2 Samuel 11 (Part 3) Bible Study (David and Bathsheba) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Do you have a copy of God's word in your hand? We live in a time where that is available. Can you imagine being in the times of the apostles where if you wanted to see something in the scriptures, you had to run to your local synagogue and sit there patiently because they didn't have references for chapters and verses and peel through different scrolls. Somebody in authority had to be there in the presence to point to a prophecy that you're interested of or something of the sort. Today, you can get God's word wood skin, leathered, and there's various other options, so we have no excuse not to have a copy of it.

Meet me in the copy that you have in second Samuel 11 as we are now coming to the final installment of this chapter together, and put your finger there in verse 15. Second Samuel 11 verse 15. Who would have thought that David's neglect of being in the will of God in the beginning of this chapter would evolve into David becoming a murderer by the end of the chapter. I'm sure the study of this man's life, especially at this point, has been nothing short of shocking for many of us, especially for someone who is as remarkable and as praised as king David was. But the idea that we have here is that David proves that sin is no respecter of persons.

Sin's aim is the same for the lowliest of the palace as it is for the ruler of the kingdom. Its goal is to survive long enough to wreak havoc in you, through you, around you, and before you. And its primary source of strength in our lives to create that ripple effect is through our tolerance of it, through our justification of it, through our pleasure in it. And, unfortunately, what we're seeing here is just that. We are witnessing the downfall of a man of God.

And what David is trying to do is bury his sin, but what he's not realizing is that he's also burying himself. He is also leading himself into a deeper pit of pain and misery that he will unfortunately have to sit in for quite some time. And as we come to this point, we realize that the consequences of his actions could've could've been put to a stop if he had just confessed his sin as early as possible. All he has been doing is adding fuel to the fire through his concealment. That concealment is like oxygen to a fire, and it is only growing more and more and more and is becoming more and more severe.

And David, we see here, learned that, as we saw last week, could not could not get Uriah to be with Bathsheba in a physical sense so that he could he could cover his sin through the explanation of natural means. And because of this, instead of taking it as a hint of divine providence trying to put him in his place, he instead now comes up with a unthinkable, heart wrenching scheme. The conclusion that David makes at this point of his plan to try to save face is to kill an innocent man, is to murder Uriah. He wakes up one morning and he is quick to execute it. He does not waste any time because time is not in his favor.

The longer he waits, the longer he delays, the more suspicious he looks. And so he does not hesitate to write the death warrant of this man to put it in his hands and to have him walk with it to the very place that he will be executed unjustly. And you could almost read David's thoughts when we we learned that he woke up that morning, what it must have been like for him internally the night before as he was tossing and turning, contemplating what to do because this man's integrity is getting in the way of his attempt to try to seem righteous and clean and innocent. It's almost as though something along the lines of fine. Fine.

You don't want to be with your wife so that it could seem like this baby is yours, then I will be the husband of your wife. And if it means to get rid of you, then so be it. And that's essentially what he is doing. He is now going to try to take Uriah's place as the husband so that it can seem like this baby that would come into the world came through the confines of a righteous marriage when everything about this is totally, totally unrighteous. And so I'm going to read these verses as we conclude this chapter, and we're gonna do what we usually do, open it up for you to make some observations, and then we're going to try to, in a concise way, get to important matters of this text that the Holy Spirit has given to us.

So you were there in verse 15, I hope. 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. And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew that there were valiant men. 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.

Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting, and he instructed the messenger, when you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 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? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubusheth? 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. So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 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. 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.

David said to the messenger, thus you shall say to Joab, do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against this city and overthrow it, and encourage him. When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the morning 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.

Powerful. Anything jump out to you? Anything significant, important? Yes. Yeah.

Isn't that an interesting attitude? It's okay. The this just happens. This is just this is what war is about. Yes.

That's a strange response to the death of an innocent man. Yeah. He kinda skips the part of David potentially getting angry, and he just says, hey. You ride the Hittite is dead. Just to avoid that awkward confrontation.

Sure. That's an observation. Yes. Yeah. Uriah the Hittite.

So we're seeing that that the the background of this man repeated to us to remind us that this is not an Israelite, and what a terrible witness to this man, and what a terrible treatment of a man who trusted not just the God of Israel, but the people who claimed to be the people of God? Sure. Anything else? Very good. Now Joab is involved in this mess.

Now you have an accomplice. Now you have somebody joining in in your effort to try to cover your mess. Yeah. Absolutely. Joab is now included in all of this.

Makes you wonder if Joab smelled something fishy. This is really strange what's happening here. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Now now they're just playing secrets. Right? And and they're trying to now Jobs in on this, and he's trying to conceal it through the messenger. They're they're both now working together to try to make this seem like it was some accident. And and David just wants to put it at rest, and he just says, let's just get over and move on.

The job is done. They're speaking almost in code to one another. Yes. Yeah. This is starting to get really, really disappointing in many ways because there's collateral damage now.

