.
The word hattat means both “sin” and “sin offering.”
And so it speaks both of human failure, and the wonderful provision by God of forgiveness through an offering that removes our guilt.
Both of these realities are well illustrated in David’s life.
Let’s pray and dig into chapter 12:
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for everyone here this evening.
Thank You that You know each of us by name and have caused us to walk with You.
Lord, we open up Your word desiring to hear from You ... not man's word or wisdom, but Your Words and Wisdom.
Please soften our hearts to receive from You.
v1
Immediately after Bathsheba gave birth to their child, the LORD sent His prophet, Nathan to David.
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