[MUSIC PLAYING] The Bible From 30,000 Feet-- Soaring Through the Scripture
From Genesis to Revelation. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for a time
where we can gather together in the middle of our week. We can push thoughts aside. We have prepared our
hearts to seek You. We have told You
that we need You and that we love You
through our worship. Lord, our worship doesn't end. It continues. It continues as we hear Your
voice like the young prophet Samuel, who said, "Speak,
Lord, Your servant hears." Speak to us that we
might hear Your voice. Maybe it's a clear
word of encouragement because some of
us, Lord, have been discouraged by the events
of the past few weeks. For others, Lord, it might
be a word of admonition or instruction for others. Still for some of us, Lord,
it might be a firm rebuke, like a neon flashing
sign, a warning sign perhaps in David's own
life, for he wasn't perfect. Whatever it is, Lord, though
we know many of these stories, I pray that beyond
the stories we would hear You calling
us to, as we just sang, know You deeper and
better as Your children. For we ask in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. I want to give you three
words to begin tonight with-- triumphs,
transgressions, troubles. Can you say those words with me? Triumphs,
transgressions, troubles. Now, if you add one other
word to those three words, and that is the word
David's, now you have the entire outline
of the book of 2 Samuel. David's triumphs,
David's transgressions, David's troubles-- that is the message
outline of this book. Chapters 1 through 10, all
about David's triumphs, the expansion of the kingdom. Beginning in chapter
11 on into chapter 12, we have David's transgressions. We know about those. Most of us have read
the stories before. Chapters 13 to the end
of the book, chapter 24, are what happens after
that, David's troubles. David's triumphs,
transgressions, and troubles. That's the book of 2 Samuel. We can pray and go home now. No, we'll go a
little bit deeper. David's importance in
biblical history cannot be underestimated. There are 62 chapters in
the Bible devoted to David, or 1,118 verses ascribed
to that single person. He is mentioned more often
than any person except one. And that one person is whom? Jesus Christ. David is mentioned
second to that. So 62 chapters in the Bible
devoted to one person. By way of comparison, Abraham
is written about in 14 chapters, Joseph written about
in 14 chapters, Jacob 11 chapters, Elijah the
prophet less than 10 chapters. So we cannot underestimate the
importance of David who was a shepherd and became a King. His importance can be reflected
in some of these phrases. Let me read them to you. City of David, star of
David, lineage of David, seed of David, house of
David, tabernacle of David, offspring of David,
and root of David. Now, I know we're in 2 Samuel. But if you don't mind,
turn in your Bibles to begin in the book of Psalms. If you don't want to turn there,
I've already done that for you. I'll read it to you. But in Psalm 78,
beginning in verse 67, it's a psalm not
written by David. You'll see why
that is important. It's written by Asaph. In Psalm 67 of Psalm 78,
he said, "Moreover, he rejected the tent of
Joseph and did not choose the tribe of
Ephraim, but chose that as the Lord chose the tribe
of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. And he built his sanctuary
like the heights, like the earth, which
he established forever. He also chose
David, his servant, and took him from
the sheepfolds, from following the
ewes that had young. He brought him to
shepherd Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance. So he shepherded them according
to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the
skillfulness of his hands." David was once a
shepherd in a field. He then became a
servant to the King. He then became the sovereign
to the very nation itself, the King of Israel,
Israel's second King. Now, you know David's story. When David begins
coming on the scene, he's overlooked because
his father didn't even think he was important enough
to add to the lineup of his sons from which the prophet Samuel
could pick the next king. He said, bring all
your boys in here. He brought them
all in except one. And that was David, left
him out in the sheep fields. So he was an overlooked
runt to begin with. But God set His
affection on him. And he is called twice
in scripture a man after God's own heart. That's how most of us know
him from that simple phrase mentioned only twice. David, a man after
God's own heart. I don't want you to
think by that phrase that that means perfect. He was not Superman. It wasn't kryptonite
that could put him down. He was just a regular old
guy with lots of flaws which are highlighted in this book. A man after God's own
heart-- one translation simply says a man to
fulfill God's purposes. That's what he was. Well, as we open up
to 2 Samuel chapter 1, to get our bearings-- and by the
way, this is again 30,000 feet. So we're just going
to be hovering over, noticing some things. I'm expecting you
to glance down. I'll have you look at a
verse here and a verse there. And we'll work our
way through the book. The story ended
in 1 Samuel where King Saul, Israel's
first King, had fallen in a battle on Mount
