Pass it On

I struggle when I see David failing in his marriage and self-control.  Perhaps this is because marriage, faithfulness, and family are so important to God.  David gave in to the classic lie, “Nobody will know what you did.”  David bought it hook, line, and sinker.  Now, even thousands of years later, we all know about his failure.  Perhaps the most difficult part of all this is seeing the effect it had on the next generation of David’s family.

Now David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. (2 Samuel 13:1 NLT)

David’s sexual drive, lack of self-control, and resulting immorality got passed down from generation to generation.  David’s own children would suffer as a result.

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, "Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands." (2 Samuel 13:6 NLT)

David’s firstborn son, Amnon, was becoming a chip off the old block.  The apple wasn’t falling far from the tree.  He was following the thoughts, the words, and the actions that drove his father, David.

Then he said to Tamar, "Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here." So Tamar took his favorite dish to him. But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, "Come to bed with me, my darling sister." "No, my brother!" she cried. "Don't be foolish! Don't do this to me! Such wicked things aren't done in Israel. Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me." But Amnon wouldn't listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her. (2 Samuel 13:10-14 NLT)

In this life, the worst part of our rebellion against God is not getting caught.  It isn’t even the punishment we receive as a result of our own actions.  I’ve watched far too many people come to terms with the penalty they need to pay for the sin they have done.  No, the worst part is seeing how our sin affects others and, even worse still, seeing how our worse qualities get passed down to our children and our children’s children.  This, if nothing else, should inspire us to stop doing wrong and begin walking together with God.

Then suddenly Amnon's love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. "Get out of here!" he snarled at her. "No, no!" Tamar cried. "Sending me away now is worse than what you've already done to me." But Amnon wouldn't listen to her. He shouted for his servant and demanded, "Throw this woman out, and lock the door behind her!" (2 Samuel 13:15-17 NLT)

How about you?  What good qualities of yourself do you see being passed on to the next generation?  What rebellion or sin?  What do you pass on?

No Excuses

Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, "I'm pregnant." Then David sent word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent him to David. (2 Samuel 11:4-6 NLT)

It used to drive me crazy when I would catch one of my children in the act of doing something wrong, only to hear the words, “I didn’t know!”  The facial expression told me otherwise.  The statement was simply an attempt to avoid getting in trouble.  David is doing everything he can to avoid getting in trouble here.  He slept with another man’s wife.  She gets pregnant.  He tries to cover it up by bringing the man, Uriah, back from the battlefield so he will sleep with his own wife.  Maybe, then, Uriah will think the child is his.  Uriah is too committed to his comrades in arms who are fighting for the safety of Israel.  So, David sends Uriah back to the battlefield with a note to Uriah’s commander.

The letter instructed Joab, "Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed." So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. (2 Samuel 11:15-17 NLT)

David got word that Uriah was dead.  So did Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife.  She mourned for the loss of her husband.

When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was displeased with what David had done. (2 Samuel 11:27 NLT)

David’s plan to hide his sin had failed.  We can hide things from other people.  We can even try to hide things from ourselves, pushing them deep down into the hidden recesses of the mind and heart.  We can’t hide things from God, though.  God sees everything – good and bad.  God cannot be tricked or fooled.  With God there are no excuses.

So the LORD sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story:

"There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest."

David was furious. "As surely as the LORD lives," he vowed, "any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity." Then Nathan said to David, "You are that man!

The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master's house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.” (2 Samuel 12:1-9 NLT)

Now, David has another choice to make.  He knows that God knows.  He knows that what he did was wrong.  He even knows that avoiding Scripture and avoiding God in prayer does not mean he didn’t know.  He cannot give a valid excuse to God.  With God there are no excuses.  At this point, at least, David finally gives in and admits to his wrong.

Then David confessed to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won't die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the LORD by doing this, your child will die." (2 Samuel 12:13-14 NLT)

How about you?  Do you try to avoid God when you are doing something you know you shouldn’t?  If you get caught, do you try to make excuses like, “I didn’t know.”  Or, do you realize that there are no excuses and admit that you were wrong?

Follow God’s Design

David is about to rebel against God and sin against Bathsheba, her husband, and David’s own body.  He’s doing this, in part, because he is not being obedient to God’s command to Israel’s kings to write out and daily read the Scriptures of his day.

