The Drama of David and Bathsheba

Transcript

um before we begin x the thing we were told as far as what's x going to happen with acts 1 is not acts x 1. it's act one because this entire x night is a drama and there is act one x two and three x and before we get started x I'm moving x or mentioning that you know some of the x things we'll be covering tonight are x pretty drastic x and I'm going to begin x with the genealogy of Christ as it x appears in Matthew I'm going to read x just a little bit of that x so if you have your Bible and you want x to turn to chapter one of Matthew that's x fine if not I'll be reading several x verses but not too much x so this is the genealogy of Jesus the x Messiah the Son of David the son of x Abraham x verse 2. x Abraham was the father of Isaac x Isaac the father of Jacob x Jacob the father of Judah and his x brothers x Judah the father of Perez and Zera whose x mother was Tamar x Perez the father of hezron x hezron the father of RAM x the father of aminidab x aminadeb the father of nation x the father of Salman x Salman the father of Boaz whose mother x was Rahab x Boaz the father of Obed whose mother was x Ruth x Obed the father of Jesse x and Jesse the father of King David x was the father of Solomon whose mother x had been uriah's wife x who is Bathsheba x but the genealogy continues and then x when we get to verse 16 it says and x Jacob the father of Joseph Joseph the x mother the husband of Mary x and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is x called the Messiah x so what I want to do here is note that x there are five women listed in the x genealogy of Matthew x in verse 3 it's Tamar x who acted as a prostitute with our x father-in-law Judah x in the beginning of verse 5 it's Rahab x who was a prostitute x also in birth five it's Ruth who was a x moabitus an outsider to the Israelites x and in verse 6 x Bathsheba and adulterous according to x the law x and finally in verse 16 Mary of whom was x born Jesus x and whom many believe had improperly x become pregnant before marrying Joseph x so these five women are an unlikely x group to be included in the genealogy of x Christ yet there they are x if we x look at Isaiah 54 and again you don't x have to look this up I'll just read a x few of these verses x we find a message about women of the x Bible who were divided x and maligned maybe you could call them x almost Misfits x but they were ultimately redeemed as x part of the plan and purpose of God x beginning at verse 4 and Isaiah 54. x do not be afraid you will not be put to x shame x do not fear disgrace you will not be x humiliated x you will forget the shame of your Youth x and remember no more the reproach of x your widowhood x for your maker is your husband the Lord x Almighty is his name x the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer x he is called the God of all the Earth x the Lord will call you back as if you x were a wife deserted and distressed in x spirit x a wife who married young only to be x rejected says your God x for a brief moment I abandon you x but with deep compassion I will bring x you back x in a surge of anger I hid my face from x you for a moment x but with Everlasting kindness I will x have compassion on you says the Lord x your Redeemer x so for tonight's class I want us to x think about Bathsheba the mother of x Solomon and her involvement with David x the king x if you'd like to follow along we'll be x primarily at the beginning here in x verses second Samuel chapters 11 and 12. x and to get started we'll look at verses x two and three and start identifying the x cast of characters who are involved in x the drama of David and Bathsheba x verse 2 says one evening David got up x from his bed and walked around on the x roof of the palace x from the roof he saw a woman bathing the x woman was very beautiful x and David sent someone to find out about x her x the man said she is Bathsheba the x daughter of a lion the wife of Uriah the x hittite x now we know because of scripture that x she is also the granddaughter of a x heathophel David's counselor x who later conspired with Absalom against x David x because a lion was the son of the x hitherfell the gileonite x they had a vested interest in Bathsheba x their daughter and granddaughter x she was the wife of Uriah the hittite x one of the mighty soldiers in David's x Army x and just x to get this out if anyone has comments x or wants to add anything please jump in x at any time x so then next there was David king of x Israel x doing what was just and right for all x his people as it says x in second Samuel 11 1 it tells us that x this is the time Kings go to battle or x springtime x David should have been at War but x instead he sent joab his army Commander x to do the fighting x now we're told that David was 30 when he x became king x he ruled for 40 years which made him 70 x when he died x Solomon was about 20 when he became king x at the time of David's death x so this would make David about 50 when x this drama takes place with Bathsheba x perhaps he fell at 50 years old he was x old enough to cease going to