David's Repentance

Nathan replied to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more. Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing what I consider evil? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife—you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword. Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.’

2 Samuel 12:7–10 (HCSB)

We can be so blinded by our selfishness and self-importance. David had been headed down this road for a long time. He had disobeyed God’s specific instructions that kings not accumulate a number of wives. He was feeding his lust, and his ego. He thought that because he was the king he deserved special treatment. He was above the rules. No one is above God’s rules—especially leaders! People follow the example of their leaders. They do what their leaders do. Therefore leaders should strive to live more pure, more holy, more godly.

David was not only an adulterer and a murderer. He was also a thief! He had stolen something from Uriah other than his life. He had stolen his wife.

Wasn’t Bathsheba somehow culpable? Yes. I think we all are. But remember, before she was a wife to her husband she was a subject to the king. This is always the way it is with monarchies. Watch out America!

There are a lot of things about this story we don’t know. God does give us all the details because they’re not important. This story is not about Bathsheba’s sin. It is about David’s. It takes two to tango, but David shouldn’t have been looking for a partner to dance.

David learned a hard lesson—and we should learn from his example: there are consequences for our sin—even kings. Sin will always take you further than you ever wanted to go, keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay, and make you pay a price higher than you ever wanted to pay. Sin always leads to a lifetime of regret. Don’t go down this road.

“It’s too late! I’ve already messed up.”

God’s good news is that there is forgiveness. God forgives and cleanses. Confess your sin to God and receive His cleansing. Turn from your sin now! But remember, there are still consequences even for forgiven sin. The baby died and hell came to David’s house.

If you are headed in that direction, stop now!

David's Fatal Flaw

In the spring when kings march out ‹to war›, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.

One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.

So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he reported, "This is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite."

David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterwards, she returned home.

The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: "I am pregnant."

2 Samuel 11:1–5 (HCSB)

David had been setting himself up for this for a long time. He had been accumulating wives for himself, something God had forbidden kings to do. He had gotten too big for his britches. Like many men at the top of the ladder, he thought he was above the rules. After all, he was king—he made the rules! He could do whatever his little heart desired. David’s arrogance and selfishness got him into the worst trouble of this life. He just thought having Saul chasing him was bad. Having an earthly king on your heels may have been tough at times, but having God on your heels is the unbearable—He is relentless! Who is going to protect you from God?

If David had been where he was supposed to be, leading his army, this would not have happened. This is usually what happens to us before a fall, we’re out of position. Idleness is the devil’s workshop. We do not necessarily have to keep ourselves busy all the time, but we do need to keep ourselves in the position of responsibility assigned to us. Keeping our hands and hearts occupied is the best strategy against temptation. A good offense is the best defense. Keep your heart in pursuit of God.

One of My Favorite Stories!

So the king asked, "Is there anyone left of Saul’s family I can show the kindness of God to?"

Ziba said to the king, "There is still Jonathan’s son who is lame in both feet."

Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king’s table. He was lame in both feet.

2 Samuel 9:3, 13 (HCSB)

The word “kindness” translates the Hebrew chesed, which, to me, is the equivalent of the Greek word charis, translated in New Testament as “grace.” David wanted to show God’s grace to someone of Saul’s household.

Typically one of the first orders of business for a new monarch was to “clean up loose ends.” This meant eliminating all contestants to his power… killing off any challengers to his throne. This, I’m sure, is what Mephibosheth expected. He was hiding out in a place called “Lo-debar,” which meant “without pasture.” It was a distant, deserted, dismal place. No one would choose to live there—unless they were hiding from something. That is exactly what Mephibosheth was doing when soldiers came knocking on his door. The day he dreaded had now arrived.

But instead of finding his head on a chopping block he found himself eating at the king’s table like one of this own sons!

Oh yes, and I have not mentioned he was handicapped. In a hasty get-away his nurse dropped him. Both his feet were broken and not properly set. The bones had healed, but not cleanly. Hence he was crippled in both his feet.

This is a picture of the Christian. We are Mephbosheth in this story. We are the ones crippled by our parent’s hasty attempt to run away from God. We are the ones living in Lo-debar, a deserted place, hiding from God. We will not come to God on our own. We expect the worst from Him—Divine judgment. Faithful servants must come looking for us with tidings of good news! They must carry us by prayer and faith into the King’s presence, the only place where we can experience God’s favor. We are afraid, but how quickly does perfect love cast away all fear! We bow—poor, undeserving sinners, spiritual cripples incapable of doing anything for God at all—but we rise as sons of the King! We experience the amazing grace of God! From that day forward we sit at the King’s table like the King’s own Son, enjoying the bounty of His glory.

I am Mephibosheth—and happy to be him! Are you?

One Way To Do God's Work

When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen had stumbled. Then the LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God. David was angry because of the LORD’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place an Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is today. David feared the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" So he was not willing to move the ark of the LORD to the city of David; instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

2 Samuel 6:6–10 (HCSB)

The ark represented the presence of God. David wanted to the ark in Jerusalem, near him and in the midst of his people.

David made a big show of moving the ark. He obviously thought that if you move God it should be done with great fanfare and much hoopla.

I imagine the road they used had deep ruts. When the cartwheels dropped into one of these ruts it jolted the cart. Uzzah instinctively reached to steady the ark. Instantly God struck him dead.

The ark itself was not to be touched by human hands. There were two poles in the feet of the ark to carry it. Because the ark symbolized God’s presence it also represented God’s extreme holiness. God’s holiness cannot be defiled by human hands.

This tragedy was completely avoidable. Had David read the Scripture and followed God’s instructions this would not have happened. The ark was to be carried only one way—on the shoulders of the priests.

Here is the lesson for us: when we try to do God’s work the way we think is best we make a mess; but when we do God’s work His way there is blessing.

There is only one way to do God's work that succeeds: His way.

Our Help In A Tight Spot

David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over ‹the loss of› their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

1 Samuel 30:6 (HCSB)

Ever found yourself in a difficult situation? Sure you have! We all have. What do you do? Run in circles, scream and shout? Suck you thumb? Go into depression? Withdraw? Come out fighting? Blame someone else? Make excuses?

What do you do? David found himself in a tight spot. He had led these men in many battles, to many victories, but now they were turning against him. They were sick because of their loss. David had lost too! But David turned to the Lord for help, and the Lord strengthened him.

He sought the Lord’s guidance, and the Lord told him what to do. David and his men pursued the Amalekites, caught them, destroyed them, and got their families and herds back. David was very grateful, as indeed he should have been.

We all find ourselves between a rock and a hard place occasionally. If we will look to the Lord for help He will strengthen us and guide us. we will find, like David, that our God is more than sufficient.

Our Lives Tucked Away

“When someone pursues you and attempts to take your life, my lord’s life will be tucked safely in the place where the LORD your God protects the living. However, He will fling away your enemies’ lives like ‹stones› from a sling.”

1 Samuel 25:29 (HCSB)

These are the words of Abigail to David. I think we can also take them as the word of God to us. The Bible says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected” (Proverbs 18:10). In our daily activities we are not defenseless. The Lord is a shield. He protects us from things we don’t even know about. Maybe one day, after we have been in heaven for a long time, God will show us all the times He protected us from harm. Jesus said to Peter:

“Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32).

Maybe one day the Lord will show us all the times Satan came to Him asking to sift us like wheat, but God forbade him—or He strengthened us.

It is enough to know that our lives are in His hand everyday. He protects us. nothing can come against us without His approval—and that which receives His approval is for our good.

Jesus said, “And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He is with you and protects you today.

David's Sword and Saul's Robe

When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself. David and his men were staying in the back of the cave, so they said to him, "Look, this is the day the LORD told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’" Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. Afterwards, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

He said to his men, "I swear before the LORD: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed. ‹I will never› lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed."

With these words David persuaded his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul.

Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.

1 Samuel 24:3–7 (HCSB)

On this day David showed his integrity. He revealed the fact that there was something different about him. He was cut from different cloth than Saul.

He could have put an end to Saul, but it would not have been an end to his troubles. David waited on the Lord to exact vengeance on his enemies, and eventually the Lord did.

We probably all have enemies. Remember this: if you live by the sword you will die by the sword. If you shed man’s blood then by man your blood will be shed. Keep your cool and keep your integrity. Be patient and wait on the Lord to handle your enemies. In His time He will. In the mean time, you pursue God’s kingdom.