DAVID’S BURDENSOME SIN

By: Richard Kirkland

(2 Samuel 11)

                (This lesson is taken, in part, from an article entitled, “What David Didn’t See,” in the November, 2000 issue of the                     Gospel Advocate.)

Introduction:

                        A.        One of the most interesting studies of the Old Testament is the life of David.  The story of David’s life is a story of greatness and tragedy.  David’ life was filled with contradiction.  On the one hand he was a shepherd boy whose faith led him to kill the Giant Goliath, enemy of all Israel, with a stone and a sling.  He was a great and powerful King who was loved by all the people of Israel.  He was the sweet singer of Israel, known for his ability to play the harp and compose beautiful poems of faith and devotion to God.  He was called “a man after (God’s) own heart.”  But on the other hand, he succumbed to lust and fell into very great sin.  He was an adulterer and a murderer.  He failed his family as a husband and a father.  He neglected the needs of his children and brought great tragedy into his home through his neglect.  He lived in, as others have described it, a “good man’s hell.” Almost all of the tragedy that befell his house was that result of his burdensome sin with Bathsheba.

                        B.         The story of David’s sin is found in 2 Samuel 11. Read 2 Samuel 11:1-5.

                        C.        What David saw while on his rooftop is obvious.  He saw a beautiful woman who stirred his sexual appetite.  But what didn’t see is more important than what he saw.  Our focus is on things that David didn’t see when he sinned with Bathsheba.

I.            DAVID DIDN’T SEE THE PEOPLE’S NEED FOR A LEADER.

                        A.        David committed this sin “at the time when kings go out to battle” (2 Samuel 11:1).  But what did David do?  He sent his best soldiers out to war and he himself stayed behind and betrayed their trust by committing adultery with the wife of one of his most loyal and courageous soldiers.  Israel’s army won the war, but their leader lost his integrity.

                        B.         Many good men who have been in leadership positions, or who have had great potential for leadership, have squandered their opportunities at a critical time by neglecting their most consequential and substantial responsibilities.

                        C.        The Lord’s church is at a most dangerous crossroad today.  We need good men of integrity and faith who will help us to regain our confidence and restore our mission and reaffirm our doctrine with certainty and firmness.  But good men of integrity and faith are hard to find.

                        B.         But for you sin, you should ask, “How will this action affect my ability to lead and influence others for the Lord?”  

II.            DAVID DIDN’T SEE THE DANGER OF IDLENESS.

                        A.        “Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on roof of the king’s house” (verse 2).

                        B.         David didn’t intend to commit sin when he walked on the roof of his house.  He didn’t plan to commit adultery.  It happened because he was idle.

                        C.        We have all head the saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” But so are idle hands and feet and eyes and ears.

                        D.        Because temptation is prevalent, it is imperative that we fill our time with good works.  It is so easy to fall into various sins of idleness: gossip, being a busybody, stealing, drunkenness and various forms of lasciviousness.

                        E.         David didn’t realize where his idleness was leading him and we may not either.

III.            DAVID DIDN’T SEE THE PROGRESSIVENESS OF HIS SIN.

                        A.        After David sinned with Bathsheba and learned that she was with child, David compounded his sin be conspiring to commit murder.  He carried out his conspiracy and had Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, murdered.  (Relate the details, verse 6  17).

                        1.         David was trying to cover (hide) his sin.  A massive cover-up was underway.

                        2.         There is a right way and a wrong way to cover sin.  “Blessed is the man ...” Whose sins are covered and to whom the Lord will not impute inquiry.

                        3.         David couldn’t hide his sin from God regardless of what he did.

                        B.         Would David have stopped before he sinned, if he had realized where his sin would lead?  We don’t know the answer to that one.  But we do know that sin is progressive.  We do know that one sin often leads to another.  We do know that a small sin (from the human perspective) often leads to a big sin.  We do know sin will take us places we never wanted to go.  Sin will do things to us that we never wanted to have happen.  Sin will change us into a person that we never wanted to become.

IV.            DAVID DIDN’T SEE HOW MUCH OTHER WOULD BE HURT.

                        A.        David couldn’t see that because of his sin, an innocent child died. 

                        1.         Nathan the prophet (relate the story in more detail), revealed God’s verdict against David, saying, “because of this deed you have given great occasion  to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die” (12:14).

                        2.         Before you sin, you need to ask, “how will my sin affect innocent people?”

B.         David couldn’t see that because of his sin, a loyal and honorable wife (Abigail) was disrespected and put to shame (1 Samuel 25).  Before you sin, you need to ask, “How will this sin affect my dedicated, God-fearing spouse and my covenant before God to be faithful to my spouse until one of us dies?”

C.        Furthermore, David couldn’t see how his behavior would affect the behavior of his children.  Though the Bible doesn’t specifically say that David’s children knew about his sin or were directly affected by it, we can reasonably conclude that they were.  And what tragedy ensued in the family of David following his sin!  God said, “Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your in the sight of this sun.  For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all of Israel, before the sun” (2 Samuel 12:11-12).

                        1.         Amnon, the son of David, fell in love with his own half-sister Tamar.  When she refused his advances, he raped her.  Then he hated her more than he had ever loved her.

                        2.         Absalom, another son of David, murdered Amnon because he had raped Tamar.

                        3.         Absalom because a fugitive from his father and later tried to usurp the throne and even committed the abomination of pitching a tent in the presence of all Israel and sexually violating David’s concubines there.

                        4.         Absalom’s rebellion leads to outright conflict with his father, David, and finally, to the young man’s death.  David is heartbroken.  He openly weeps  over his son’s death.  And he says, “O my son Absalom — my son, my son Absalom — if only I had died in your place! O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33).

D.        Before you sin, ask: “How will this behavior affect the way my children turn out and the long-term direction of future generations?”

V.            DAVID DIDN’T SEE HOW THIS WOULD AFFECT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

                        A.        David became blind to God’s authority in his life, God’s righteous wrath toward sin, God’s broken heart when one rejects His will, and God’s grace, which had blessed and sustained him from the beginning (Cory Collins).

                        B.         Following his sin with Bathsheba, Nathan, the prophet, came to David and reminded him that God knew of his sin.  David was contrite and penitent.  He was heartbroken over his sin and its consequences.  He was terribly aware of the breach of his relationship with God.  As a result, he penned a psalm of repentance, Psalm 51.

                        C.        David wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit form me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous spirit” (Psalm 51:10-12).

                        D.        Before you sin, ask, “How will this decision affect my relationship with the Lord?  My prayer life?  My eternal salvation?”

Conclusion:

                        A.        What happened to David can happen to us.  We can be blinded by lust to the consequences of our sin.

                        B.         Before we sin we need to contemplate the possible consequences of our sin.

                                C.            After we have sinned we need God’s forgiveness.  David confessed, “I have sinned.” So must we.  Then we must do what God commands in order to receive forgiveness.