ACCOUNTABLE 2 Samuel 12:1-14 July 7-8, 2018 Beverly Gambrell INTRODUCTION After David killed Goliath, he had a meteoric climb into fame. From shepherd boy to national hero to king, he expanded Israel into its Golden Age. He was a military genius. He was a poet and songwriter, composing most of the Psalms. David, a man after God s own heart, was indeed blessed, and as he served God and the Israelites, the influx of strength and blessings from God never ebbed. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him. 2 Samuel 5:10 And the Lord helped David wherever he went. So David reigned over all Israel, and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people. 2 Samuel 8:14 Yes, David had a rapid rise in both worldly and spiritual success! But success can be dangerous. It can make a person feel invincible and above the standards held for everyone else. Victory and great success can elevate an individual above the strength of his character. DAVID S SIN AND COVER-UP (Overview of Chapter 11) 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. 2 Samuel 11:1 David s success as a leader had led to complacency. He had lost focus. He had done his time in battle and had designated so well that he felt he could take a pass on this battle. Enter Bathsheba We know the story all too well. David is in his palace that overlooks the rooftops below when he spots a lovely woman bathing. Following a lingering look he summoned her to the palace and slept with her. He saw her, desired her, and took her because he could. He was the king. She became pregnant, so David plots a cover up to top all cover-ups! He sends for her husband Uriah to come back from battle thinking he would sleep with his wife concealing the true identity of the father. However, Uriah did not go to his wife while his fellow soldiers were still on the lines. David sends him back to the lines with sealed commands to Joab to make sure he (Uriah) was placed where he would be killed in battle. With Uriah dead (along with other soldiers who died because of the cover-up) David takes Bathsheba as his wife.
It appeared that David had gotten away with it. After all, he had an unblemished record in spiritual, military, and governmental affairs. Surely no one would challenge or question the king! BUT But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 Samuel 11:27b Like most monarchs, David had unchecked control over everything. He had information, resources, and the means to do whatever he wanted i.e., summoning Bathsheba to himself and changing orders for Uriah leading to his death and the death of other soldiers in Israel s army. He possessed the ability to manipulate or control outcomes. At least he thought he did. God was still God and still on the throne in Heaven. David thought he had covered his bases. He had looked around everywhere BUT he forgot to look up! behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 NATHAN S REPROOF Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. 2 Samuel 12:1 Enter Nathan, the prophet of God and confidant of David. David was wise to have him and probably others in his court that he considered trusted advisors. Nathan loved David and Israel, and he wanted both to succeed. Yet he also loved God and served Him as a prophet. It took moral courage to confront the king. But he knew it was his role, and he was obedient to God. Nathan s Parable and Its Impact on David Nathan used the story of a rich man who received a guest into his home. The rich man wanted to provide a lavish meal for his guest, but rather than selecting an animal from his own large flock, he went to his poor neighbor who had no flock, only a ewe lamb that was the family pet. He stole the pet lamb and slaughtered it to feed his guest. By using the lamb, Nathan appeals to the shepherd s heart of David. The king s anger burned. He cried out that the rich man deserved death, but came short of pronouncing the death penalty on him, which his crime did not merit according to Mosaic Law. (However, David s adultery and murder were both punishable by death under the Law.) Then David declared the rich man must make restitution or repay four-fold. The fourfold restitution was according to Mosaic Law. Enough time had passed since his sin that David did not comprehend that the parable was about him. Perhaps his emotional reaction and outrage toward the rich man was a subconscious way of passing judgment on himself. Perhaps his memories of his youth and the quiet nights in Bethlehem tending sheep struck a chord deep within his heart. The weight of his sin was taking a great toll on the man after God s own heart. We see this in the penitential Psalm he wrote describing his guilt and misery during this period: When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Psalm 32:3-4
Nathan Reveals the Real Culprit Then comes one of the most dramatic, penetrating statements in all of Scripture. Four three-letter words that devastate David: You are the man! 2 Samuel 12:7 With these words, months of spin and cover up came crashing down on David. I have always pictured this encounter with Nathan looking rather Charlton Heston-ish when he played Moses, with a booming voice, fire in the eyes, extended arm, and finger pointing in David s face shouting the King James Version Thou art the man! Instead, Nathan was broken hearted and wanted desperately to see David back in right standing with God. When he once preached on this passage, Dr. Young stated that Nathan probably had tears in his eyes as he quietly, albeit firmly, stated, You are the man. The faithful prophet and confidant had a tough love message to deliver from God to his beloved king. We all need a Nathan! We all need someone who will strongly but lovingly correct us when we are out of line When we are hurting ourselves, others, and, most of all, our witness for Christ. We all need a Nathan. Nathan continues with Thus saith the Lord by listing God s gracious dealings with David. God had made him king of Israel God had protected and rescued David from Saul and his attempts to kill him. God had entered into a covenant with David that foreshadowed the coming of an eternal King in David s lineage. God gave David Saul s place as king. He gave David Saul s harem, too, symbolizing that He was transferring to David the kingship and all that went with it. Thus David had complete rule over Israel and Judah. God said that if that were not enough, He would have given David even more. by listing David s sins. He asks David why he had despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight. He charges David with striking down Uriah the Hittite with the sword. He charges David of taking Uriah s wife, Bathsheba, to be his own wife. He repeats the charge against David of killing Uriah with the sword of the sons of Ammon. He charges David with giving the enemies of God occasion to blaspheme God. David had reduced God s reputation for holiness in the eyes of pagans. David had gone from being a man after God s own heart to acting in ways that showed contempt for the Lord.
by listing the consequences David s sin would bring. 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. 2 Samuel 12:10 The sword would never leave David s house! Evil would be raised up against David from within his own household. David s wives would be taken from him and given to his companion, and he will lie with them in broad daylight so all Israel could see. Because David s sin gave occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme God, the child born to him and Bathsheba would die. DAVID S PLEA: GUILTY AS CHARGED David s Confession David proved to be a man after God s own heart. David confessed that he had sinned against the Lord. He did not deny it or try to rationalize his sin. The Lord took away or covered David s sin and did not enforce the death penalty that David deserved for adultery and murder. But as mentioned earlier, David s sin did lead to the death of the baby born to Bathsheba and him. David learned two things The first was a very painful lesson: The consequences of sin are irreversible. The sword never left his house. o The baby born to David and Bathsheba died. o Amnon, the second son of David, raped his half-sister, and Absalom, brother of Tamar and half-brother of Amnon, killed Amnon for raping Tamar. o Absalom rebels against David The sexual sin David had committed in secret brought about public calamity upon David. Absalom lays with David s wives in broad daylight before all Israel. Absalom would be killed in his rebellion against his father. o Adonijah, David s fourth son, sought to become king after David by taking the kingdom and was killed by Solomon. o David s loss was fourfold: He lost four of his sons. Second, David learned that forgiveness is always available. o Conviction of Sin You are the man! o Confession of Sin I have sinned against the Lord. o Cleansing of Sin The Lord has taken away your sin. You shall not die.
Psalm 51 David s confession to God 2 Samuel 12 tells us what happened in David s life. Psalm 51 tells us what happened in David s heart, as the man after God s own heart returns to God. In this Psalm, David gives four steps we can take to get back to God. 1. He acknowledges the grace of God. By His very nature, God is a God of mercy, a God of grace. 2. He confessed his sin He was specific and realized his sin was against God. 3. He began a new lifestyle He repented and began to worship and serve God again. 4. He told his story to others Open my mouth to praises. He was able to sing again. He found his heart and his song again! GOD S GRACE AND MERCY We tend to take sin too lightly and fail to see its seriousness to God and the severity of its consequences. Or we can overestimate the severity of the consequences and fail to see the grace and mercy of God at work. Even though David sinned greatly, God forgave him. Also, it bears noting that David s record of godly behavior was not completely wiped out. God continued to bless His servant David. God had chosen him as His anointed. He had made a covenant with David about the coming King of kings. He gave Bathsheba to David as his wife and they had another child, Solomon. He granted David more military victories. David truly did have a heart for God and usually sought to please Him. So, in conclusion, we have seen an up-close view of human nature and our propensity toward wrongdoing, or let s say it SIN. Good people can make some very bad decisions and choices that have devastating results. Nathan came to David when the king stepped over the line and he reproved him. We all need trusting, godly confidants who will help keep us accountable to God and faithful in our walk with Him. We may not have committed adultery and murder this week, but we all have things in our lives temptations, habits, rationalizations, spiritual malnutrition that break our fellowship with God and harm our witness to others. Perhaps we even have unconfessed sins in our lives that are giving the enemies of the Lord occasions to blaspheme (12:14). Like David, we need to (1) acknowledge the grace of God, (2) confess our sins, (3) repent and begin a new lifestyle, (4) and tell others about him.