Subject: David #12 Title: David - The Fall of a Man after God s Own Heart Text: II Samuel 11:1-5; Ezekiel 16:44-50 Bulletin Blurb for Sunday, January 25, 2015 The Bible clearly reveals the sins of God s people, but never in such a way that sin is made acceptable. Unlike the so-called true to life books of today, the Bible states the facts and draws out the lessons, but allows nothing for the imagination to dwell on. There are some things that are a shame to speak of (Ephesians 5:12), and the events in this chapter must be studied with a Spirit-directed mind and heart, Considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted (Galatians 6:1). At this point in David s life, he was no longer a young man. The sin was not one committed in the immature passion of youth. David was a middle-aged man who deliberately, with malice of fore-thought, violated the clearly understood law of the God he professed to love and serve. A number of ingredients blend themselves together, warning us that a fall was imminent. First, David had become self-confident after enjoying victory and prosperity. Secondly, he was disobedient, staying at home when it was time to go to war (11:1). This led to thirdly, the idle time that David had on his hands. An idle mind is the Devil s workshop, and so it was with David. Fourthly, David was self indulgent, giving freedom to his sexual desires when he should have and certainly could have, restrained himself. The temptation was not nearly as intense as the pressure that Potiphar s wife applied to Joseph in Genesis 39, and yet, Joseph resisted. Lastly, in his idleness, David was careless, allowing his eyes to wander, yielding to the lust of the flesh and eyes. Introduction * Of all the great accomplishments of King David, there is one thing about him that is more well known than anything else - his illicit and immoral conquest of a woman named Bathsheba. * Why is it that man gravitates to the failures of others? We enjoy inspecting, discussing and critiquing the fallen. Hypocrite! Aren t we all? * The story of David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab and Nathan is classic. The lessons from these interactions and people are sobering and instructive. * II Samuel 11:1-5 tell a story that has been repeated (the names, dates and places are changed) over and over again. The sexual relationship with Bathsheba was the result of many other things going on in the life of David. Let s see if we can dig a little deeper into the cause of David s sin. * We are living at a time when America is gone sexually insane. 1
* Fifty Shades of Grey - more than 100 million sold - trilogy comparable to Harry Potter - spent 100 weeks on the N. Y. Times best seller list - movie due February 2015 * There are undoubtedly many reasons for the way we are. Let s look at David: - middle aged - 50? - semi-retired, Joab fought his battles - David tarried - time on his hands - temptation - everywhere - he decided to take a look (2) - enquired after the woman (3) - David took (rendezvous) - David lay with her - the natural result of the process * Surprise, surprise - the woman conceived. You can make choices but you cannot plan or choose the consequences. * Let s look at what led up to this sexual encounter. EZEKIEL * Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet. * He ministered during the darkest days of Judah s history, the 70 year Babylonian captivity. * Ezekiel was taken to Babylon prior to the final assault of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar. * The book carries two main themes: condemnation (1-32) and consolation (33-48). * Ezekiel is famous for his prophecies of the future restoration of Israel. * We want to focus on Chapter 16 - the Parable of Israel s marriage: 1) God has mercy on Israel (1-14). 2) Israel rejects God (15-34). 3) God punishes Israel (35-59). 4) God remembers His Covenant (60-63). * Ezekiel means God strengthens. * My contention is that gay/lesbian, homosexual lifestyles are a direct and unavoidable result of a free society gone off the rails. Certain societies execute homosexuals and tolerate fornication and other sexual perversion, e.g.; Communists, China, Islam, Nazi s, etc. But a free society left to itself without moral barriers and guidelines will become little Sodoms. 2