war x possibly he was thinking that he would x follow the example of the priests and x reading from numbers x eight it says in verse 23 the Lord said x to Moses x this applies to the Levites x men 25 years old or more x shall come to take part in the work at x the tent of meeting x but at the age of 50 they must retire x from their regular service and work no x longer x and they may assist their brothers in x performing their duties at the tent of x meeting x but they themselves must not do the work x this then is how you are to assign the x responsibilities of the Levites x the next chapter character in our story x is Uriah the hittite x Uriah lived next to or near David's x Palace x his name means the Lord Yahweh is my x light x he was a convert to Judaism and married x into a notable Jewish Family that family x of the hithervel and eliam x he fought in the Army and was at the x siege of rabba against the ammonites x that was taking place while David stayed x back and was on his rooftop x next enters the prophet Nathan x Nathan was in David's Court x and he is the one who told David that he x would not build the house of God but his x offspring would x and the last character in this drama is x joab the commander of David's Armed x Forces x and he was Leading The Siege against the x ammonites x and Israel was with war with the x ammonites x because they had rejected David's x expression of sympathy over the death of x the ammonite King nahash x in second Samuel 10 it says in the x course of time x the king of the ammonites died and his x son Hanan succeeded him as king x David thought x I will show kindness to hanith son of x nahash x but just as his father just as his x father showed kindness to me so this is x David's thinking x so David sent a delegation to express x his sympathy to Hanan on his father's x death x but he was rebuffed by the ammonites x the ammonite commanders said to Hainan x their lord do you think David is x honoring your father by sending envoys x to you to express sympathy x hasn't David sent them to you only to x explore the city and spy it out and x overthrow it x so Hayden and sees David's envoys x shaved off half of each man's beard x cut off their garments at the buttocks x and sent them away x when David was told about this he sent x messages to meet the men x for they were greatly humiliated x the king said stay at Derek Jericho till x your beards have grown and then come x back x so again in second Samuel 11 if you x follow up if you're in the Bible in x verse 1 through 5. it's about David and x Bathsheba x in the spring at the time when the Kings x go off to war x David sent joab out with the King's Men x and the whole Israelite Army x they destroyed the ammonites and x besieged a rabba x but David remained in Jerusalem and x that's a big butt x and it came to pass at Eventide that x David arose from off his bed x and walked upon the roof of the King's x house x and from the roof he saw a woman washing x herself x and the woman was very beautiful to look x upon x and David sent and inquired after the x lemon x and one said it's not this Bathsheba the x daughter of eliam the wife of Uriah the x hittite x and David sent Messengers and took her x and she came in unto him and he lay with x her for she was purified from her x uncleanness and she returned unto her x house x and the woman conceived and sent and x told David and said x I am with child x now sometimes because human nature is x involved there can be what is called a x quote a combination of circumstances x which really amounts to x self-justification x quoting from the interpreters Bible it x says x this is about the combination of x circumstances x had the ammonites not rejected David's x sincere offer of a renewed Treaty of x peace that would have been no war x had there been no war Uriah would have x remained home x and David's strong initial Temptation x would have had no opportunity to bring x forth the sinful Act x David couldn't help what he saw from the x roof of his Palace x just as we always can't help what we see x we can't unsee it x but David kept looking and didn't turn x away x so David had no one to blame but himself x in James 1 we're reminded reminded of x this but each person is tempted when x they are dragged Away by their own evil x desire and enticed x then after desire has conceived it gives x birth to sin x and sin when it is full grown gives x birth to death x continuing into Samuel verse 2. x of chapter 11 x . it's important to note that it says a x woman washing herself x which was part of a woman's purification x after her monthly cycle x it it's important because it proves that x she wasn't pregnant by her husband Uriah x It also says in verse 2 that the woman x was very beautiful to look upon x how similar to the Temptation in Genesis x 3 and 6. and when the women saw that the x tree was good for food and that it was x pleasant to the eyes x she took of the fruit thereof and did he x so David too was guilty of the lust of x the flesh the lust of the eyes and the x pride of life x back in Samuel 2 Samuel 11 David sent an x inquired after