A Word about Ruthless People

 

Today, I want to share a lame joke that I read in Boys Life magazine many years ago: 

Sam and Ruth were out on a date.  As they were driving along in his convertible, they hit a bump, and Ruth fell out.  That didn’t stop Sam, however, because he drove on, ruthlessly! 

The world is full of ruthless people, but our Christian walk is all about love, especially in our family relationships. People who love are never ruthless.  A prime example of this is Ruth. Let’s begin by reading Ruth 1:1-10:

During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to live in the land of Moab for a while.The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the land of Moab and settled there. Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about 10 years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband. She and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to His people’s need by providing them food. She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah. She said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show faithful love to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the house of your new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly. “No,” they said to her. “We will go with you to your people.”

Ruth Grieved Her Loss:

Marriage in Biblical times was different than it is in our society today. Marriages were arranged by parents or grandparents, and the bride and groom usually had no say in the matter. Wealth, religion, power, and politics were vital factors, but love was not expected nor required. This is also true in some parts of our world today, however.

When we served in Africa, we worked with a Muslim people group in which the men could have up to four wives. Often a man’s existing wife or wives only knew when a new wife was coming when the husband said, “Make room in the house, the new wife is coming today.” We were told that the only thing those wives had in common was their hatred for their husband!

In this case, the grief expressed by Ruth and of these women seems real. Ruth loved her husband and her family. When her husband died her world was rocked. She genuinely grieved the death of her husband. She missed him, she longed for him, and she wanted him back.

This is not like what happens in some relationships today. When some marriages fail, one or both of the former spouses will host a “freedom party.” Others will just be relieved it’s all over, like the line in the Country Western song that says, “Thank God and Greyhound she’s gone!”

Ruthless people don’t love like this: They only care about themselves. They only care what others can do for them.

 So, was Ruth Ruthless?  No! Not at all!

 Next, let’s read Ruth 1:11-15:

But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying? No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.” Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law.” But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.

Ruth Did Not Cut Her Losses:

In Biblical times a woman had to be related to a man. Fathers watched over daughters and husbands watched over wives. When a man died, his brothers or cousins married his wife. We saw this in Africa also. Our language tutor had three wives, one of which had been the wife of his deceased older brother. She lived in her own place in a different town, and she ran her own affairs. We were never sure how intimate their marriage was, but he was her husband, and he could have intervened in any situation he chose to do so.

We also employed a cook who was a middle-aged widow with adult children. She had lived on her own for many years, but one day she told us that she had to travel to her parent’s village because they had arranged a new marriage for her.  These are very different customs than the ones we have today, but they are similar to the patterns we see in the Bible.

In this case, however, Naomi had no help to give Ruth. She, herself, had no more husbands, and no more sons. She did not know of any other relatives that might help. They were all bereft of help and protection, and they were vulnerable to exploitation.

In business, the “sunk cost fallacy” would apply to this situation. Successful business leaders don’t believe in the saying, “In for a penny, in for a pound.” The amount of resources you have invested in products or people doesn’t matter if those products or people are no longer producing a profit. Therefore, business leaders have learned to cut their losses, and move on.

Likewise, A ruthless person would have cut her losses in this case and moved on. Ruth wasn’t even Jewish!  She could’ve gone back home, with the attitude of, “It’s been real & it’s been fun, but it ain’t been real fun!” She also could have abandoned her morals and done anything for money, like the character in the play A Streetcar Named Desire who said, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

Ruth was made of sterner stuff than that. She did neither; regardless of the cost, she stayed with Naomi because she loved her!

So, was Ruth Ruthless?  No! Not at all!

 Next, let’s read Ruth 1:18 to 2:1-3:

 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to persuade her. The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has pronounced judgment on me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” So Naomi came back from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side named Boaz. He was a prominent man of noble character from Elimelech’s family. Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone who allows me to?” Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.”  So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family. 

Ruth Did Not Wallow in Her Loss:

How a person deals with a loss reveals much about them:  They can wallow in self-pity, and they can convince themselves there is no hope. They can become helpless, hapless, and hopeless. A New Orleans Seminary professor saw this happening in that city after Hurricane Katrina. He moved his family from New Orleans after Katrina because he did not want his children to grow up around people who could only see themselves as victims.

Ruthless people often collapse when faced with adversity: at heart they are mercenaries and when they can’t see a way forward, they collapse. This is often the case with bullies, and a good example of that is the people of Jericho who were quaking in their sandals at the approach of Joshua and the Children of Israel.