Gilboa, slain by the enemy, not only Saul, but Saul's sons-- not all of them, but three
of them on Mount Gilboa. A messenger goes all the
way to the Camp of David to give David the
news to announce that King Saul had died. When David hears the
news, even though he had been hunted by
Saul for over a decade, far from David going
yippee, ding dong, the witch is dead, in
chapter 1 verse 17, "then David lamented
with this lamentation over Saul and over
Jonathan, his son." Now, this marks the
greatness of David. Not seeking revenge,
not rejoicing to see Saul dead even
though Saul hated him and hunted him and tried to
kill him over and over again, but he wept over the very
one that had rejected him. Does that prefigure
anybody that you know of? The greater son of David,
Jesus will weep over the very city that seeks to
crucify him many years later. Jesus said-- it's one of the
hardest things Jesus ever said, by the way. Love your enemies. That looks good on paper. But revenge is a lot more fun. And it's hard to
love people when they are so unlovely toward us. And wouldn't you
probably agree that that is the mark of maturity? You know that you're
really growing in Christ when you can love your enemies. David loved Saul. Verse 25, he says, "How
the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle." Speaking of his friend
Jonathan, "Jonathan was slain in your high places,"
speaking of Mount Gilboa. Now, back in 1
Samuel chapter 18, there's a great
little phrase that says Jonathan and David--
their soul was knit together. They were in unison. They were closely bound to
each other as close friends. Verse 26, he continues,
"I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very
pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful,
surpassing the love of women." Now, I've heard
this verse misused by a number of different
people, a number of different groups,
trying to twist it to make it mean
a number of things that had no idea that somebody
would even think it could mean. But what does he
mean when he says that your love is like
that which surpasses women? Well, keep in mind
that David was married to Jonathan's sister,
a girl by the name of Michal. Do you remember that? It was not a great
relationship, first of all. First of all, he won
her in a contest. So you know things aren't
really great at home. And they never were. She never really-- her soul
never really knit to David's. She was always aloof
and standoffish and spurned David's
love later on. So Saul had a plan to use his
daughter Michal, the sister of Jonathan, to ensnare David. So for David to say
that your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the
love of women, in that context, you get it. But I want to make
note of something beyond that superficial. David was a success in his
career, his professional life. He was an abject
failure at home. Where David failed
was his family. And you can be the king of a
nation but fail in your family. And the woe and misery
that will fall after that is incalculable. It's not worth it. David probably would be
the first to say that. So the Bible,
including this book-- and this book highlights
David first and foremost-- shows you good and
bad altogether, doesn't hide a thing. By the way, David
had eight wives. Can I just say, one's enough. And one husband is enough. Amen, women? Yes. Right? You've got to put
up with just one. That's a lifetime. Eight wives-- let
me rephrase that. David had eight wives
that we know about, the ones that are
recorded in the Bible. He had many women. And his son Solomon will
take that to the nth degree later on. Well, we get back to the story. And God instructs David to go
to the Judean city of Hebron, a beautiful town. We don't take
groups there anymore because it's quite
dangerous nowadays. But back then it was beautiful. And it was one of the
central areas in Judah. So he goes there
because there he is going to be coronated the
King not of the nation right now, but the King of Judah. So in chapter 2 verse 4,
"Then the men of Judah came. And there they anointed David
king over the house of Judah. And they told David,
the men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul." David has three annointings. You say, what? Wait a minute. I've read the Bible. He only has two. No, read the fine print. First was a private coronation. That was that day he was almost
overlooked by his father, when Samuel went to
the house of Jesse and finally David came in. And there Samuel poured
that horn of oil over David and anointed him
as the next king. It's not until now that he gets
his first public coronation. So this is the second one. One was a private one. This is the first public one. He will have a third. And that will be
ordained and crowned the king over all of Israel. So he's in Hebron,
the southern kingdom. Remember, that's
down south of Judah. They recognized him as the king. But it's not a done deal yet. Saul died. And three of his
sons died with him. But not all of his sons died. And there is one who is left
by the name of Ish-bosheth, Ish-bosheth He is still alive. And a guy by the name of Abner-- I'll get to him in a moment-- crowns him as king
over the 11 tribes. Now, there are a
couple of people in this book we're not going
to spend a lot of time on. But I'll mention them