This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:20 NLT)

This is as true for us today as it was for David back then.  God’s Word, The Bible, has been carefully preserved, protected, and passed down from generation to generation.  It is given to us today for the same reason it was given to David and the Israelites back then.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV)

When we read God’s Word, it cuts through all our defense mechanisms and exposes our thoughts for what they really are.  Exposing those thoughts, though, is not enough.  We need to choose what we do with the thoughts.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV84)

When we take the time to capture the thoughts going through our heads, we have time to analyze them.  When we compare what God says to the thoughts in our heads, we find thoughts that match and others that do not.  Based on this comparison, our next step, then, is to decide what to do with each thought.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NRSV)

The result of this process is beautiful.  We walk together with God.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it--not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25 NIV)

How about you?  Do you read God’s Word?  More than that, do you do what it says?  Do you follow God’s Design for our lives?

Remember what God Said

David is considering what to do about Bathsheba.  She clearly looks good to him while she is taking that bath.  He asks about her and finds out her name, her husband’s name, and, obviously, the fact that she is married.  David knew enough about The Covenant with The LORD to recognize that adultery (sleeping with another man’s wife) is wrong.  It was on the top ten list.  Sleeping with Bathsheba is rebellion against God.

Beyond that, I made a statement in my previous post that was pretty strong.  I sad that God would have definitely told David not to marry all of his current seven wives.  How can we know this with confidence?  It’s simple.  David had The LORD’s covenant available to him.  In fact, last week’s story showed us all the work David did to return the Ark of God’s Covenant to the center of Israel.  Had he read this covenant, he would have found many instructions about marriage and sexuality.  One whole section is dedicated to who are and who are not possibilities for a mate… (Leviticus 18:1-30, 20:10-21).  As far as we can tell, none of his current wives would have been forbidden by these instructions.  With David, though, there are a set of instructions that apply specifically to him as king of Israel.

"You are about to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, 'We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.' If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the LORD your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner. "The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the LORD has told you, 'You must never return to Egypt.' The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the LORD. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself. (Deuteronomy 17:14-17 NLT)

David is not supposed to have many wives.  He’s supposed to stick to just one.  Had David read the Scriptures of his day, he would have known this.  “Yeah, but, is that really realistic to expect,” you might ask.  “After all, David went from being a shepherd to battling Goliath, working for Saul, running for his life, and then becoming king of Israel.  It’s not like he was raised by a priest who would have taught him all this stuff.”  Well, you bring up a good point and I would agree with you had I not read the rest of the passage we stared above.  Look at what it said.

"When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. (Deuteronomy 17:18-19 NLT)

Let’s say that, in order to get a job, you were required to go to your church, sit down in front of your preacher, and create your own copy of the Bible by writing it down word for word.  Would you know what was in that bible?  Let’s add to it the next instruction.  You are told to read it every day.  Would that remind you what it said?

There are 1,189 chapters in our current (protestant) Bible.  That’s spread across 66 books.  Reading a mere three chapters a day would get you through the Bible in under a year.  David only had the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) along with Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.  (He was living the book of Samuel at the time.)  This means he had 8 books in his Bible with 235 of our chapter breaks.  Reading three chapters a day would get him through his Bible in less than three months.  He would be reading his Bible 4 (almost 5) times per year.  Would you know what the Scriptures say then?  Had David read the Scriptures, he would remember what God already said.

How about you?  Do you read the Bible?  Do you read it daily?  Have you read through all the Scriptures?  Do you remember what God said?

Ask God

We’re finally to the part of the story where David is king over all Israel.  He is a man after God’s own heart.  This is made clear by his approach to major decisions.  He talks to God in prayer, listens to God’s direction, and does what God says to do.  Even when David slips up with the Ark of the Covenant, he immediately turns back to God and ends up moving the Ark back into the center of the Israelite nation.  David walks with God because David starts by asking God.

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1 NLT)

This next story, however is strangely silent about David’s conversations with God.  In fact, there is no record whatsoever that David asked God anything before he acted.  Kings normally go to war, but David stayed home and took a nap.  David didn’t ask God and now he finds himself in a place God probably wouldn’t have had him.

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. (2 Samuel 11:2 NLT)

Not only is David strangely silent, he clearly has more than one significant decision to make.  None of them are brought to God.  In fact, when we look at David’s past decisions about marriage we find that he is strangely silent then, too.  At the moment that David sees Bathsheba taking a bath, he was already married and/or sleeping with seven different women.

…Saul's daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted... (1 Samuel 18:20 NLT) David married Abigail and Ahinoam around the same time. (1 Samuel 25:39b, 25:43) He had children by Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah (2 Samuel 3:3b-5a)  When David makes decisions about who he sleeps with, he doesn’t seem interested in what God has to say.  In fact, had David asked God he would not be married to seven women…and he certainly would not pursue yet another one this day.

He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." (2 Samuel 11:3 NLT)

How about you?  Do you have areas of your life that you simply are not interested in what God has to say?  Do you avoid conversations with God in those areas?  Do you avoid it because, deep down, you know what God is going to say?  Do you ask God?