Now you have other innocent parties that are getting affected, and we're gonna touch on that in a moment. Yes. Very, very good observation. Joab seems to be acting upon very little information, and it makes Joab's character, not shine as much as it should have. We'll touch on that as well.

Yes. Could it be that Joab is using this to one up on David for maybe his past mistakes, and so he's willing to allow it to happen? Oh, now we're getting into politics. Right? Yes, Peter, and then Lori.

Yeah. That's right. That happened in what book. Who remembers what book that happened in? Judges.

That's right. Did you want to add to that Lori? Yes. Interesting thought. Very, very good observations.

Yes. Right. The submission of Uriah. Yeah. He was a mighty man.

He was a valiant man. He was a warrior. He was a strategist himself. I mean, he was he was promoted to be among the 30. So So maybe even Uriah himself saw that this isn't probably the best, of advancements, but I'm gonna submit to my commander.

And it was it was a death of him, but that's that's humility. Yes, David. Yeah. Makes you wonder if she knew. I don't think she knew what David plotted.

It makes you wonder if she was even what scripture doesn't say, if she was slightly relieved. We do see that she lamented, and we can take that for what it is, that she was genuinely broken, that her husband had passed. Yes, That's right. It is a long time to think you got away with something. Yeah.

Yeah. That's right. Good good very good. And that's gonna be an important reminder as we come to next week's study to see that some time had passed before David was exposed. Yes.

Last one. Not so many people would have died within? Yes. Absolutely. We're gonna find out exactly why it is that people died in this story.

It could have been avoided. Could have been avoided. Are we ready? Let's come together now to verse 15. It's clear that David here has attempted to make Uriah's death seem like an accident of war.

We talked about that last week, but it's worth bringing up again that when you and I try to cover our sin and conceal our hypocrisy, it will always include the adoption of some level of deception. And in David's case, the deception is only increasing, and it is only extending and touching more people's lives, even parties that were not initially involved with this scandal. And so now he is he is affecting other people, inviting other people, and other people are being influenced, so they want want nothing to do with this matter. And you have to you have to think, it it it is an exhausting and miserable way of life to try to convince others that you are righteous. It it's just it's it will drain you.

Some people have more stamina for it than others, but regardless, what we see here in a very subtle way is that the fate of such people is the same, and it is this, that in the pursuit of clever, cunning lies, at some point at some point, you will be exposed. At some point. And we actually already see that to some level here in this verse. You might be wondering how. David is not being very clear, is he, with this charge?

He's not he's not giving enough reason for such a drastic decision to be made. And so when Joab receives this letter, a very short short and straight to the point kind of instruction, there's there's too much missing here that leaves the the possibility for great doubt to arise even in Joab. Even in Joab. Joab was an intelligent man as well. He was very, very, very intelligent.

He was a strategist, and he knew David, and he knew his men, including Uriah. And it just didn't line up for Uriah to be set up intentionally so that he can be in a very vulnerable position to the enemy's attacks and be left for dead. And so this this should have raised Joab's eyebrow. We're not told his thoughts. We're not told exactly what he thought in this moment, but it does make you wonder if this man put the pieces together when he would hear down the road that David married Uriah's wife.

And if he investigated just a little bit, he would've realized that the timing of this is is just it's creating a scenario that you would hope is not true. And then the timing of the birth of that child. Joab was an inside circle. He he was not an outsider. He was not he was not somebody distant.

He was very much involved with the affairs of the king's life. He he would have known and he would have received the exact details. And if this man was an intelligent man as we have every reason to believe, he would have put it together. Do you see what's happening here? And David thinking that he is actually achieving success in his deceit, he's actually getting sloppy.

He's getting sloppy. And the principle here is so loud and so clear, and it is this, that even the most talented of deceivers will end up at some point exposing themselves unintentionally. And David here is already doing that. Never mind trying to fool God and think that you and I can can trick him. But sin is able in a creative way to even tell on us to others.

Unsuspecting people. It is quite fascinating to see how sin has a way of surfacing before some that we never thought it would come to and find its way around to the people that it matters. There's so many examples of this in the scriptures. There's from cover to cover, so many things were crashing in my mind. And and one of the clearest examples of this is with a man that you wouldn't think would succumb to a life of deception, and it is it's Abraham's son.

What's his name? Isaac. And like father, like son. Right? There's a a plague that hits, a famine that hits, and he he goes to pagans and he takes refuge among them, and he has a fear that his father had.

He also had a very beautiful wife, and he was in a society that did not fear God. And so this this strategy arises. I will convince the people who live under the reign of Abimelech, and I will tell them that that my wife is who? She's my sister. She's my sister, so that that has nothing to do with me.

I I'm not responsible for her. I don't oversee her. She's she's not she doesn't belong to me, so I'm just gonna throw her under the bus. And whatever you wanna do, you can do, but just just keep me out of it. And so he tells the people, she is my sister.

