David Series - 6
DAVID & NATHAN
… based on 2 Samuel 12:1-7
but he also seemed to be a deeply spiritual follower of Jesus.
Wilson was born into the home of a Pastor, where they read the Scriptures around the dinner table every evening. Later, when he went to college he chose a Presbyterian school, Princeton University. He got married & he & his wife, Ellen, joined a Presbyterian Church where he became an Elder.
It wasn’t long before people discovered that he had a speaking gift, & so he was frequently asked to give guest lectures around the country. And while he was on the road he was exposed to sexual temptation.
Now this became a serious problem when, at the age of 50,
Wilson had a stroke. His Dr. recommended that he get some R&R in a warmer climate, & so, Woodrow Wilson went to Bermuda … by himself.
And while he was in Bermuda, he met a woman named Mary Peck.
Mary was a wealthy, NY socialite, whose husband was back in NY City, & she was in Bermuda by herself. And as you know … “what happens in Bermuda stays in Bermuda.” I won’t go into all the details about their affair, but suffice it to say, that years later when Woodrow Wilson ran for President of the U.S. he paid Mary Peck $15,000 to keep their little secret a secret.
Upon returning from his trip to Bermuda, Wilson was asked to address the graduating class of Princeton University, & this is what he said:
“Moral standards are changing. So, we need to grow out of a straightforward ’10 Commandment understanding’ of what’s right & wrong. Ethical situations are complicated by a 1,000 circumstances.” (See the rationalizing that he’s now doing, the compromising.)
Years later, one of the members of Wilson’s Cabinet said of him,
“He is a man of high ideals … & no principles.”
Now when I read that quote, I thought to myself,
I wonder if that cabinet member ever said something like that to Wilson himself? I wonder if anyone ever dared to get into Woodrow Wilson’s face & call him on his moral compromising?
We’re in the 6th week of an 8-part series on the life of David.
And I want to talk about accountability this morning.
Let’s begin with a summary as to where we are in David’s story.
At this point David has been King of Israel for over 15 years. He’s been very successful; he’s defeated many of Israel’s traditional enemies. He’s been expanding the boundaries of his kingdom. But these successes have gone to David’s head & he’s left with the impression that he can do no wrong, & so, he had an affair with Bathsheba, & she became pregnant.
And now he must come up with a way to cover up his sin. David tries, unsuccessfully, to bring her husband, Uriah, a courageous warrior, home from the war, for a little R&R. But it doesn’t work out the way David planned. So, David has Uriah killed in battle & then marries the grieving widow himself. And the 2 of them hope that everybody will assume that the baby that eventually comes was the result of a honeymoon pregnancy.
Now David would have gotten away with his cover-up if it hadn’t been for one thing … there is an all-seeing holy God out there. And nothing escapes His scrutiny. (The Psalms 139:4) This holy God sent a man by the name of Nathan, to David. And this is where we pick up the story.
Listen now to Good News, as found in 2nd Samuel, to us who have gathered here for worship. Within our hearing comes the Word of the Lord …
The LORD sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. The rich man had many cattle and sheep, while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. One day a visitor arrived at the rich man’s home. The rich man didn’t want to kill one of his own animals to fix a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal for his guest.”
David became very angry at the rich man and said, “I swear by the living LORD that the man who did this ought to die! For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”
“You are that man,” Nathan said to David. (2 Samuel 12:1-7)
“The grass withers & flowers fade,
but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
I’m suggesting today that it would be beneficial for each of us to have a “Nathan” in our lives. Now with David, this feedback came after a moral failure … but the best kind of feedback should happen before something “bad” ever takes place. It’s kind of preventative medicine. It keeps us from doing stupid things.
In fact, I would argue that if David had been checking in with Nathan on a regular basis prior to the incident with Bathsheba …there may never have been an incident with Bathsheba.
So, let me ask you as we begin today … do you have a “Nathan” in your life? Do you have someone who can provide you with spiritual accountability?
Now, let’s ponder that thought, which I suspect is an absolutely new one for most of you, by way of a couple of questions.
The 1st one that comes to mind is … why is it necessary to have someone who will hold us accountable? Why do I need a “Nathan” in my life?
Why do you need a “Nathan”? Well, the quick answer is, because our natural tendency is to cover up our sinful inclinations & behaviors, to try to hide our sins. And that’s what gets us into all kinds of trouble.
Let me give you a few Scriptural references to back this up.
This 1st one describes a sinful person. And assuming for a moment that there are no perfect people here this morning … that means that this statement applies to all of us.
“Because they think so highly of themselves, they think that God
will not discover their sin & condemn it.” (The Psalms 36:2)
Did you hear that? … There are times when we, when I am so arrogant that I think I can fool
God. That somehow God only takes notice of me when I’m doing good stuff, when I’m
thinking holy thoughts.
The Psalmist declares …
“LORD, you have examined me & you know me. You know everything I do;
from far away you understand all my thoughts.” (The Psalms 139:1-2)
And then we also have this natural tendency to compare ourselves to those around us … look at that guy over there, & what about that guy in the paper last week? And don’t forget the person holding the “please help me” sign outside of Wal-Mart. In God’s grading system I’m certainly ahead of them. When we compare ourselves to others we come out looking pretty good, don’t we? We don’t spot our own weaknesses or moral failures very well, & if we do, we’re ready with a list of reasons to justify ourselves.
Listen to this statement by Jeremiah …
“Who can understand the human heart?
There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed.” (Jeremiah 17:9)
That powerful declaration should end all discussion as to how incurably sinful we are. Jeremiah is talking about your heart. He’s talking about my heart.
Our hearts are deceitful; they lie to us. Our hearts are sinfully terminal. They don’t tell us the truth. Our hearts aren’t always objective.
Here’s a good one from David’s son, Solomon …
“Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice.”
(The Proverbs 12:15)
We always like to think we’re right in every circumstance. …
“I’m not arguing with you, I’m just explaining why I’m right!” …
But if we’re not willing to listen to others, & receive advice or objective feedback, then Scripture labels us as “stupid.”
So, Nathan shows up on David’s doorstep as an individual who’s holding him accountable. Is David going to be “stupid” in this situation? Again, why is it necessary for us to have someone like Nathan who will hold us accountable? … Because our natural tendency is to cover up our sinful inclinations & behaviors.
Okay, since this is a main point of today’s message, let’s make sure we’ve got it. I’m going to ask you the question … you give me the answer. Why is it necessary to have someone like Nathan who will hold us accountable? …(Because our natural tendency is to cover up
our sinful inclinations & behaviors.)
Nathan is good at this; he begins with a story. Why does Nathan tell David a story? Well, for starters, keep in mind he’s confronting the King, a very powerful King, a very popular King. He’s confronting a King who could make him go away, like David made Uriah go away. So, he must be subtle.
But I think there’s a more important reason. What’s our natural reaction when someone confronts us with a wrongdoing? … We become (defensive). We begin to justify our behavior. We close our ears … open our mouth. So, Nathan wants to get around David’s defenses.
He wants David to listen to what he has to say. So, he tells him a story.
It’s a story of a rich man who rips off a little lamb from a poor man.
The little lamb is described like being a “daughter” to the poor man.
Now the Hebrew word that means “daughter” is (כְּבַֽת׃) “bat”, which just happens to be the 1st ½ of the name of the woman that David had ripped off from poor Uriah. (Bat)sheba. Isn’t Nathan clever?
“Let me tell you a story about a man who had a little lamb, which was almost like a ‘bat’ to him. That’s ‘bat’ David, you know, like in (Bat)sheba.”
The 2nd thing that I want to note is that his ploy works.
Nathan gets around David’s defenses. And David becomes so angry at the sin of somebody else that the walls come tumbling down.
Isn’t this true of each of us? We can see sin so clearly in the lives of other people. It’s just incredibly apparent. We just don’t see sin as well in our own lives. So, David is just going out of his mind mad at this guy.
(There’s even some dark humor going on here.) “That guy deserves to die.” “He needs to repay 4 times what he stole.” That was the O.T. law.
That’s what was required in terms of restitution. If we steal a sheep, we have to repay 4 sheep. (Exodus 22:1) So, listen to what David is saying … “I’m going to kill this guy … & then I’m going to make him pay back 4 times.” Obviously, David isn’t being rational here.
But now that his defenses are down, now that David is good & angry about this, Nathan can confront him with his sin, & he’s able to do it in a direct, simple, straightforward way. “You are that man.”
4 words … & they hit him like a sledgehammer.
Why do we need to be accountable to someone?
Because our natural tendency is to cover up our sinful inclinations.
David couldn’t see his sin, or at least he wouldn’t acknowledge his sin until Nathan confronted him with it. We need some outside objective feedback.
So, I guess the next question is … where to we find our Nathan?
And this is the tough one. If we were truly spiritual people, our “Nathan” would be right here. Leon could come up to me & say, “Rande, I’ve been watching you & I’m concerned about _______. It seems to be compromising your walk with Jesus.” And I would respond, “Leon, you’re right. Thank you.
That’s an area of my life that I’m struggling with. Please pray for me.”
That’s the Church being the Church.
That’s a brother in Christ, caring for a brother in Christ.
But I haven’t noticed many churches behaving that way.
We either ignore the sin, or we become openly judgmental of the sinner.
One of the things I’ve always admired about A.A. is their commitment to one another in the group. Now everyone in that organization is an alcoholic, & they all openly acknowledge that. “Good evening, my name is John, & I’m an alcoholic.” And everyone responds, “Hello John.” No one is wearing a mask. They’re all right there. They are all painfully aware of their struggle with alcoholism. And they realize how quickly they can fall back into their former lifestyle. So, they work together & support one another in their desire to live an alcohol-free life.
Followers of Jesus need to realize that too, with the same urgency.
We are all sinners living under the grip of sin. You’ve all heard the statement: “The Church is not a museum for saints; it’s a hospital for sinners.” Each of us is a patient in this “hospital.”
I have often thought that it might be beneficial if the Church took its cue from A.A. “Good morning, my name is Rande, & I’m a sinner.” And you all would respond … “Good morning, Rande.”
But let’s be honest, that would be threatening for us.
And isn’t it interesting, I’m more concerned about you knowing my sin,
than I am about God knowing it.
Now, over the years, I’ve had several people who have been “Nathan’s” to me. I can think of 3. These men have been individuals that I spiritually trusted. And trust is the key word here. Their job was to hold me accountable, just like Nathan did for David. I knew that I could be completely honest with them. And that they genuinely, spiritually cared for me.
I also knew that they would keep confidences.
I could tell them anything, & it would go no farther.
The confrontation between David & Nathan was kept between David & Nathan. When God told Nathan what was going on in David’s life, Nathan didn’t leak it to the Jerusalem County Democrat. He didn’t “rumor” it on Facebook. He didn’t tell his wife, who then told her friend. This conversation was kept between the 2 of them.
I learned the importance of this truth early on.
I was in the 3rd grade, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was talking with my friend, Jim Nicely, & he asked, “Rande, do you have a girlfriend?” I said, “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” He said, “Rande, you can trust me. It’ll be our secret.” Gullible Rande replied, "Okay, it’s Cindy.” The next day I showed up at school, & the guys in the class start to chant, “Rande & Cindy, sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
It took years of therapy to get over that!
My spiritual “Nathan’s” kept confidences. And over the years we talked about all kinds of issues that could be temptations for me, that could lead to sin. Be it a husband, father, Pastor, or just simply a man; any area that sin could find an opening. Now I can’t put my finger ron it, but there’s something about another person being aware of what’s going on that helps me in my struggle with sin. Again, I see a close similarity with the support & help that the A.A. members give to one another. They lovingly watch out for each other. And my “Nathan’s” didn’t whitewash my sins.
They spoke the truth in a spirit of love. (Ephesians 4:15)
Nathan was direct in this confrontation. He understood what was at stake.
“David, your biggest sin isn’t adultery with Bathsheba, it isn’t the murder of Uriah, your biggest sin is against God Himself. He’s given you everything, & like an ingrate, you thumbed your nose at Him.” That’s hard-hitting stuff, but that’s exactly what David needed to hear.
And it’s what we sometimes need to hear.
Nathan reminded David of how God took him from being a shepherd boy,
& protected him time & again over the years & had given him so many wonderful experiences. David had everything he could possibly want.
He had been blessed above his wildest dreams. And now he’s done this.
So, what was David’s response? I believe he went back to his room,
sat down & wrote something. It wasn’t a letter to Uriah’s family, or even to Bathsheba, as much as his sin affected them. He wrote an apology to God …
“Be merciful to me, O God, because of your constant love.
Because of your great mercy wipe away all my sins!
Wash away all my evil & make me clean from my sin!”
(Notice the personal pronouns.)
“I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins.
I have sinned against you – only against you – & done what you consider evil.” … “Remove my sin, & I will be clean; wash me, & I will be whiter than snow.”
(The Psalms 51:1-4,7)
What faith David had in the mercy of God! David is now “the kind of man God likes.” (The Acts 13:22) The angels rejoiced as he repented. (Luke 15:10)
And God was glad.
Now as we finish, there are a couple of things I want you to ponder.
This has been a powerful story about a dark moment in David’s life.
But I wonder what would have happened had Nathan not confronted him. … I’m certain that David’s life it would have ended in complete disaster.
As it was there were still some tragic consequences. There always are with sin. Even though God forgives … we still suffer the consequences.
And in this particular case, David & Bathsheba’s baby dies.
Have you ever had a “Nathan” graciously approach you? And if you have, how did you respond? Here’s another question, has God ever called you to be a “Nathan” to someone else? And did you obey that call?
Finally, we began our worship by reading the 51st Psalm,
David’s prayer of confession. I would like you to read it in the next day or 2.
And personalize it. Make it your own. Consider your sin(s).
And as you do, recognize that they are ultimately against God.
And then hear Nathan’s words, “The LORD forgives you.” (2 Samuel 12:13)
MARANA THA
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