Ruth knew the truth: It is what it is; you have what you have; you do what you can do! She had no problem working to save her family and she was not too proud to seek the help that they needed from the support systems of that day. Remember, it is easier to act yourself into feeling better than it is to feel yourself into acting better.

When you do what you can do in a tough situation, this can set yourself up for blessings that come in unexpected ways. Let’s read Ruth 2:4-11.

Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.” “The Lord bless you,” they replied. Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?” The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters?’ She came and has remained from early morning until now, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”  Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. See which field they are harvesting and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.” She bowed with her face to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so kind to notice me, although I am a foreigner?”  Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. May the Lord reward you for what you have done and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

 When you make yourself available to the Lord, it allows Him to bless you. People who do that don’t have to be ruthless, because they know that their God is working on their behalf.

 So, was Ruth Ruthless?  No! Not at all!

 Let’s continue by reading Ruth 3:1-5, 

Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find security for you, so that you will be taken care of? Now isn’t Boaz our relative? Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do. So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.”

Ruth was Restored from Her Loss:

We expect stories to have happy endings: 

• The underdog always wins. 
• The hero always gets the girl.  
• The cavalry always arrives in the nick of time. 
• The miracle cure is found. 
• The couple lives happily ever after.

Reality is somewhat different: The world is a cruel place, and happy endings are not as common as we would like them to be. Good things don’t always come to those who wait. Ruthless people know this, and they use it as an excuse for cutting corners.  Loving people don’t!

 In God’s economy, however, we do win. Jesus came that we might have abundant life: in the here and now or in the hereafter. Paul taught us that all things work together for our good, either in the here and now or in the hereafter. As the old hymn says, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” God is good to His people all the time; He makes provision for us, so we have no reason to be ruthless! We are to be as wise as serpents but also as harmless as doves!

 In this case, God brought Boaz into Ruth’s life. They were a match made in heaven, but there was one problem. Boaz wasn’t the closest relative, and he could not redeem Ruth. If he had been a ruthless person, he would have thrown up his hands and said, “That’s just too bad. We could have had a great thing, but better luck next time.” Because Boaz wasn’t ruthless, we can see what he did in Ruth 4:1-10

 Boaz went to the gate of the town and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz called him by name and said, “Come over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. Then Boaz took 10 men of the town’s elders and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down.  He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling a piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought I should inform you: Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you do not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” “I want to redeem it,” he answered. Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.” The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.” At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel. So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”  Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon.  I will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”

 Boaz was as harmless as a dove, but he was as cunning as a snake, and he set-up Ruth’s kinsman redeemer. By the man’s own words, Boaz showed him to be the ruthless person that he was in front of the whole town. This allowed Boaz to marry Ruth and also to perpetuate her husband’s line and legacy. This is also something a ruthless person would not do.

 So, did Ruth Have to Be Ruthless?  Not at all!

Conclusion

The relationship between Ruth and Naomi was a prime example of God’s type of love. Because of God’s steadfast love, Ruth did not have to be ruthless. The same is true of us.

Many years ago, a man who had just buried his mother told me, “Preacher, no one ever loves you like your mother.” I understood what he meant, and I didn’t have the heart to disagree with him.

The reason our mothers can love us so much is that God loved them first. As Paul said, “God manifested His love toward us in that, while we were stll sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Book of Ruth is a love story and a promise of God’s eternal love for us. Have you received His love?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Fall of a Man of God

 

Today I want to share a word about the fall of a man of God. Let’s begin by reading 2 Samuel 11:1-3:

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. 2 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. 3 So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he reported, “This is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite.”

They say that a good man is hard to find.  I heard of a pastor search committee that would agree with that.  Here is their report to the church: 

“We do not have a happy report to give. We've not been able to find a suitable candidate for this church, though we have one promising prospect.  The following is our confidential report:

• ADAM: Good man but there are some problems with his wife.
• NOAH: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects.
• JOSEPH: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.
• MOSES: A modest and meek man, but a poor communicator, and even stutters at times. Sometimes he blows his stack and acts rashly in business meetings. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.
• SOLOMON: Great preacher but our parsonage would never
• hold all those wives. We also hear he has girlfriends on the side.
• HOSEA: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never accept his wife's occupation.
• JONAH: Told us he was swallowed up by a great fish. He said the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.
• JOHN: Says he is a Baptist but doesn't dress like one. May be too charismatic. Tends to lift both hands in the air in worship when he gets excited. Sleeps in the outdoors, has a weird diet, and provides denominational leaders with a lot of grief.
• PETER: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper, and he is even said to curse. He's a loose cannon.
• PAUL: Powerful CEO type and fascinating preacher. However, he is short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, and harsh. He has been known to preach all night.
• TIMOTHY: Too young.
• JESUS: Has had popular times, but once when his church grew to 5000, he managed to offend them all and this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he's single.
• JUDAS: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We're inviting him to preach this Sunday in view of a call.