And then I want you to see this actually. Turn to Genesis 26. I want you to see the wording that the Holy Spirit provides for us. In Isaac's attempt to, like David, conceal something that is that is true to be something that is not true. And the consequences of this varies depending on the nature of the lie itself.

But look at 26 of Genesis verse six. So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the palace asked him about his wife, he said, she is my sister. For he feared to say, my wife thinking, lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebecca, because she was attractive in appearance. Now look at verse eight.

This is the point that I wanna try to make. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebecca, his wife. The King James says what, my King James people? Sporting. Sporting.

And they weren't playing foosball or anything. The word there is some kind of an innuendo. It's it's, there is caressing, there is flirting, things that you don't do with your sister, essentially. But do you see the wording here? We're told in verse eight, when it had been a long time, when Isaac had been there a long time.

You know, it's possible to be living a lie for a long time. It's possible to convince people of a lie for a long time. The Bible is very honest about that. But that lie can't last forever. That's that's the point here.

And many people take comfort in thinking that something has been going on in the background for a long time and nobody seems to have caught on. But then what do we see here? That at a particular moment when they thought they were in private, when they thought that they were succeeding, benefiting from this kingdom, avoiding a plague, and and Isaac being saved from any harm, Abimelech just happens to come to one of his windows, out of the many windows that he had, and looks out. And at that specific moment, he sees Isaac sporting with his sister. What do we call that?

Divine providence. That's what we call that. This is not coincidence. This is not happenstance. This is not random.

This was God in some way in in this with his invisible hand without a miraculous intervention, so to speak, allowing his precious child to be exposed so that he can be closer to the place of repentance and be in the will of God. And that includes transparency and walking in the light. Divine providence is always at work, my brother. My sister, divine providence is always at it never is put on pause. Never.

It's always playing. And here's the thing, when we're walking in conscious obedience, it's always in our favor. Always. God moves the pieces so that we can move and graduate in godliness and in his will for our lives. But when we are outside of his will intentionally, it works to discipline us.

And what you see here with Isaac is that he thought after a long time he would get away with it, but here is a man who sees them. They don't see him, and they're caught. And they're confronted, and they have to come to a place of confessing the truth or else he would be in a different kind of trouble. So what's happening here? This is one of God's laws of the universe at work, and it never stops working.

Just like the law of gravity, you can you can count on this law being always in effect as a law of gravity is continually in effect. That when we conceal, it will eventually be revealed. That's it. That's a law. That's that's a law as strong as any other scientific law.

This is a law that is continually in operation. But it's more than just God's divine providence here. There's also something to be said about the weakness that we develop, the foolishness that we inherit when we are living in darkness. Listen, when you and I are walking in righteousness, we have enough blind spots of our own. Is that not true?

When we intentionally want to be true disciples of Jesus Christ, there are some things in our lives that we don't see that we need the church, the the the corporate body to help us identify. How much more when you and I are living in darkness? How much more do we miss? How much more is our judgment clouded? And so we see here with Isaac, just like with David, as consistent as they thought they were, eventually because you have God's providence was is enough.

And the sloppiness that we inherit because of our sin, things are gonna happen. Things will be exposed. Things will slip, and sin is very slippery. You think you can hold on to it, you think you can have a grip on it, but at one point, it just you lose that grip, and it tends to make a mess. So we see here even in this letter that he's creating some red flags.

In verse 16 of our chapter, we read, and as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew that there were valiant men. Now we see something on Joab's side. We've already made mention of it. The orders come from David, and Joab complies. Like, there's no questions.

There's no hesitation. There's no why is this being given. No no request for any kind of clarification. He just gives in right away, and some would excuse Job's pliability because they would say he he's just taking orders, and he's under pressure, and he doesn't wanna question authority. But if you and I are familiar with Joab's history with David, then you will know something about Joab.

He did not find it difficult to stand up against David when he did not agree with him. Is that not true? Many, many times when David asked for something, Joab would stand up and disagree. And so we know that Joab was a man who had his own opinion. We know that Joab was a man who knew what was right and knew what was wrong.

Can I prove that to you? You're in second Samuel 11. Go to second Samuel 24. David, at that point, wants the census to be made for Israel. He wants to know how many men he has in his army, and he calls Joab as one of the leaders of this project.

And Joab in verse three of second Samuel 24, look what he says here. But Joab said to the king, may the lord your God add to the people a 100 times as many as they are, While the eyes of my lord, the king, still see it, but why does my lord, the king, delight in this thing? He's pushing back. He's he's questioning. He's trying to hold them back from committing this grave sin, which included pride.

And when we get there, another sin that people miss that has to do with the book of Exodus. And so we see Joab is willing to stand up against the king for righteousness sake. So how do we explain this? How is it that when this innocent man, Uriah Joab knew who Uriah was. Joab knew his integrity.

Joab knew his conviction. How is it that he's so willing to give into this order without pushing back, without any protest? Here's the thing. We have to be honest. The Bible doesn't tell us.

The Bible doesn't tell us, but Bible study helps. What do I mean by that? When you survey the scope of Joab's resume, what you will notice is that Joab did not find it very difficult to kill people. Right? He killed people.

He killed innocent people, and he was willing to do such a thing. Never mind never mind war, never mind, justified reasons for for killing. I'm talking about killing innocent parties. Whenever you see Job doing that, it is often motivated by personal interest. In other words, whenever Joab recognized that somebody in his field was a potential threat to his position or his status, he was more than willing to remove them from the scene.

We see that with Abner. Remember Abner? We're gonna see that in a few chapters with another man named Amasa. Whenever there was somebody who rose up that could potentially push Joab out of the way and replace him, this man was so caught up in his status, his identity was so wrapped up in his title that he was willing to slit somebody's throat if they even considered taking his position. And we don't know why he was willing to kill Uriah so quickly, but it makes you wonder if he had no problem allowing a mighty man like Uriah be slaughtered.

Could it be that it's just one less person to worry about? Yes, brother. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's the same spirit.

It is the same reasoning that Saul was willing to chase down David and get rid of him because he saw him as a potential rival to the throne. But here's what's happening with with Joab. Joab is willing to reach so low because the severity of sin is often placed in the shadows of self interest. The severity of our sin, the severity of any sin is often veiled and pushed into the shadows while it is being eclipsed by self interest. Murder doesn't seem like such a big problem if it means that you get to keep what you really want.

And Joab here seems to have no value or conviction concerning those who are created in the image of God if he can hold on to the image that has been granted to him by David as the commander of his army. So he's willing to say yes. Now we come to verse 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 also died.

Something stands out here, and it's worth mentioning because it has a profound principle. In order for Joab to blur the evidence of assassination, look how clever he is. He sends and sacrifices other innocent servants so that what is intended for one person would make it seem like it was a mission gone bad. If he had just sent Uriah, that would everybody would have caught on. There's something off here.

But if you send Uriah with a platoon, and they all die or most of them die, then it just looks like a bad leadership call, and that's it. This is getting messy. This is getting very nasty. K? We have a man who is willing to kill one man so he can he can cover himself, but but it didn't stop there.

Now you have to kill more men. So So Uriah was not the only one who died in this whole process. Now you have other people, other wives who lost their husbands, other mothers who lost their sons, other siblings who lost a brother because of one man who did not wanna confess his sin. And the point is so obvious, is it not? Oftentimes, the entertainment of sin includes the pain of people that we did not intend to harm.

The reach and the extent of our sin goes beyond what we planned and hoped for, and that is just the reality of the nature of sin. And one of the ugly fruits of selfish ambition when it lives and when it thrives, is that it does not consider an ounce the well-being of others. A person who is dominated by self interest is willing to bulldoze through the through the piles of people before them without even thinking a second thought. There's no hesitation. There is no sense of this could actually do something.

No. When somebody is absolutely consumed with satisfying a desire that only considers that person, they are prepared to harm people along the way. They are prepared to do so. And that is exactly what is happening here with a man like Joab who was completely consumed with self interest and now David. And you put these two guys together, and it's it's gonna get ugly.

And it is. And we're happy we're we're seeing it right here. But listen. One of the signs of a healthy conscience, one of the fruits, one of the evidences of a spirit led heart and mind is that there is a constant consideration of others in the pursuit of our decisions and our plannings and our thoughts. That's how you know that the Holy Spirit is dominating your heart.

In one way, there is a radar that doesn't just have your existence bleeping on it. As it scans through your heart, there are other people that you have in mind when it comes to what it is that you wanna do or what it is that you don't want to do. And here's the thing. I mean, we see it here in the context of war. We see it here in the context of actual physical war.

Right? People really losing their lives. And you've heard me say this many times before, but one of the most detrimental ingredients to a local body moving forward and advancing and winning the battles of the spirit is selfish ambition. And it doesn't have to be in leadership. It does not have to be in leadership.

I I shared this verse a few weeks ago in a message, but you heard me say it in announcements. Repetition is really good. I wanna I wanna I wanna tell you that in your marriage, in your household, in the local church that you're part of, persistent peace is possible. It is. You can know constant and not just constant maintenance.

You can know a growth in love and fruitfulness and peace and reconciliation, but it requires one thing to be omitted, one thing to be eliminated constantly, washed away, cleansed, targeted, and shot down every single day. And Paul tells it. It's in Philippians two. In Philippians two, he makes it so clear of the one poison that needs to be drained constantly in order for a same mind, same love, same goal to be realized with all of us who have different backgrounds, different personalities, and different issues. In Philippians two two, look what he says.

