PSALM 51 & 23 May 2, 2017

Transcription

1 PSALM 51 & 23 May 2, 2017 David has been through the trials God intended for him. He is king albeit a warrior king who will never be allowed to build a Temple for the God of Israel. He has had great personal and political success and is now a man accountable to no other IN THE SPRING..THE SAP IS RISING. THE SETTING : CONVENIENCE AND OPPORTUNITY 2 Samuel 11:1 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. David has cleared the room o No one close by to keep him occupied o No one to hold him accountable But does a king answer to anyone? Ego and arrogance are deadly pathways to sin. He is idle He was disobedient.his place was to be on the battlefield And then IT happened. THE DISTRACTION 2 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. Bathsheba may not be totally innocent here. Her bathing in an open court would advertise that she was ritually clean There is a view that she may have had her own aspirations. o There may have been fault on her part, but David creates the greater sin o There is simply not enough evidence to place the blame on her it an effort to excuse David. o And the consequences of his actions that are documented in this account places the burden of guilt on David s shoulders David notes that she is beautiful.so he lingered some in the observation and allows himself to be charmed by her CURIOSITY 3 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? David inquires

2 o Gets a name o Perhaps Bathsheba had some notoriety as evidence by the question..implying she was known in the court o Gets information about her being married and a daughter The first surge of temptation gets him to look The second fosters imagination The third involves pursuit and conquest CARELESS SELF-INDULGENCE 4 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. took her - carry away, sieze, fetch, capture, o The verb indicates an aggressive act by David David made no attempt at disciplining his desires Careless in that he yields o 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. o James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. CONSEQUENCES 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant. COVER-UP.ER, ATTEMPTED COVER-UP 6 So David sent word to Joab, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 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. 9 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. Bathsheba s fate was death as an adulteress BUT not only her o Leviticus 20:10 If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. David s cover-up is attempt to o Hide his sin o Spare both of their lives The depth of his efforts to disguise his sin is just beginning His awareness of an all knowing God doesn t seem to slow him down. (don t drive through the flood waters!)

3 HE REBUKES URIAH! 10 When they told David, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? 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. 12 Then David said to Uriah, Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back. So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Uriah explains his honor and respect for his countrymen He will not enjoy sexual relations while his fellow soldiers face death Rather then send Uriah back to the battlefield he keeps him around o Perhaps hoping that the passion would draw Uriah to Bathsheba s bed Can you imagine how occupied David must have been in trying to hide his sin. o We have all been there.that time between guilt and freedom..agony and mercy condemnation and grace. DAVID BECOMES CALCULATING TO HIDE THE TRUTH 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. Frustrated again.but not about to give up He s getting deeper and deeper..murderous in fact. MURDEROUS SOLUTION 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die. 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king s anger rises, and if he says to you, Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall? then you shall say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

4 The action costs Uriah his life but others also Joab knew that David wanted Uriah dead so he instructed the messenger to give him THAT news after the battle report.thinking it would soften any anger DAVID: COLD AS ICE 25 David said to the messenger, Thus shall you say to Joab, Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it. And encourage him. David s reaction was dispassionate. Basically telling the messenger to tell Joab not to mourn the loss of life. David s battle plan then is to justify the loss of Uriah s life with another siege on this city o David s insistence on conquest parallels the bullying of Abinedab.who intended to burn the people in the tower until the woman threw the stone on his head. Abinedab the same person who killed 70 of his half-brothers.sons of Gideon to claim the thrown. An example of absolute power corrupting absolutely. o David doesn t die as a result of his actions but he loses favor BATHSHEBA MOURNS / UNKNOWING 26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. BUT THERE IS ONE WHO KNOWS 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. There will be consequences for David s family Did these acts play on his conscience o Before or after he was exposed CONFRONTED WITH SIN 2 Samuel 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 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. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. The Lord sent Nathan to David..this is the Lord s rebuke Nathan is tactful and tells a parable to evoke emotion. How do you confront a brother who sins..on your merit or the Lord Have you ever been confronted? How did you react?

5 BLIND INDIGNATION 5 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, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. THE LORD REBUKES DAVID 7 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. 8 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. 9 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. 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 out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. One may wonder, perhaps, why David was not punished with death as he had so sternly advocated for the guilty man. Adultery and murder both were sufficient cause for the execution of even a king. The answer surely lies in the genuine and contrite repentance which David expressed, not only in the presence of Nathan but more fully in Psalm 51. David s sin was heinous, but the grace of God was more than sufficient to forgive and restore him, as Nathan could testify. And yet, though David could be restored to fellowship with his God, the impact of his sin remained and would continue to work its sorrow in the nation as well as in the king s life. [Bible Knowledge Commentary] CONFESSION BUT WITH CONSEQUENCES 13 David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said to David, The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die. David knew the judgment of the Lord was certain While the child faded he lamented the agony o Surely he understood the severe judgment of the Lord for his sins against Him o After the child dies, David sees that the thing to do is to move forward with God s purpose in his life To continue the line that would lead to Christ To continue to worship the God of Israel To continue to be the conqueror of Israel s enemies

6 Psalm 51 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! David knows he needs mercy..abundant mercy o The source of mysterious mercy is God o Who loves us even though we fail o NOT to be taken advantage of Acknowledgement of sin Forgiveness is absolute BLOT OUT UTTERLY WIPE AWAY o this is the nature of God s forgiveness but o was this David acknowledging God s character or is he begging for the relief from his guilt o This psalm.this confession.comes more than a year after he had sinned. CONFESSION 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Know = acknowledge Do you have unconfessed sin that constantly burdens you? o Do you believe you are forgiven even when you fail again o Do you believe you can conquer sin? On your own Or only with God s help? Pray for spiritual strength o Ephesians 3: 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. He rationalized his sin until he was confronted by Nathan He acknowledges that he was born a sinner

7 He knows he must face the facts of his sin to find the truth about it within no matter how deep it is secretly buried. Remember that David worked hard at building a wall around his sin. It s going to take a supernatural power..supernatural wisdom..to tear down the wall. o Psalm 19:12Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. o Job 13: 23 How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. PETITION 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. David spoke of God s cleansing him with hyssop, he was alluding to the use of hyssop at the religious ceremonies to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the altar. This represented the removal of sin through the shedding of blood [BKC] o Hebrews 9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. David is also asking for assurance that the relationship has bean restored that his agony and sorrow would be removed.(broken bones implies whole body) 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. David knew he need a revival of his spirit due to indifference over his sins He asked o To get right with God o That God would not reject him o That the Holy Spirit would remain o That he would experience the full joy of salvation o That he would be in agreement with God s will A clear answer t\o this prayer would empower him to proclaim the LORD PROMISE OF WORSHIP 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. A forgiven sinner can offer a powerful testimony to other sinners leading them to a similar experience of salvation

8 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. A prayer for the right words His words David wants to be equipped to broadcast God s glory through his experience But he knows it is not his effort that matters.his works; 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. God s desire in man is o A broken spirit This not a wimpy zombie This is a crushed humble spirit ands heart o A broken and contrite heart a believer must have a spirit broken of all self-assertion; he must acknowledge his need before God to find spiritual renewal and cleansing. [bkc] APPLICATION There is comfort in Psalm 51 for the sinner who can be confident that the forgiveness of David means their sin can also be forgiven. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Warren Wiersbe: After we as Christians have sinned and been restored, Satan tries to undermine our peace and confidence. We begin to worry about the past and the consequences of our foolishness. Yes, there are bitter fruits from disobedience (and how David found that out!), but vv assure us that God protects and upholds those who belong to Him. The wicked have many sorrows, and sorrows come to the lives of disobedient saints, but the cleansed Christian experiences the

9 loving-kindness and mercy of the Lord. No wonder David ends by shouting. he past is forgiven the present is joyful and the future is secure in the hands of God. Psalm 51 is a powerful essay on our struggle with sin.causing us to mourn our failure to walk in the Spirit. In contrast Psalm 23 is an uplifting assurance of a caring relationship that is eternal! Psalm 23 (ESV) A PSALM OF DAVID. 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. ALLELULIA!