David was known as a man after God’s own heart. He is a giant in the history of Israel, but like Goliath, whom he slew, David also had a great fall, one that had devastating consequences and could have been easily avoided. 

David’s Sin:

We saw in past episodes that David had been anointed king to replace Saul and He was a good choice: 

• He was the best king Israel ever had.
• He was the best warrior Israel ever had.
• He was the best musician and poet Israel ever had.
• He had established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
• He laid the ground works for Solomon’s Temple.
• He was even good looking!

Yet, despite all that David was, and despite all that he had accomplished, David was a human being, and David like all people made mistakes. This is what sin is, falling short of God’s perfection.

Sin is one of three terms in the Bible used for wrongdoing. It is a generic term for falling short of God’s standards.  Specifically, it is the term used for “missing the mark,” or being less than perfect. The Bible shows us that there are two types of sin: sins of omission and sins of commission. Paul describes these in Romans 6:18-24,

For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this principle: When I want to do what is good, evil is with me. 22 For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God’s law. 23 But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.  24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?

In this event, David committed sins of omission and commission. In terms of a sin of omission, David was not where he was supposed to be, and he was not doing what he was supposed to be doing. He was not fulfilling his role as king because he had gotten complacent and lazy.

Many times, when people get hurt or in trouble, they weren’t where they were supposed to be, doing with they were supposed to be doing. That’s why it can be so shocking when someone “who was minding their own business” is the victim of a random crime. Usually, people who are minding their business are not in a place for that to happen.

Besides a sin of omission, we can also see that David committed a sin of commission. To see a lovely woman was not a sin, but to look at her was. To ask about her was even a longer step out of bounds. 

David acted like the man who told his wife, “When I stop looking, you’ll know that I am dead.” In contrast to this, Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount took this situation more seriously. He said in Matthew 5:27-30, 

You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.  28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!

The sad fact is that David was not diligent in doing what God expected of him, and that got him into trouble.

Let’s read 2 Samuel 11:4-5 next,

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. Afterward, she returned home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: “I am pregnant.”

David’s Transgression:

The second term for sin in the Bible is transgression. To transgress is to be deliberately disobedient to God; it is to knowingly step over the line and to deliberately and intentionally defy God and His will and His Word. Isaiah 59: 12-14 describes the transgressions of the Jewish people this way,

For our transgressions have multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. For our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: 13 transgression and deception against the Lord, turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart. 14 Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far off. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

The penalty for transgression is the same as it is for sin: death and separation from God; however, the temporal, human consequences are greater. For example, if an employee makes a mistake out of ignorance that is one thing, but deliberately doing something after being told not to do it is usually sufficient grounds to be fired by an employer.

In this case, David knew better than to do what he did. He knew that he was not married to Bathsheba, and he knew that Bathsheba was another man’s wife. He knew that adultery and fornication was wrong, and that rape was much worse. He also knew that as king he was to uphold righteousness, but sadly, He also knew what he wanted, and he took another man’s wife.

We must realize that no matter who we are, no matter what we can do, no matter who we know, no one is above the law. David was following the same idea that President Nixon was promoting when he claimed, “When the President does it, that means it is not illegal.”  This was not true for him, nor was it true for David

David did not escape the law of consequences. Bathsheba became pregnant and the servants knew what happened. This is exactly what Paul warned us about in Galatians 6:7-8,

Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

This kind of deliberate sin has unintended consequences that bring a bad report onto the name of Christ. For example, when we were serving in Africa, we worked alongside a local Christian. This was in one of the most Muslim countries of the world, and this local believer was a great asset to our work until the day came when he was caught breaking into the home of a single female missionary by a Muslim night watchman. He was also caught in possession of a bottle of alcohol, which was in violation of our agreement with him. Soon everyone around had heard this story, and it damaged our work among the Muslims in our area.

The sad fact is that David knew he was doing wrong, but he did it anyway and he suffered the consequences of his sin. And so did Bathsheba.

Let’s continue by reading 2 Samuel 11:6-13, 

David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house. 10 When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?” 11 Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers[b] are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!” 12 “Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.

David’s Iniquity:

The final term for sin in the Bible is iniquity. This is gross, diabolical sin and rebellion of the worst kind. This is like spitting in the face of God. Isaiah 1:4 tells us about how God feels about iniquity,

Oh sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, brood of evildoers, depraved children! They have abandoned the Lord; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they have turned their backs on Him.

David’s behavior after his sin was found out was just like what Isaiah described iniquitous behavior to be. And David was said to be a man after God’s own heart! This must be a warning to us all!

First, David tried a cover-up. Like Jacob, David tried to scam Uriah by calling him home from battle. Daivid claimed to need a report from his army, but really, he just wanted Uriah to go home and sleep with Bathsheba. In fact, David tried three times to get Uriah to go home, but he was more honorable than David and he refused.

Next, let’s read 2 Samuel 11:14-17,

14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote: Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies. 16 When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were. 17 Then the men of the city came out and attacked Joab, and some of the men from David’s soldiers fell in battle; Uriah the Hittite also died.

When David could not cover-up his sin, decided to eliminate the problem. He wrote out a death warrant and sent it to Joab by Uriah’s own hand.  This plan required Joab and the army to become accomplices, and they abandoned Uriah, one of their own, a faithful soldier and servant, to the Hittites. This is the type of plot we often see in novels and motion pictures, but this was a real-life conspiracy, concocted by David himself and carried out by those who were supposed to be fighting for righteousness and truth. Appalling! 

Finally, David took advantage of the situation. The former mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, notoriously said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” 2 Samuel 11:26-27 tells us what David did to take advantage of Uriah and Bathsheba,

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah had died, she mourned for him. 27 When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the Lord considered what David had done to be evil.

The sad fact is that David was so proud and arrogant that he thought he could get away with fornication, adultery, murder, conspiracy, and lying.

Finally, let’s read 2 Samuel 12:1-14,

So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him: There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up, living with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest. 5 David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb.” 7 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. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another  before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them publicly.12 You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.’”  13 David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Then Nathan replied to David, “The Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die. 14 However, because you treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.” 15 Then Nathan went home.

David’s Punishment:

God will not sit idly by while sin goes unchecked among God’s people. God is righteous, and He is also protective of His Name. From the beginning of time, He has worked to eradicate sin. God hates sin, He hates its punishment, He hates its consequences. God hates everything about sin, and so he sent the prophet Nathan to confront David.

Nathan told David the story of a rich man who stole a poor man’s only lamb. David was enraged with a hypocritical anger and then Nathan nailed him with the words, “You are the man!” Then David repented. Psalm 51 says:

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2 Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge 5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways, and sinners will return to You.  14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. 15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is[ a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart. 18 In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

David was forgiven, and he is with our Lord in Heaven today. The terrible consequences of David's actions remained, however, and they had serious second and third order effects. Here is just a partial list:

• The reputation of the king of God’s people was sullied.
• The baby born to David and Bathsheba died.
• Later, David’s son Amnon raped David’s daughter, Tamar, then Absalom killed Amnon.
• Absalom rebelled against David and in the sight of all the people he took David’s wives to be his own.
• Finally, Absalom was killed by Joab.

While all this was going on, God’s redemptive plan stood still. As my junior high Sunday School teacher, Mr. Joe Weekly, told us om numerous occasions,” Boys, a few minutes pleasure isn’t worth it!” David learned this fact too late.

Sadly, When God’s people lose sight of what they are here to do, all creation suffers.

Conclusion:

All through this sermon series we have seen people model behavior for us as they lived out their family relationships. Some models are positive, like Joseph in Egypt. He was diligent and honorable, and he literally ran away from temptation. In this episode we saw that Uriah, also, was honorable and that he refused to take advantage of the situation he was in but instead kept the faith with his comrades-in-arms.

We have also observed other models that show us behaviors to avoid, like David. David was lazy and indolent, and he was crass, deceptive, and murderous. The only good thing he did in this sad tale is to repent and seek God’s mercy.

Whom do you think we should emulate?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt