"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" IV

II Samuel 11-12

After a successful military career and rise to power as King of Israel,including the elimination of rivals, David experiences the greatest risk of leaders - abuse of power (often as sexual indiscretion). It is easy for us to stand at a distance and pronounce words of shame on David as well as for leaders of our own time who have done the same - as if somehow we are beyond such behavior. It is worth noting that this tragedy happened at a time of great success for David; a warning that our greatest vulnerability can happen when things are going well. Because of the subject matter, you may want to switch from adoration to confession and return to adoration tomorrow. It's up to you.

The narrator is a great story teller beginning with the words, "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle.." David, as king, must stay away from the front lines, but I wonder if he didn't miss being there with the soldiers - the drama, the energy and the risk. The army is out putting their lives on the line, but David stays home and falls to his own desires. The story tells itself. David moves from being an adulterer, to a crass manipulator (calling Uriah from battle so he can sleep with his wife and cover up David's sin, even getting him drunk to try to help him be more cooperative), to a contract murderer (setting up Uriah for instant death on the front lines of battle). David believes he has covered his tracks perfectly, except before one: "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord."

The LORD sends the prophet Nathan who tells a story that baits the self-deceived king perfectly. David pronounces the man in Nathan's story guilty and calls for his death. Nathan then says, "You are the man." The baby dies shortly after childbirth as punishment for David's multiple sins. Have you noticed that in the Bible nobody gets away with anything? Numbers 32:23 seems to give a biblical principle in this regard,

"And be sure your sin will find you out."

And what of the credibility of the king from this point forward? His commander, Joab was obliged to carry out this horrible plan, as were the other men who backed off so the murder could happen. Will Bathsheba be able to trust that he won't do the same thing with someone else? Are we to assume that none of those people will talk about something so heinous? One of the books pastors in the Northwest Texas Conference have been required to read is entitled, Leadership and Self-Deception. Don has led some classes with it in the Master's Program. Face to face with his guilt, he writes Psalm 51.

Psalm 51

With nowhere to hide, David is forced to come clean before God. By now there is no hint of self-justification or blaming others in his words. His sin is not just against Uriah and Bathsheba, it is against God. Verses 3-4 stand out from his earlier self-deceiving actions.

"For I now my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment."

When we finally see our motivations and the evil in our actions and words, we realize we violate the relationship we have with God. At that spot, all we can do is plead for mercy, which David does.

He also prays for restoration. His relationship with God had been deteriorating before he ever committed adultery. He was full of his own success and busy holding the kingdom together. One of the real risks for us even in doing a lot of good things is that we can start to "over-function." At first, it feels good, like we're "in the zone," where everything is really working. But after awhile, our attempts at being too much to too many for too long ends up leaving us empty and exhausted. It is that point where we are tempted to fill our lives with something else besides what is godly and right. The relationship with God is suffering and we are not even aware of it. Eventually, that relationship will have to be restored.

Psalm 51 finishes with adoration and thanksgiving for God's forgiveness, pardon, and yes, restoration. From where I sit, what David did is unforgivable, but from where God is, he is forgivable, and so are you as am I. As for me, my prayer will be Psalm 51:10,

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

The good news is that God is even more anxious to forgive and restore than we are to be forgiven and restored. That means we can sing with David in verse 14, "And my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance." Thanks be to God.