Sodom - Genesis 19 * Genesis 19 - It was difficult getting Lot and his family out of Sodom - it was even more difficult to get Sodom out of them! In spite of the moral inconveniences, Lot loved the lifestyle of Sodom. He believed that he could isolate himself and his family from Sodom s influence. The Iniquity of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:44-50) * Ezekiel is told to cause Jerusalem to know her abominations. The sins of Jerusalem are likened to sexual impurity. Jerusalem is a harlot (15, 16, 28, 31, 35, 41). Jerusalem is called a whore (28) who has committed whoredoms (17, 20, 33, 25, 26, 34, 36). See also 30 and 33. * Jerusalem is said to be worse than Sodom (48). * The iniquity of Sodom - homosexuality is not specifically mentioned. (I Think this is what we think of when we think of Sodom (Genesis 19). * Sodom s sins are listed: - pride (49) - fullness of bread - abundance of idleness - selfish in not helping the poor - haughty (50) - committed abomination * This list is quite revealing. We might see that the sexual sins of Sodom were the results of living a particular lifestyle. * The issues of homosexuality, gay and lesbian rights, is becoming a serious issue for the church and Christians. Christians are seen as bigoted, homophobic, violating the constitutional rights of the gay/lesbian culture. * Allow me to say that sin is sin! - fornication - beastiality - adultery - pornography - rape - bisexuality - incest - homosexuality * All of these activities are perverse - turned away from what right or good, improper, incorrect. * We have normalized some sins (fornication) and repudiated others (sodomy). The fact is sin is sin. The text tells us that Jerusalem s sin exceeded the sin of Sodom! (Ezekiel 16:48). 3
* Look at the list of 16:48-50: - Pride - the root of all sin (I Timothy 3:6). Pride puffs one self up to give a false sense of independence. Proud people always feel like they can live independently from God and others. Proud people feel entitled to do what they want to do, when they want to do it! - Fulness of bread - the image is simple - plenty - plenty of food, plenty to eat, wealthy. Most Americans do not struggle to find food! They struggle to stop eating food. Fulness of bread also contributes to a sense that we do not need Divine help. We are living well without God. The wealthy seem to have a greater problem with faith. - Abundance of idleness - we are not here as Neil Postman wrote to Amuse ourselves to death. The idle mind is the devil s workshop. Undisciplined taste and time will always lead to egregious sin. - Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy - Let s call this discompassionate and selfish living. Hearts will become hardened to the voice of God if we turn our backs on the poor and needy, those that have less than we do. - Haughty and committed abomination - Let us call this indiscreet, immodest and sacrilegious. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is pure. Free speech allows blasphemy, vulgarity, and impropriety to flourish. The chief end in life is to have fun. The culture becomes driven by lust and entertainment - on the edge, unusual, erotic, progressive, indiscreet, lewd. TGIF - Party! Note that the sexual sins of Sodom were the fruit or the symptoms of a society that lost its moral moorings. That is where we live. This is where David lived - it led to the fall of a man after God s own heart. Conclusions * Stay busy! * Discipline your appetites. - financial - live below your means - food - sexual - time * Pride will lead to independence, a sense of entitledness. 4
* Sin is sin; sin is moral perverseness. * You can get too much of a good thing - fulness of bread. * Be merciful to the less fortunate. Give. * Have a sense of decorum, propriety, the sacred, respect. Don t try to shock others by living on the edge of moral acceptability. Let your moderation be known unto all men (Philippians 4). * Stay in the Word. Practice what you read. Trust the Lord in a spirit of submission and humility. * Modesty and discretion are not old fashioned values. They are God s standards that help us to encourage one another to good works and not covetousness. * God does not make fun or light of homosexuality. It is not regarded as different, unusual or exotic. What we see in Ezekiel - if you indulge in the sins of pride, wealth, entertainment - lust, lack of mercy, lack of discretion, etc., you will find yourself in deep sin. Sin is progressive. If ignored, rationalized, excused, or enjoyed, sin grows and spreads like poison ivy. * God is more greatly grieved by the sins of those who claim to believe in Him than those who do not. * Invitation to Christians. * Invitation to the Lost. 5