David - A Good King Who Made Some Bad Choices - 2021-10-17

 

David – A Good King Who Made Some Bad Choices

The Story Series – Part 12

Main Texts: Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:24

17 October 2021

Introduction:

Have you ever made any bad choices? Have you ever done something that seemed like a good idea at the time only to regret it later? Have you ever trusted someone that turned out to be untrustworthy? Have you ever spent your hard-earned money on something that fell apart almost immediately after you got it home? My answer to all these questions is a resounding, “YES!” I have made some very bad decisions in my life that ended up costing me dearly later.

I am embarrassed to tell you that I think in every case it turned out badly because I did not take the time nor invest the effort in seeking the Lord’s counsel and will. If I would have sought the Lord’s guidance and direction, without a doubt, He would have guided my steps in a better direction and saved me a lot of pain. Invariably I get in trouble when I blunder in and lean on my own wisdom and understanding rather than lean on Him to guide me and lead me in the right path. When I practice Proverbs 3:5-6 things seem to turn out better. Funny how that works.

Transition:

Today we are continuing with our series entitled, “The Story.” We have been taking a 39,000-foot flyby look at biblical history. I guess you could call this a Bible Survey Series. We are trying to get a mental handle on the grand sweep of God’s plan of the ages, from Genesis through Revelation and on into eternity. Of course, this does not allow us to spend very much time in any one book or looking at any one individual, but we are at least trying to understand the main points.

Last Sunday we took our first look at King David—at his anointing by the prophet, Samuel, his service to King Saul in the palace, the beginning of his military career, and his slaying of the Philistine giant, Goliath, which made him a hero in all Israel. We talked about his love for God and his zeal for the Lord’s reputation. God himself referred to David as, “a man after My own heart.” We recognized that David is the most well-known figure in the Bible after Jesus and Moses. We also learned that David stands as a forerunner and foreshadower of the King who is to come, Jesus, the Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. Just as David was anointed to serve as king over his people Israel, so Christ is the eternal Anointed One, who will reign as King over all the earth. God promised to David that his throne would be established forever, and that the promised Redeemer would come from his seed. Jesus himself verified this in Revelation 22:16 saying, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright Morning Star.”

Main Body:

Last Sunday Matthew led us in looking at Part 1 of David’s story. For the most part that is a happy history focusing on David’s triumphs. Indeed, the first 30 years David’s life was so good it was almost like a fairy-tale. Today we are going to look at Part 2 of David’s life, and it is much less of a fairy-tale. In fact, some parts are grim. With this in mind, I have entitled this sermon, “David – A Good King Who Made Some Bad Choices.” And yet, through it all David continued to love and trust God and when he screwed up, he was always quick to ask God for forgiveness and cleansing. He was never happy to continue in sin for very long. His fellowship with God meant that much to him. And God never gave up on David. God loved him enough to discipline and even punish him when he needed it, just as a loving father disciplines his own beloved son.

But what we need to remember is that while God has promised to forgive our sins whenever we confess them to Him and turn from our wicked ways, that does not mean that He withdraws the natural consequences that result from bad choices and wicked deeds. To use a colloquial phrase, “If you do the crime, you will still have to do the time.” That was certainly true in David’s life, and this morning we will look briefly at some of the tragedies that befell him because of his sinful choices and unrighteous attitudes.

If we could just recite a list of David’s virtues and triumphs it would be nice. But life isn’t like that. David was a complex human being, and we need to learn from the good, the bad, and the ugly, and like all of us David was a mixture of all three.

·         David was a good man, but he was not perfect and sometimes he sinned, occasionally in spectacular ways.

·         David was a wise man, but sometimes he did stupid, foolish things that hurt himself, his family, and his nation.

·         David was a devout man, who loved God and wanted to please and honour God. But sometimes David wandered off the school grounds and brought great shame and dishonour not only to himself and his family, but also to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel that he was pledged to serve.

Today we are going to look briefly at the “flip-side” of David’s life. Like I said, up until the age of 30 when he ascended to the throne of Israel his life was nearly perfect. Oh, sure he sinned once in a while like everybody else, but he was always quick to confess his sin to the Lord and receive forgiveness. But after David became King, things started to change. In fact, every aspect of his life changed radically and not necessarily for the good.

·         Now he was rich. He could have anything his heart desired.

·         Now he lived in a palace, surrounded by beautiful and costly possessions.

·         Now he had armies of soldiers led by skilled and courageous officers who would do his bidding with just a word to them.

·         Now he did not live just with men, like it had been back home in Bethlehem surrounded just by his dad and seven brothers, or even in the company of a band of rough old soldiers who fought at his side for 14 years (1 Sam. 22:2). Now he had servants to do everything for him. He was living a life of opulence and ease.