the woman that word x inquired Means To Tread or frequent x usually to follow or pursue x his inquiry resulted in his learning x that the woman was Bathsheba a lamb's x daughter and the right wife of Uriah x in verse 4 the King James version it x says that David sent Messengers to x Bathsheba and they took her x so now at this point x his actions and his intent had gone x public x now here's something to think about with x this whole incident x did Bathsheba have a choice x was she intimidated x could she refuse the king x what would happen to her if she had x refused the king x in Deuteronomy 22 24 it says if you're x in the city and you don't cry for help x you're complicit x all right well what is missing in this x whole thing x where is God x did God didn't ask x excuse me David didn't ask God to lead x him in the paths of righteousness x Bathsheba didn't ask God to help her in x her desperate situation x after that rest x bathsheba's only recorded words were x I am with child x these words would influence Israel's x history x which brings us to that exp timely x Timeless expression what a tangled web x we weave when we practice to deceive x continuing on in verse 6 of chapter 11 x so David sent this word to joab x Send Me Uriah the hittite x and joab sent him to David x when Uriah came to him x David asked him x how joab was x how the soldiers were and how the war x was going x then David said to Uriah go down to your x house and wash your feet x an indication of go back to your house x and get comfortable x take it easy x so Uriah left the palace x but David sent a gift there was a gift x from the King that was sent after after x Uriah x now the distance between rabba where the x siege was taking place and where x um Uriah was a soldier x and Jerusalem was 40.4 Miles x that's up to possibly a two-day Journey x David was hopeful the tire traveler x would go home x be with his wife and then everyone might x believe that bathsheba's child was her x husband uriah's x but in verse 9 Uriah slept at the x entrance to the palace with all his x master's servants and did not go down to x his house x David was told Uriah did not go home x so he asked Uriah haven't you just come x from a military campaign why don't you x go home x Uriah said to David x the ark and Israel and Judah are staying x in tents x in my commander joab and my Lord's men x are camped in the open country x how could I go to my house to eat and x drink and to make love to my wife as x surely as you live I will not do such a x thing x then David said to him x stay here one more day and tomorrow I x will send you back x so Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day x and the next x at David's invitation he ate and drank x with him x and David made him drunk x but in the evening Uriah went out to x sleep on his mat among his master's x servants he did not go home x Uriah the hittite was more honorable x honorable than David the king x so the drama continues in second Samuel x 11 beginning at verse 14 where David's x sinning becomes even greater x verse 14 in the morning David wrote a x letter to joab and said it with Uriah x in it he wrote x put out put Uriah out in front where the x fighting is fiercest x then withdraw from him so he he will be x struck down and die x so while joab had the city under siege x he put Uriah at a place where he knew x the strongest Defenders were x when the men of the city came out and x fought against joab some of the men in x David's Army fell moreover Uriah the x hittite died x and we find the final scene of act one x of this drama is at the end of this x chapter x verse 26. x when uriah's wife heard that her husband x was dead x she mourned for him x after the time of mourning was over x David had brought her to his house and x she became his wife and bore him a son x but x the thing David had done displeased the x Lord x so reviewing this x these incidents what sins were committed x well first there was David and x bathsheba's guilt x they were guilty of adultery x Leviticus 20 and 10 says if a man x commits adultery with another man's wife x with the wife of his neighbor x both the adulterer and the adulteress x are to be put to death x and again in Duty Deuteronomy 22 22 it x says if a man is found sleeping with x another man's wife x both the man who slept with her and the x woman Must Die you must Purge the evil x from Israel x but it continues what about David's x guilt x David's guilt was the murder of Uriah x and in Leviticus 24 17 it says anyone x who takes the life of a human being x is to be put to death x in numbers 35 31 says do not accept the x ransom for the life of a murderer x who deserves to die they are to be put x to death x and here's the critical point x there was no sacrifice to be offered for x the sin of adultery or murder x both demanded the death penalty x so by the law x both David and Bathsheba were dead x people x the second act of this drama takes place x in the next chapter chapter 12 where God x sends Nathan the prophet to David where x he tells David a parable x and it's one of the most significant x parables in the Bible x verse 1 of chapter 12 of second x Samuel x and the Lord sent Nathan unto David and x he came in unto him and said unto him x there were two men in one city x the one rich and the other poor x the rich man had exceeding many flocks x and hurts x but the poor man had nothing save one x little you lamb x which he had brought a nurse up x and they grew up together with him x and with his children x it did eat of his own meat and drank of x his own cup and lay in his bosom and was x unto him as a daughter x and there came a traveler unto the rich x man x and he spared to take of his own flock x and of his own herd x to dress for the wayfaring man that was x come unto him x but took the poor man's lamb and dressed x it for the man that was come to him x and David's anger was greatly kindled x against the man and he said to Nathan as x the Lord liveth the man that has done x this thing x shall surely die x and he shall restore the lamb fourfold x because he did this thing and because he x had no pity x and then comes another quote which x really is a great accounting of David's x sins and the four words that would x change his life x Thou Art the man x Nathan continued with all the Lord had x done for David and how David would be x accountable for his sins x thus saith the Lord God of Israel x I appointed the king over Israel x and I delivered thee out of the hand of x Saul x I gave thee thy Masters house and thy x Masters wise into thy bosom x and I gave Thee the house of Israel and x of Judah and if that had been too little x I would moreover have given unto thee x such and such things x wherefore hast thou despised the x Commandment of the Lord to do evil in x his sight x thou has killed Uriah the hittite with x the sword x and has taken his wife to be thy wife x and has slain him with the sword of the x children of Ammon x now therefore the sword shall never x depart from nine house because thou Hast x despised me and has taken the wife of x Uriah the hittite to be thy wife x thus saith the Lord behold I will raise x up evil against thee out of thine own x house x and I will take thy wives from before x thine eyes and give them unto Thy x Neighbor x and he shall lie with thy wives in the x sight of the son x for thou didst secretly but I will do x this thing before all Israel and before x the sun x so up to this point David was blind of x his own sin x but he was to be held accountable x fourfold x his child with Bathsheba would die x his sons amnon and Absalom died and x adonijah his son betrayed his father by x declaring himself King x after Nathan's words David acknowledges x his sins x he had not just sinned but sinned x against the Lord x and David said to Nathan I have sinned x against the Lord and Nathan said unto x David and here's a critical thing for us x to keep in mind x the Lord has also also has put away thy x sin Thou shalt not die x how be it because by this deed thou Hast x given great occasion to the enemies of x the Lord to blaspheme x the child also that is one unto thee x shall surely die x the first step of repentance is the x admission and confession of sins x first Peter tells us humble yourselves x therefore under the mighty hand of God x that he may exalt you in due time x now here we can think about something x put ourselves in David's shoes x what do we see from our rooftop when we x look out at the world x more importantly how do we React to what x we see x something we see cannot be unseen x or something we think cannot be x instantly forgotten x the important thing is how we respond x that makes all the difference x so David pleads x have mercy on me in Psalm 51 which says x at the beginning a Psalm of David when x Nathan the prophet came unto him after x he had been with Bathsheba x have mercy on me o God according to thy x loving-kindness x according unto the multitude of thy x Tender Mercies blot out my x transgressions x wash me throughly for mine iniquity and x cleanse me from my sin x for I acknowledge my transgressions and x my sin is ever before me x against thee the only have I sinned and x done this evil in thy sight that thou x mightest be justified when thou speakest x and be clear when thou judges x behold I was shapen in iniquity and x incended my mother can save me x behold thou desirest truth in the inward x parts x and then the hidden part thou shall make x me know wisdom x Purge me with hyssop and I shall be x clean x wash me and I shall be whiter than snow x make me to hear joy and gladness that x the bones which thou has broken May x rejoice x hide thy face from my sins x Blood Out All Mine iniquities x create in me a clean heart o God x and renew a right Spirit In Me x cast me not away from my presence and x take not thy Holy Spirit from me restore x unto me the joy of thy salvation x and uphold me with thy free spirit x so we might ask ourselves this question x how could someone who committed such x Grievous sins x be considered by God to be a man after x his own heart x although there is no reference that God x said this directly in Acts 13 22 Paul x testifies x that the Lord said of David x I have found David the son of Jesse a x man after mine own heart which shall x fulfill all my will x an explanation might be that David when x David understood what he had done x and that actually he had sinned against x God x he immediately owned his sin and asked x for forgiveness as we read just now in x psalm 51. x and contrast this with Saul who after x his great sin made excuses and put the x blame on someone else with no repentance x and there is a great lesson in this x drama for us to take to heart x our own sins x and we need to ask for forgiven x forgiveness mercy and to repent x so David and bathshebra's firstborn son x would die x but God would choose their second son x Solomon x to be heir to the throne and of the x lineage of Christ x God often chooses the second son because x in his plan they were more suitable than x the firstborn x so in a sense the first child unnamed x who died x could represent represent the old David x destined to die x the Second Son Solomon named peace and x the light of the Lord who was destined x to live could represent the new David x now we come to the next ACT in this x drama x approximately 20 years go by x with brings us to First Kings chapter x one x beginning at verse 1. x when King David was very old he could x not keep warm x even when they put covers over him x so his attendant said to him x let us look for a young virgin to serve x the king and take care of him x let us look x she can lie beside him so that our Lord x may keep warm x then they searched and throughout Israel x excuse me for a beautiful young woman x and found Abhishek a shunamite x and brought her to the king x the woman was very beautiful x she took care of the king and waited on x him x but the king had no sexual relations x with her x now he has a little digression I found x that Michael Perry had said in the Bible x reading uh comments x many of us will remember him from Bible x School several years ago x the practice of supplying body heat from x a woman x has carried down through the centuries x it's called bundling x it's to occupy the same bed without x undressing x in England a guest would be offered one x of the host's daughters to keep him warm x at night x often the woman's ankles would be bound x to ensure that no untoward Behavior x would occur x the practice came to America with the x colonists and was a legitimate custom x bundling occurred when beds were scarce x and there wasn't proper Heating in a x house x husbands frequently permitted travelers x to bundle with wives and daughters as it x was an acceptable gesture of hospitality x so while David was bundling x his son adonija aware of David's x weakened condition and age attempts to x take the throne x so in verse 5 of First Kings 1 now x adonijah whose mother was hageth x put himself forward and said I will be x king x so he got chariots and horses ready x with 50 men to run ahead of him x and here's something to note his father x David had never rebuked him by asking x why do you behave as you do x he was also very handsome and was born x next after Absalom x now adonija conferred with joab son of x zarawaya and abayathar the priest and x they gave him their support x so as I mentioned here in first king 6 x it mentions that David had been quite x lacks in disciplining his children x especially adonija x so his attempt to be king shouldn't have x been surprised x once again Nathan the prophet goes into x action x and we're also introduced to a x completely different Bathsheba x and with Nathan's collaboration x Bathsheba goes to David and says x my Lord you yourself swore to me your x servant by the Lord your God x Solomon your son shall be king after me x and he will sit on my throne x and she continues but now adonaija has x become king and you my lord The King x do not know about it x he has sacrificed great numbers of x cattle fattened calves and sheep x and has invited all the king's Sons x abayathar the priest and joab the x commander of the army x but he has not invited Solomon your x servant x my lord The King The Eyes of all Israel x are on you to learn from you who will x sit on the throne of my Lord the King x after him x otherwise as soon as my Lord the king is x laid to rest with his ancestors x I and my son Solomon will be treated as x criminals x in second Samuel David was vital x planning and Powerful x here David is older and somewhat x forgetful x in second Samuel the only thing we hear x from x Bathsheba are the words I am with child x now Bathsheba proved to be shrewd x energetic and politically astute x but it's important to know that her life x and her son Solomon's life depended on x it x suddenly there's new life in the Old x King and he announces that as the Lord x liveth thou Hast redeemed my soul out of x all distress x even as I swear unto thee by the Lord x God of Israel saying assuredly Solomon x thy son shall reign after me x and he shall sit upon my throne in my x Stead x even so will I certainly do this day x so Bathsheba and Solomon are saved by x David's oath x so Solomon is made King x and Bathsheba appears once more in First x Kings