because they're important. One is named Joab. The other is named Abner. And you'll see them in
conflict throughout this book. Joab was the commander
in chief of David's army. Abner was the commander
in chief of Saul's army. And because Saul
is dead, doesn't want to lose his
job or his position, so he takes somebody
from the house of Saul, that is Ish-bosheth, and
said you're the next king. Now a conflict begins, a 70-year
conflict, the first civil war in Israel between
David in the south and Ish-bosheth, son
of Saul, in the north. In chapter 3 verse
1, now there was a long war between the house
of Saul and the house of David. But here's a key revelation. David grew stronger
and stronger. And the house of Saul
grew weaker and weaker. So now Abner, commander in
chief of Saul and Ish-bosheth-- Abner sees the handwriting
on the wall, so to speak. He knows that this isn't going
to work out, that all of Israel is not going to stand behind
Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul. So he wants to negotiate with
David a peaceful handover of the kingdom to him. So now after seven
years, after David has been seven
years King in Judah, David manages to unite the
nation north and south. And he is made King over
all, chapter 5 verse 1. "Then all the tribes of
Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, indeed, we
are your bone and your flesh. Also in time past, when
Saul was King over us, you were the one who led
Israel out and brought them in. And the Lord said to you, you
shall shepherd my people Israel and be ruler over Israel." So now the word is out. Now it's public knowledge
that at one time Samuel the prophet went to
the house of Jesse and chose David, a man
after God's own heart, to lead the people, to
shepherd the people. Now everybody knows that. They say that to him in Hebron. "Therefore," verse 3,
"all the elders of Israel came to the King at Hebron. And King David made a
covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David
king over Israel." David was 30 years old
when he began to reign. And he reigned for 40 years. Are you kidding me? 30 years old and
he's ruling a nation? I mean, for some of
us, that sounds absurd. The youngest president
in American history was Roosevelt, 42 years of
age when he became president. The second was John
Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was 43. 30 years old in
charge of a nation. That's just a matter
of perspective. And he reigned, it
says, for 40 years. Now, what David does
next is secure a capital. He's been in Hebron. He does not want Hebron
to be the capital. He wants Jerusalem
to be the capital. And come to find out, that
is what God wanted as well. God always promised that He was
going to have a special place. And He would make that place
the banner place to issue forth His great name from. That is the city of Jerusalem. Here's the problem. At this point, Jerusalem
isn't called Jerusalem. It's called Jebus, J-E-B-U-S. It's called Jebus
because it's overrun by a group called Jebusites. It's a Jebusite stronghold. Jebusites were one of
the Canaanite tribes leftover from the old days. It's an area that Joshua
never took when they came in and conquered the land. It happens to be
strategically located. It's strategically located
for a couple of reasons. Number one, it's got-- it's on a hill. And it's got valleys
down below it and hills on the other side of it. So there's hills and
valleys, which makes it natural for fortification. If you're up on a hill,
you put a wall around it. If an enemy comes,
he has to go down the hill, through the
valley, up your hill. And by that time, you're
shooting down at him. You have a strategic
vantage point. This is why the Bible will
often refer to Jerusalem as a metaphor of strength. One of my favorite
psalms, Psalm 125, it's a song that we sometimes
sing when we're in Israel. If you come, I'll
teach you the tune. "Those who trust in the
Lord are like Mount Zion." That's the central hill
where the temple will later on be built and the city
was originally built upon. "Those who trust in the
Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved,
but abides forever. As the mountains
surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His
people from this time forth, even forever more." So because it had this
very unique location, a stronghold easily
defensible, number one. Number two, ancient cities
to be of any viable use, to be of any value had
to have a water source. Jerusalem happened-- happens
to have great water source. At the time it was
called the Gihon Spring. If you come with us to
Israel, I can take you to the Gihon Spring. It is still flowing
and producing water. So this water spout, this
Gihon Spring was used. And one of the
kings later on named Hezekiah is going
to build a tunnel to bring the water
from outside the wall to the inside of the wall. And it goes from the Gihon
Spring, this tunnel-- you can walk the entire
length of the tunnel that Hezekiah built
in the Old Testament. And it will drop you
off into what you know-- you know it from you
reading your Bible-- a pool called the Pool of
Siloam where Jesus healed a man. So the water was brought
in in ancient times. In verse 6, "And
the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the
Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke
to David, saying, 'You shall not come in here. But the blind and the lame will
repel you,'" thinking David cannot come in here. Nevertheless, David took
the stronghold of Zion that is the City of David. There are a couple
of scriptural texts that speak of David
overtaking Jerusalem. One is 1 Samuel. Another-- or 2 Samuel. The other is in 1 Chronicles. But here's the deal. Because of the natural
fortification-- so let's just picture I'm in
the City of David. I'm in Jebus. I'm in Jerusalem. I've got walls up here. You're down in the valley. You've got to come up the hill. It does not take
much effort for me to keep my city safe
from your attack. All I gotta do is throw a
stone down at you, roll a rock, throw oil at you, right,
because I'm up here. In fact, I don't even
need to be there. I can get blind people
and land people. And somebody just says, OK. And they throw a rock down. This is how prideful
the Jebusites were. We are such a natural
fortification, nobody can touch us. So David says to
his men, listen, whoever can figure out
a way into the city up the water shaft will be
my Commander in Chief. Joab scurried up the water shaft
and made entrance into the city and opened the gate for
the rest of the crew. Now here's what's
fascinating-- to me it is. This water shaft is
like a well, right, out of solid rock that went
at one time way, way, way, way down and tapped
into not the Gihon Spring directly, but a
little reservoir next to it. We could visit that today. And you can look up and
see the very water shaft, still intact today, that
Joab got up into the city that you're reading about
right now in 2 Samuel. Because it's been preserved
thousands of years-- it's in solid bedrock-- archaeologists a few years
back discovered it, FYI. I'm probably plugging Israel
maybe more than I should. But in chapter 6 we have a
case of doing the right thing, but doing the right
thing the wrong way. It's something that
the Lord wanted done. But when you get a bunch
of pragmatists involved in a holy work and they
don't read the print that God revealed of how
things are to be done, you can have this problem. Here's the problem. The Ark of the Covenant has
not been in the Tabernacle for 40 years. The Philistines
back in 1 Samuel had captured the Ark
of the Covenant-- you know that holy box. They captured it. And for 40 years, it
has been living out in the countryside in
somebody's backyard, a guy by the name of
Obed-Edom in Kiriath-Jearim. That's the town he lived in. 40 years it sat back there. David wants to bring
it to Jerusalem. Verse 3. "So they set the Ark
of God on a new cart." That makes sense. Put it on a cart with wheels. Bring it up to Jerusalem-- it's several miles away-- "and brought it out of
the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio"-- not the state of
Ohio, but Ahio-- "the sons of Abinadab, drove
the new cart, the Ark of God. And Ahio went before the Ark." Verse 5, David brings all
these musicians out there. They play music before the
Lord, all kinds of instruments. Now, there's a problem. Stop right there. They set it on a cart. Now, they probably
remembered the Philistines, who also put the
Ark of God on a cart to send it back
to the Israelites after they captured it. Nothing happened to them
in transport back then. So they're thinking,
put it on a cart. It's a good idea. Verse 6. "And when they came to
Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the
Ark of God and took hold of it for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord
was aroused against Uzzah. And God struck him
there for his error. And he died there
by the Ark of God." Now, all the poor dude
did was put out his hand to steady the Ark so it wouldn't
fall down and break to pieces. It's practical. It could get busted up. Here's the problem. The Ark isn't just another box. It's not a toy box. It's not a storage-- you don't take it home
and store blankets in it. It's something very holy. And God prescribed how
the thing was to be moved. There were four
ringlets at the bottom. Two poles went through it. Had to be carried
on one's shoulders. Not only that, a
very specific tribe could only touch it,
the tribe of Levi. Not only that, a
very specific family from the tribe of
Levi, the Kohathites, were the only ones who
could take the Ark, lift it up, and transport it,
walking it by foot from place to place. What's going on here? Well, I think it's as simple
as David being goal oriented. If the goal is to get it
from point A to point B and we're walking
nine miles uphill, pragmatics would say
put the thing on a cart. Stick it in Joe's Ford pickup
and make it to Jerusalem. It's easy. I'm making a point. And I'm going to
ask you a question. Is sincerity enough? Is being sincere all
that is necessary for God to be pleased with
an individual? Because they were
sincere in what they did. They wanted to get
it from point A to point B. David's heart
was to get it to Jerusalem. But it would seem like,
as we read the account, that being sincere isn't
all that matters to God. God made a revelation,
said do it this way. They said, well, let's
change it up a little bit. Let's make it easier rather
than do what is right. So their philosophy is the
end justifies the means. God told me here's the goal. It's up to me to figure out
how to get the goal met. