Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Emotion
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Anger
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One Bad Decision
I have been watching and reading the uncovering of abuses across churches for the last two decades.
I have not spoken about it until this point.
It is a sensitive point for many, many people.
Abuse of power through sex and trauma seem to be a plague in the church these days.
Given the sensitivity of the matter in our culture, I have been hesitant to speak about it.
Just bringing it up can cause some to relive or remember experiences they have had.
WARNING: We are going to speak about violence and rape.
If that is a trigger for you, then please be prepared.
BUT: I would encourage you to listen, because we are going to see how this bad decision is viewed by God and God’s people.
AND: I hope to DESPEL some ASSUMPTIONS about this story.
David (beloved, lover)
Bath-Sheba (daughter of the oath, seven)
RUMORS: Ask for people to recall the story.
David, who was a great warrior, has decided to remain behind while his army fights without him.
NOW, pay really close attention to story.
WE WILL find this has some hyperlinks to other stories in scripture.
***** It happened, late one afternoon...
I have heard this preached and I have used this by skeptics to discredit David and the Bible for this story.
Consensual?/Tempted Him?/Sexual Assault?
DOES NOT SAY SHE IS ON A ROOF, DAVID IS ON A ROOF!
****** David sent and inquired...
Is this not Bath-Shebba (Daughter of the Oath/Seven)
Daughter of My God’s People (eliam)
Wife of Uriah the Hittite
***** David Sent Messengers (mal’achim)
Key language here: Mal’achim and laqach (took)
BUT: There are accomplices in the matter.
STOP: The KING sent people to get her.
This means that others are going to know, they have to know what is going on.
They just let it unfold.
****** And the woman (not bathshebba) conceived...
NOT Bathshebba, “the woman”
IN FIVE VERSES we have quite a story.
And David has made for himself and Bathshebba and his accomplices quite a mess.
Here are a few elements from this story that we should observe:
He saw something very good (tov meod)
She is the daughter of My God’s people
He send’s messengers (mal’achim/angels)
His accomplices must lie
David has coveted his neighbor’s wife
Does this remind us of any other stories in scripture?
Gen 6, Abraham (Hagar), Judah (Tamar)
All of this over SEX.
Quickly go over the rest of the story...
(What your FEET, euphamism ‘uncover your feet’)
David ARRANGES for Uriah (her husband) to come home and have sex with her so everyone thinks it is Uriah’s child.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
Others know.
Uriah is an honorable man
What we don’t know is if URIAH KNOWS?
BUT THIS DOES NOT WORK
GETS HIM DRUNK, that does NOT WORK
DAVID arranges for Uriah’s MURDER
WHOLE ELABORATE PLAN...
And David’s response to Uriah’s death is to TRY HARDER NEXT TIME!
DAVID has implicated multiple people into this sexual assault.
He is behaving just like the Sons of God did in Genesis 6.
And what about Bathshebba.
Again, the Hebrew reveals some things that are lost in the English.
The word used for husband here is not Isha, the more common word.
It is a word for master, owner, lord, land owner, citizen.
I think this verse and wording is ON PURPOSE.
It was not consensual.
She was very much dedicated to Uriah.
Now she is a pregnant widow.
And her child is the child of the King.
*****And when the mourning was over...
Strangely enough, she is following the Torah.
Give the widows a period of time to grieve.
She bears to him a son.
CAN YOU IMAGINE...
This is a story right out of today’s headlines.
Sexual assault leads to a pregnancy.
A generation ago, she would be forced to marry the father.
A FEW of those marriages worked out, but most did not.
The woman, the ezer, has a history of being mistreated throughout the scripture.
It is no different than today…human’s in power abuse people.
What does God think about this?
*******But the LORD was displeased...
I appreciate the translators attempt to SOFTEN this.
What is really says is...
But, in the eyes of the LORD, the thing David did was evil.
That language, “in the eyes of the LORD” or “God saw...”
Again, even our translators try to soften this up to protect David’s reputation.
David has become Saul.
(Nerd)
Will anyone have enough courage to confront David
Yes, a Prophet of God will confront David.
WATCH THE LANGUAGE CLOSELY,
NOTICE:
THE LORD SENT…God wants DAVID confronted.
God wants this to come out.
And Nathan confronts David about this.
It is not left in the dark.
How will David Respond...
We look at this and think it is a FALSE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION.
But I disagree.
David is not connecting the two together.
He is has not meditated on the Torah.
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