After God’s Own Heart – Part 12 – Drift
Drift:
“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” (11:1)
- The writer sets the stage here – and says a lot in one verse.
We are told that it’s spring time – when kings go to war – they would do this because it’s a harvest season and kings are able to feed their armies from the farms they conquer.
- and that’s what David does – We see here that David sends Joab – his general – to fight the Ammonites. And the reason for that is heavily explained in detail in the previous chapter – but I will give you the thirty second summary
- In the previous chapter, the king of the ammonites – who David had a good relationship with died – and as his son comes to the throne –
David sends several servants to comfort the boy and help him out – well the new king’s advisors tell him that David’s true motive is to take the kingdom – which was false – so when the servants get there – they rough em up and send em back.
- Then they hire the Syrians to fight the Israelites for them – David defeats the Syrians – and realizes the Ammonites who used to be allied with him – are now his enemies.
- so now that it’s spring he sends them to neutralize the threat. Which we see Israel doing – they push all the way to the capital of Rabbah
but here’s the key detail – at a time when Kings go to war – David stays home.
Desire:
“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
- the writer says – it all happened one evening –
David had settled in to his bed for the night – and he must have not been able to sleep because it says he gets out bed – and goes to roof
But on that night It says he saw a woman bathing – and the woman was beautiful.
And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, ‘Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’
- her sends someone to do recon and it comes back that this woman is Bathsheba -and is a daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the hittite
- both of these names are important to David
- these aren’t people he knew of – these are friends.
- Eliam, Bathsheba’s father – is the son of Ahitophel – who is David’s chief advisor and primary political counselor
- and Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband – is one of David 37 best fighters – a group of people that David is close with.
But in that moment – David is so captured by his own sin – he has made a decision in his heart –
So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.'” (4-5)
- David summons her –
and all of sudden – what started as drift – then became a look – which became curiosity – which birthed into sin.
Deception:
David starts freaking out and he makes a plan – look at his plan – verse 6
“So David sent word to Joab, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’ And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’ And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.” (6-9)
- He gets an idea – he thinks – I will just bring Uriah – Bathsheba’s husband – home from the war – ask him a couple questions about how the fighting is going – and then I’ll send him home let him have a romantic evening with his wife – no one is going to be the wiser
- But he hits a problem – Uriah doesn’t go home. He sleeps with the servants in the palace. and when David finds out – he calls Uriah to him and asks why didn’t you go to your wife? look at Uriah’s response in verse 11 –
“Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.'” (11:11)
- Uriah tells David – the ark of the covenant – and my brothers are all on mission – they are away from their wives and families – risking their lives every day – I can’t in good conscience go home and enjoy my wife – while they are out there dying.
Uriah is an honorable man – he draws a line in the sand by saying he’s not going home until all the men go home
- after Uriah’s death – we are told that Bathsheba goes into a time of mourning for her husband, and when that period of time is over – that David marries her.
And finally it seems like he got away with it. He’s looking around and no one seems to have noticed.
- But God saw it. in fact, chapter 11 ends with this – the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
Grace:
God sends grace in the form of Nathan the prophet – to confront him, look at chapter 12:1-3 with me. Here’s what Nathan says,
“‘There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. (12:1-3)
We see that he starts his confrontation with a story. He says there’s two guys. one is rich – one is poor.
“Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.'” (5-6)
- David hears of this fictional man’s sin – and he becomes furious. and he says – that man deserves to die!
- but Nathan responds.
“Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites (7-9)
- Nathan says – David you’re the man. You are the one in sin. God has given you blessing after blessing – and in turn you have repaid him with murder and theft!
- He calls out David’s sin.
- He owns it – and verse 13 he confesses – he says “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.'” (13)
- True repentance owns up to one’s actions. (51:3-4)
- True repentance is broken.
- True repentance is dependent