·         Now he was surrounded by beautiful women – wives, concubines, drop-dead gorgeous serving girls, etc. Temptation was all around him.

So, now let’s turn and look at some of the points in his story that were less than stellar, less than exemplary. Let’s see what he did, and why, and what happened as a result. 

Brief list of TRAGEDIES:

1.       After killing Goliath, King Saul became insanely jealous of David’s success and popularity; so much so that David was forced to flee and live the life of an outlaw until Saul’s death. This was part of the tragedy and pain of David’s life, but it was not his fault. It was not a result of his sinning. But I just didn’t know where else to mention it. David experienced a lot of hardship that was not because of anything he did wrong.

2.      But then comes 2 Samuel 11. David committed adultery with Bathsheba who became pregnant. That was not divine retribution, just a biological result of a evil moral choice on David’s part (2 Sam. 11:4-5).

3.      To cover up his sin of lust and adultery David arranged the death of Bathsheba’s faithful husband, Uriah, by arranging to send him to the front of the battle, knowing that he would be killed by the Ammonites (2 Sam 11:6-17).

4.      After being confronted by Nathan, the prophet, David confessed his sin to God and repented of it, and God forgave him, but his and Bathsheba’s child died nevertheless (2 Sam. 12:10, 13, 19).

5.      Like Eli, David failed to discipline his sons. Perhaps he justified it by how busy he was running the nation and fighting against their enemies. Whatever the reason, David was apparently an absentee father, leaving the rearing of his children to wives, nannies, and servants. His son Amnon committed the sin of rape and incest against his half-sister, Tamar; he was murdered by another of David’s sons, Absalom, two years later in a bloody slaughter that resulted in nearly all David’s son’s being killed (2 Sam. 13:14-29).

6.      Not long after that David’s son, Absalom, led a rebellion, a coup d'état, in an attempt to usurp David’s throne and make himself king (2 Sam. 16-17).

7.      Against the king’s orders, David’s “beloved son” Absalom was murdered by Joab, David’s top military advisor, putting an end to the rebellion, and David’s throne was restored. However, it was a bittersweet victory for a heart-broken father (2 Sam. 18:14-15).

8.     David ignored General Joab’s advice and called for a national census, kindling the wrath of God against David and against Israel (2 Sam. 24:2-15; 1 Chron. 21:1-4).

9.      David’s unauthorized census resulted in a deadly plague sent by God, which infected the people, killing thousands (2 Samuel 24:1-9; 15; 1 Chronicles 21:7-17). [N.B. David was at least partly responsible for this plague because against God’s wishes David ordered a census of the people and of his fighting men, which revealed a lack of faith in God and a reliance for his security on the size of the reserve of manpower he could muster in an emergency. This represented an unwarranted glorying in and dependence on human power rather than the Lord.]

10.  David wanted to build Yahweh a “house” in Jerusalem. However, God told David that he would not be allowed to build the Temple because he was a “man of blood” meaning a man of violence and war. God said that task would be reserved for David’s son, Solomon (2 Samuel 7:1-2; 1 Kings 5:16).

Conclusion:

How can one sum up a person’s life in just a few words? David died at the age of 70. He lived a long and full life. He ruled over Israel for 40 years. And the Bible has much to say about him. 

What are some spiritual lessons we can draw from the life of David?

1.       David’s sin with Bathsheba marked the start of a downward trend in David’s life (2 Samuel 11-20). It served as the banana peel that when stepped on results in a disastrous fall. That is certainly what happened with David. His sins of idleness, uncontrolled lust, adultery, capital murder, treachery, coverup, and lying marked a sad and very dark part of David’s story. The sad part is that this tragedy was totally avoidable had David been playing his A-game. Several lessons come to mind:

a)     Beware of idleness. David should have been on the battlefield with his men rather than hanging around the palace getting into trouble. He was not where he should have been. 2 Samuel 11:1 says, “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.” So, picture this… the Israeli army was locked in a bloody war against the Ammonites but uncharacteristically David stayed home drinking strawberry margaritas and lying in his hammock. There is an adage that says, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” This proved true for David. 

b)     Beware of letting the eyes and mind dwell on sinful things. It was not a sin that David witnessed a pretty lady taking her evening bath. It was a sin that he stayed there and watched, lusted after her, another man’s wife, and then acted upon his sexual impulses by putting her into a compromising situation using his power as leverage. Had David done what Joseph did years before when tempted by a beautiful woman we would not be having this discussion. Joseph fled the locale of the temptation to save his honour and his integrity. David on the other hand, pulled up a chair and enjoyed the view, and then sent to have Bathsheba brought to his quarters. This sad story is a perfect illustration of what James says in James 1:14-16, “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”

c)      Beware of assuming that unconfessed sin can be covered up. David was stupid and naïve to think that God would let him get away with this sin of adultery and premeditated murder. He had been around the block enough times to know that you cannot pull anything over on God. Just observing the life of Saul should have taught him that lesson. But David became proud and puffed up with his own importance. He sinned with impunity, believing for a while that he had gotten away with it. That is, until God sent Nathan to tell David a story about a beloved little lamb that was stolen and killed by a villain. By the end of the story David was livid. Look with me at 2 Samuel 12:5-12.

Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man [in the story], and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. ⁶ He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” ⁷ Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel, and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! ⁹ Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ ¹¹ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’”   

d)     Beware of thinking, “It could never happen to me.” David got into this mess because he was not walking with the Lord at the time. If he had been, his conscience would have accused him, and he would have backed off and repented. Instead, ignoring what he knew to be right he justified his actions to himself thinking, “After all, I’m the king, and I can do whatever I want.” Even the strongest person can easily slip. At any moment, at any hour, any Christian anywhere can be caught off guard and can fail God miserably.

2.      David, after being confronted by the prophet Nathan, acknowledged his sin, and God forgave him. But David reaped what he had sowed. The wages of that sin continued to pay bitter dividends for many years. The child born to Bathsheba died. David’s oldest son, Amnon, fell into shameful immorality and incest when he raped his half-sister, Tamar. Another son, Absalom, led a rebellion against his father’s kingdom. Absalom was a young man with a magnetism that attracted people. Soon he stirred up a widespread rebellion against David and even hatched a plot to kill his father, forcing David to flee from the city of Jerusalem in disgrace.

To further humiliate his father Absalom went in and raped 10 of David’s concubines who had been left behind to care for the palace when David and his household fled Jerusalem. This was the direct fulfilment of what the Lord had said in 2 Samuel 12:11-12. Certainly, that was Absalom’s sin but it was also the rotten fruit brought about by David’s sin.

To continue living in sin will bring dreadful consequences. True, the sin can be forgiven. But the Bible does not create the impression that people get away with their sin, or that God approves of it. 2 Samuel 11:27 says, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”

3.      David was not without faults. He was guilty of great sins and offenses. But unlike King Saul, David was not rebellious and disobedient. David was quick to repent. Because of this willingness to repent, Paul says that David was a man whose heart was inclined toward God. In Acts 13:22, we read the Lord’s appraisal of David: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, who shall fulfil all My will.” Even though David was a powerful king over Israel for 40 years and his heart was inclined Godward, he was still a sinner and flawed in some ways. For example, David sinned in placing confidence in human strength and wisdom (2 Samuel 24:9-10), and he manifested weakness as a father, whose sons brought him shame (2 Samuel 13:21; 14:28). Yet God used him despite these things! Thus, David’s life is a prime example in the Scriptures of how God works through weak and frail and sinful persons, like you and me, to accomplish His purposes.

4.      David was not without troubles. One of the basic fallacies which many Christians secretly hold is the idea that when you are right with God, you ought to have nothing but good fortune. But David had his share of troubles. He brought some of them upon himself because of his sin with Bathsheba and his lack of discipline over his children—but it is also clear that David faced many troubles for which he was not responsible.

Adversity and trouble are not always punishment for evil that we have done. It is certainly proper for us to examine ourselves and to confess our sins frequently, but when hard places do come it will not always be possible to put our finger on something we have done. We will not always have an immediate explanation as to why we have been dealt with so harshly. Many times, God does what He does simply because He is who He is and offers no explanation, as it was in the case of Job.

5.      David was not without limitations. He was powerful, but he recognized that he was not the “All-Powerful One.” David knew that he needed a power outside himself, and he was not too proud to admit it. He said one time, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:2). On another occasion, he said, “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). David was a man after God’s own heart. He had faults and troubles and limitations. But one of the beautiful things about his life is that he was not too proud to hold out his hand for help.

6.      David is mentioned in the “heroes-of-faith” chapter (Hebrews 11). Beginning at verse 32, we read: “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” (Hebrews 11:32-34). These men of faith were divinely enabled to perform remarkable deeds beyond their own natural abilities. The Apostle Paul in his sermon at Pisidian Antioch recorded by Luke in Acts 13:36 summarized King David’s life using only nine words: he said [David] “…served the purpose of God in his own generation.” When you think about it that is a glowing testimonial coming from God himself.

I would challenge us all to apply these lessons from the life of David to our lives. To seek to emulate his good and godly traits, and to avoid the mistakes that David made.

Just one more thing… perhaps the most beautiful, powerful, and poignant of all the Psalms is Psalm 51. Turn there for just a moment. This is David’s prayer to the Lord right after he was confronted by Nathan, the prophet. This is David being totally honest with God, hiding nothing, making no excuses or attempts at justifying his sins against God and against men. This is David “unplugged” transparent before the Lord and before us. Let’s look at that Psalm for a moment.