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