Complete my joy. Complete my joy by being of the same mind. Pause. It's possible to be of the same mind. It's possible for all of us with our different ministries and different leadership skills and different ideas of how things should be done.

It's possible to be of the same mind. That's what he's saying. But not just that, having the same love. Having a mutual love and appreciation for others is possible in the church. Being in full accord, not part accord, not sub accord.

Full accord. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that once the excitement of a new ministry comes or a move of God comes and things become routine and people settle in and we do life with each other more and more? Because it's usually time that reveals trouble when people get comfortable with one another. But can you imagine that as time goes on, there's still constant full accord among the brethren?

It's possible. Full accord. And and this is the this is the reasoning. This is the this is the way it's possible. Verse three.

Do nothing from selfish ambition. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. That is how you achieve one mind, one love, full accord. But the moment selfish ambition comes from any direction is the moment that that foundation of such a possibility begins to be weakened. And even the most beautiful ministry, the beautiful church family that knew so much history of love and joy can be corrupted and destroyed.

Do nothing from selfish ambition. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Nothing. Nothing. Not one thing can be done in selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves, and you will know the joy that Paul is speaking of. Just remember that. Remember that, and you and I will know heaven on earth, even in Chicago, Illinois, believe it or not.

But when a heart is hardened by self, like what we see here, what an ugly picture. Murder happens. And that's why James says, you guys are killing each other. You guys are actually killing each other in James chapter four, and he gives one of the reasons because you're eaten up by your passions. So civil wars erupt, and casualties are caused, and splits happen, and people leave, and people that we loved and thought we were gonna do this thing together forever with end up disappearing from our life.

Why? Because somehow, someway selfish ambition got in the mix. Got in the mix. And that's what we're seeing here. People are dying, literally dying because of one man who would not let go of his sin, who would not confess it and come clean before God.

Let's come back to verse 18. Then Job sent and told David all the news about the fighting, and he instructed the messenger, and he tells him what to say. And David here is unfortunately only gonna provide more evidence of just how dark his heart has become, and it's shown here in how Joab prepares the message for the messenger to approach him. And he tells him these specific instructions, and Joab seems to be anticipating a very negative response to the news of a botched mission. And so he's giving a heads up to this young messenger saying he he might erupt, so get ready for that.

And and the wording that he's giving implies that he knows David so well that he can almost predict exactly what he's gonna say. That's how connected Joab was with David. But Joab also developed a new insight about David that revealed something he knew about him, and it was this. If you want to calm him down, all you have to say is Uriah is dead. Just say that.

Uriah is dead. And I I know I know David. He will be at ease. He will be calmed, and you will be spared from any wrath of bringing bad news. This is how far David has come, that the news of the death of a man like Uriah would actually put him at peace.

Think about that. He's become so warped by his iniquity that something such as this would actually bring him to a place of tranquility and rest. Is this the same guy? Who is this person? Now here's what's fascinating.

When you go to chapter 12, you'll see David's reaction to a different injustice that was given in the form of a parable. So here's what's gonna happen. Nathan the prophet is gonna come. He's gonna call David. Hey, David.

Are you busy this afternoon? I just need to make a visit. He makes a visit, and he gives David a parable. And the summation of that parable is a rich man who had so much flock, a guest comes over. The rich man does not take one from his own, but he finds a poor man who had one little ewe lamb.

And that little ewe lamb was like a daughter. It it was fed in his arms. It was it was like family. Some of you have pets, and that's true for you. And this rich man takes that one little ewe lamb, kills it so that he can feed his guest.

And Nathan gives that parable to David, and this is so strategic from the man of God because David was a shepherd. Oh, this would have made David especially angry. And so when David hears this, remember, he's still hiding his sin. He thought he got away with his transgression. Look at his reaction in chapter 12 here in verse five.

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. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity. Know, I looked at that and I thought to myself, how interesting is it that David and his attitude when it came to responding to this man was some kind of expression of righteous zeal. But when it came to his own iniquity, he seems undisturbed, unmoved, unconcerned.

And this is especially troubling. You know why? Because the sin that David committed was much more severe. What this parable was all about, his sin was much more severe. He stole much more than just a beast.

He stole a man's wife. He stole life. He he stole so much in order to satisfy his lust. The lust that visited him. And yet, he is so quick to be able to judge somebody else's sin.

Because listen, a hardened heart is not only capable of failing to see the severity of their own wrong, for some reason, it develops some strange boldness to be able to call out other people's sin and to judge other people's wrong and their shortcomings. And that kind of attitude provides a deceiving sounds sense of justification because in that moment, you are able to identify what is right and wrong only in others, though, not in yourself. And not only that. Listen. The hearted heart gets so gets so crazy and out of whack that not only is a person who is in willful sin, not only is that person able to get up and preach on sin so powerfully and convictingly, for example, but is often harsher and more severe in the way they crack the whip of supposed righteousness and conviction on others.

So what happens is, hypocrites often become legalistic. Hypocrites often are accompanied with the characteristic of being legalistic, and they project that legalism on others, though they would never ever ever live according to that same standard. And if they do, it's a standard that doesn't matter according to the word of God, and it's all a smokescreen for a genuine sin that they're committing. David, in the response to this parable from Nathan, what is he what's the verdict that he makes? Let him die.

Let him die. Nowhere in the law did God give the instruction for capital punishment for stealing somebody's animal. The instruction was restoration. But David takes it up to another level and he says, kill him. Kill him.

Hang him. That was unnecessary, but here's what happens. When sin comes in, it makes us cold. It makes us harsh. It makes us unfair.

When Christ comes in, dominates our hearts, it creates a compassion, a mercy. Justice, yes, but true justice. Even for the one who is in sin, there there is a careful examination and a careful calculation that's in operation with the person who is truly having Christ dominate in their lives by the spirit. But a person who attempts to teach or project or discipline or or rebuke others but is hardened by sin will often replicate David's attitude and be more harsh, more severe, more unforgiving, and more quick to say things that not even God would say. This is this is getting complex, is it not?

But this is the whole point is is to show us what happens so that we would be afraid to ever entertain the idea of a duplicate life. It creates all these nasty cancers that erodes so powerfully. Yes, brother. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. That's a good observation too. Why does God allow these things to go on for so long? And you have people who are victims of other people's sin or a spouse's unfaithfulness or the hurt of of a church leader, whatever the case may be. And often the question that comes up, and I've heard this question, why did God wait for so long?

Or why didn't God remove me from the scene? Or why didn't God stop so and so before they committed that? And the case that I make is based on this study, God has been trying. God has been through providential means. God has been putting up obstacle after obstacle after obstacle to try to get David's attention.

And at the same time, we have we come to the we come to the simple understanding of how God gives us autonomy to the extent of making our own decisions. The word has already been given to David. He knows what is right. He knows the commandments of God. He was a man who cherished the law, and yet still with the revelation he was given, he chooses to go the opposite way.

God has done all that he can to get his attention in in many, many ways, and eventually, he will come with a strong word in chapter 12. So we don't know really all the reasons why, but I'll just give you a couple of reasons why. And I argue I make the case that God often does when a a true child of God pursues intentional sin and plans to sin. Both from scripture, I can prove this, and even from personal experience, God often gets that person's attention before they go there. He provides ways of escape, as first Corinthians tells us.

And what we do, we just shut those doors, and we just headlong go forward until he makes it very clear what we've done was wrong. So now we come back, and what do we see here? This is troubling how Joab was able to predict what would calm David down, But we come to verse 25, and we see his actual reaction. 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.

Pause. Think. Is this the first time that David has ever received a report of someone that he knew dying? Is it? Or has David been the recipient of tragic news before?

Saul? Who else? Abner? Good. Jonathan?

Let's put Jonathan aside. Jonathan makes sense. Right? Saul, Abner. Now think about how he responded to the news of their death.

Were they allies to David? Or were they predators? They were enemies. They wanted him dead. And what makes me so startled by this verse is contrasting his reactions to those people when they departed and this man when he was put to death.

The brokenness, the fasting, the weeping, the wailing, the pounding, the writing, the recording, the songs for unjust men, for men who didn't deserve it in the natural. And here is a man upright, filled with integrity, so loyal to the cause of the kingdom of God, and the king that God has established, and he's put to death, and David doesn't bat an eye. David doesn't even bat an eye. Not one tear was shed, not one verse was written, not one day of fasting, nothing. And again, it just reinforces the truth that you and I have been hearing throughout this study, the absolute hardness that develops when sin is tolerated even in the life of a child of God.

The indifference, the insensitivity. I I sometimes I've seen it throughout the years, just unmoved by things that should move you, just rock hard. And what it's gonna take for somebody who becomes so rock hard is for God to smash that rock, not to wound, but to awaken. And so here's what sin does. The same way you and I, and we should preach faithfully that Jesus can transform you and make you into something that you never thought you would be by his grace and by his blood and by his word, Sin has the same power, but the opposite effect.

It can make you unrecognizable, because that's what we see here, a David that we do not recognize. His attitude is different. His outlook is different. The way he registers events is different, All for one reason, because he chose to conceal instead of confess. Who would have thought remember now?

This all started from one decision in the beginning of the chapter, refusing to be in the will of God. Now this is what we're seeing. And and what we just trace, just follow the tracks. You come back, and it all started with David making the decision to stay at home when he was supposed to be out on the battlefield. So you do you see the trajectory?

Do you see the potential of where a true servant of God can go when they step outside of the will of God long enough? When they refuse to uphold the commands of God for their lives, when they do not see the necessity of being with the church of God consistently, when do not see the necessity of being disciplined in meeting with the Lord, spending time with the Lord, when they do not intentionally be zealous for good works, when we step outside of that path, it leads to very dark places. Here's David now, who for up to this point showed such tenderness when even an enemy of his was taken prematurely. And here's a man who deserved a parade for his death, and David is able to go to bed so soundly that very night. It's heart wrenching.

It's heartbreaking. Why am I why am I teaching? I want you to hate sin. That's why. I'm curious to know how how many times the word sin was mentioned in this bible study, and there's a reason for that.

You know, Jesus, according to Hebrews one, was anointed with the oil of gladness. Do you know why? For two reasons. We're told there that He loved righteousness. And what was the second thing?

He hated iniquity. We think our job as Christians is just to love righteousness. No. It's also to hate that which God hates. And so if if you wanna know what it means to grow in righteousness, it's loving what God loves, and also parallel to that, hating what he hates.

One of the signs of growth is just that. Not that you just adore what he adores, but you also abhor what he abhors. And so I want you to be in that place where there is a righteous rage for that which hurts God's reputation, hurts God's people, and hurts other people as well. Verse 26. When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.

That season of sin sweetness quickly became sour. Hebrews tells us that the season of sin is but fleeting. It is fleeting. It is not lasting. That one night stand turned into many nights of mourning, and it's a picture of what you and I can expect when we think that we will be satisfied.

It will always come back like a scorpion sting to zap you and leave a greater mark than whatever pleasure you enjoy for a brief moment. But look here at verse 27. And when the morning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him his son. Like, mission accomplished. Mission accomplished.

No questions asked. David not only saves himself from embarrassment, from the possible confrontation of Bathsheba's husband, that's done away with. He now acquires a very, very, very beautiful woman as another wife in his haram. So you have this man who now acquires a beautiful wife, who has a son, and to some who are undiscerning, you know what happens? He seems like a hero.

Here's a man now who takes a widow into his care. Oh, look how sweet David is. Look how he's look how he takes care of his men When they die in war, he he takes his their their wife, and he brings them in, and he nurtures her. And what what a great man. I'm sure some people who heard the news of this new marriage thought that.

But to the discerning, maybe like Job, like, this is weird. This is really, really weird. There's something off here. We're not told, but I can imagine. It seems like all is well.

It seems like everything happened. It seems like David's family is just growing. Maybe he told himself I'll never do something like that again. Thankfully, nothing was exposed, nothing exploded. And then this final haunting phrase, as you know, but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

God was silent, as you mentioned, brother. God was silent this entire time. Now one thing was mentioned. And for the first time in this chapter, the Lord is brought up. And all that we are told about the Lord is that he was displeased with what David had done.

Here's the point to make. When God seems silent, and he often is, that does not mean he's not seeing, because he always is. When God seems silent, which he often is, it does not mean he is not seeing, because he always is. I just try to picture that. I just I just kinda step back, and I try to envision this whole series of things playing out.

And God, I don't know how it looked, but God just watching it silently, and taking it all in, and throwing providential nudges along the way. And so finally the commentary is given to us that this displeased the Lord. You know, it's the same word that David used in verse 25. Look at verse 25 again. David said to the messenger, thus you shall say to Joab, do not let this matter displease you.

Don't let this matter displease you. It's the same word. Don't let it grieve you. Don't let it upset you. What a contrast.

What David was trying to console Joab with and even himself was in total odds against what God thought about it. Man often approves what God disapproves. Man often praises what God often condemns. Man often makes unclear what God has made absolutely clear. This is this is one of the main problems between mankind and his creator.

Don't let this displease you, Joab. And perhaps he was trying to tell that to himself, and yet we are told that God was displeased with it. Something happens when you read your bible and you continue to go to first kings, and this is our last verse. But look at first kings 15. And look here in verse look at verse four.

Nevertheless, for David's sake, the lord his god gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him and establishing Jerusalem because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. Except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. What a what an insightful verse. The reason that this is being brought up is because Abijam, one of the kings of Judah, has sinned against the Lord, and this is just one of the beginnings of the cycles of the kings of Israel and Judah. And we're being reminded by the Holy Spirit, but God would not cut off the covenant that he made with David.

God would only God would continue based on one thing, and that was the promise he made to David that we studied in second Samuel chapter seven. But for some reason, in the reminder of the covenant that God made with David and how that was going to be perpetually held on to regardless of the unfaithfulness of his successors, we're also being reminded of the sin that he committed with and against Uriah. What's the point of that? You know, if you read that on a surface level, it can haunt you because what it can it can communicate, and it wouldn't be the right thing, is that God remembers their sin, especially the heinous ones, especially the very offensive ones, especially the ones that deal with other people and and their death or whatever the case may be. God remembers.

He'll never forget, and he'll bring it up from time to time. That's not what we're being told here. I believe the reason why this is being brought up is so that when God was reminding us through the spirit in his word that he would continue to be faithful to the kingdom of Judah, it was because he was faithful to David even despite David's failure. Yes. It's a reminder of David's sin, but I believe another message is being communicated here is that David did sin, and God's covenant with David being protected was not because David was perfect.

Because you get that impression. If there was a period after, did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, you would think the reason why God is faithful to David is because David outperformed everybody. And David was so impressive to God that God says, you know what? You stand out from all the other bumbling fools. So I'm gonna keep my promise with you, David.

Your performance was so outstanding that I'm actually gonna keep my word even for generations to come. And yet the Holy Spirit interrupts that potential thought by reminding us, hey, he really messed up at one point. He messed up at other points, but he really, royally, no pun intended, messed up. So in the past three weeks in these studies, you and I have been being hammered by the word of God concerning the subject of sin, hiding sin, concealing sin, God who is incredibly able to reveal that sin. And and we can be just washed with overwhelming, daunting, terrifying truth.

And there's a element of that which is healthy. But I wanna end on this note. God, is willing to hold on to His promise, regardless of what you've done, if you are in Christ. If you are in Christ. That's the that's what I wanna end on.

That no matter what stain you have in your past, just like David, the same Holy Spirit who kept the promise to this man forever is the same Promise Keeper who sees and whom you hide and will look past the sin, and will keep his promise to you for Christ's sake forever and ever and ever. Yeah. David's sin was brought up again in the bible, but can I tell you one book in which your sin will never come up again? You know it. That precious book of life that is only reserved for those who have been redeemed by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In that record, when Christ will, I believe, in some way read our names to assure us that we have His presence forever. I can guarantee beside your name is not one mention of any sin you have committed. It will be blank because it's been washed by the blood of the lamb. That's what you and I have. And so this is for our instruction, but this is also a reminder for you.

Listen. In Jesus Christ, no matter how grave that sin was, even if that sin was murder. I know that doesn't mean much for church people. But if you remember a few years ago, for those who were doing ministry out there I forgot where it was, Raimi, By Joliet? Yes.

Imagine doing bible study with a bunch of teenagers who have murdered, And sitting across the table from kids who have learned how to shoot a gun before having any kind of idea of how to drive a car, knowing how to sell drugs before knowing how to make a sandwich, that means a lot. Yeah. You might have murdered, and there might be blood on your hands, even if your hands have not been developed yet. But there is someone who has shed his blood for you, and He can wash every single record of that wrong clean simply because of your repentance and faith in Him. And so today, if you are a person who has a stain, there's something you're ashamed of.

There's something that even the thought of it surfacing to your mind makes you wanna bang your head against the wall. And maybe that very wrong has never been materialized. It's only been imagined, but it is so perverse and so ugly and so despicable that that that thing there alone can make death seem sweet so that you don't have to replay it in your mind. Even if it's that, the blood of Jesus is so powerful that it can be washed under that tide, and God will never hold it against you when you come and you hide in him. And so I want I want you to be comforted by that truth, that God does not hold that against you if you come to his son, and if you confess it, and if you're broken, and if you're genuine, you come to him.

You confess it, and let him throw it in that sea of forgetfulness and move on. And enjoy his favor and his blessing over your life. We will continue in this subject, but I pray that that truth of grace would give you some kind of breath to breathe as you have perhaps in these past few weeks been uptight with this tense subject. God is good. He is so, so good, and he has given this to us to remind us even of his goodness in the midst of tragedy.

We do love you, lord. We do love you. We love you. We love you. We thank you for the blood.

We thank you for the forgiveness in Jesus. We thank you for Calvary. We thank you for the cross. We thank you that there is not one sin that you did not have in mind when you died. You've considered all iniquity, all trespass, all lawlessness, all rebellion when you died.

And, Lord, we just thank you that we have been made clean, and we thank you that there is not one thing you choose to remember or hold against us. And, lord, we we relish in that truth, but we also want that truth to keep us anchored so that we would never pervert the grace of god. Moving forward, help us through the life of David in second Samuel 11 to remember that sin's promises are all lies. And that, Lord, what you have for us in righteousness is for our joy as much as it is for your glory. Refreshed not just with that promise we heard at the end of the study, but even with the warnings that we have been receiving throughout this night.

And Lord, for the person here who is not really in Jesus Christ, and because they are not in Christ is due to a hesitation of a sin in their lives that is convincing them of a false promise, or perhaps of guilt for something that was committed and is holding them back like a iron ball of chain around their ankle. Lord, may their eyes be open to see that you are willing to cleanse them and receive them and restore them completely, that you want to, like a physician, heal them of that disease. It's your eager desire. Lord, may that be a resounding truth that rings in the ear of that soul tonight. And, lord, we worship you with this song.

As we are close to sleep, lord, tonight, we just wanna we wanna finish this night off with a song in our lips and with these truths in our heart. We ask these things in the name of your living son, the resurrected Christ, the returning king. Amen and amen. Let's stand and sing to Jesus Christ.