chapter 2 verse 19. x where it says x Bathsheba therefore went unto King x Solomon to speak unto him for adonijah x and the King rose up to meet her x and bowed himself unto her x and sat down on his throne and caused x the throne to be set for the King's x mother x and she sat on his right hand a place of x honor x bathsheba's name means daughter of an x oath x so from birth she had been purposed for x God's plan x and David's oath that Solomon would x inherit the throne saved her from x adonijah who would have eliminated any x competition for the throne x Bathsheba probably would have been x responsible for Solomon's upbringing x because as we have already noted David x was a bit lacks in his childhood x so let's finish up here by looking at x proverbs 31. x now here's an interesting thought from x Brother Lane ritmeyer he's a Christian x archaeologist and a Bible scholar x and he says and with his collaboration x he says verse 1 says the words of King x Lemuel the prophecy that his mother x taught him x the first few verses of his mother's x advice describes what a king should not x do x and they are followed by things the king x should do x the rest of proverbs 31 demonstrates the x character of a virtuous woman x and here's where there may be a reason x why those five women be read of are x mentioned in Matthew's genealogy x Tamar had been given judah's firstborn x to carry on the family lineage x but the Lord considered him Wicked and x put him to death x Judith's second born was also Wicked in x God's eyes and he was put to death as x well x the Third born son grew up but wasn't x given to Tamar x so in order to continue the family line x so the name wouldn't be lost x she disguised herself as a prostitute x and slept with her father-in-law x who had violated the law because he x hadn't given his next son to her x when Tamar was exposed x Judah said that as an adulteress she x should be burned to death x but as a pledge or an oath x Judah had given her his seal his cord x and his staff as a promise that he would x pay for her services x she produced the items he pledged and x when he acknowledged that the items were x his he said she is more righteous than I x so Tamar was saved by an oath x Rahab a prostitute was also saved by an x oath x Rahab and her family were spared at x Jericho because she had hidden the spies x under her Flags x and they swore an oath to save her if x she hung a scarlet cord out of her x window x she hung the light cord her life was x spared or saved and then she married an x Israelite and became the mother of Boaz x Ruth a moabite Outsider went to Boaz x who recognized her as a woman of noble x character x and in front of witnesses x in order to maintain the name of the x dead so it wouldn't disappear from the x family x gave an oath that he would marry her x and in Ruth 4 and 12 the elders say x may you have standing in ephratha and be x famous in Bethlehem x though this though Through The Offspring x The Lord gives you by this young woman x may your family be like that of Perez x who Tamar bore to Judah x now Beth Sheba means daughter of an oath x she was an adulteress in the eyes of the x Lord x but she gave birth to Solomon the king x of Israel x and she and Solomon were saved by x David's oath x and Mary who appeared to have an x inappropriate relationship with Joseph x before they were married x gave birth to Christ after an oath from x God x the Lord God will give him the Throne of x his father David x and he will reign over Jacob's x descendants forever x his kingdom will never end for no word x from God will ever fail x these five women were Misfits as far as x Society was concerned x but God considered them Noble x and knew he could work through them x as Isaiah said the Misfits would later x be redeemed x the advice lemuel's mother gave to him x in x proverbs 31 was to find a noble woman x with the qualities that these five women x were found to have in the sight of God x the end of proverbs 31 tells us x many women do noble things but you x surpass them all x charm is deceptive and beauty is x fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord x is to be praised x honor her for all that her hands have x done and let her Works bring her praise x at The City Gate x one final thought according to the x talmud x Solomon was called call by several names x Solomon x Jedediah the name Sullivan Nathan gave x to Solomon x agar the son of Jacob and Lemuel x I thought it was interesting think to x think that proverbs 31 as possibly the x advice of Bathsheba to Solomon a mother x to her son the king x based on her own experiences and x knowledge of the noble qualities of x women that God found acceptable x unfortunately Solomon didn't listen x and yet x the oath is still ongoing and will not x be broken x and all of us need to remember and to be x assured as it says in Galatians 3 x for as many of you has been as have been x baptized into Christ have put on Christ x for ye are all one in Christ Jesus and x if ye be christs then are ye Abraham's x seed and heirs according to the promise x we're all children of the oath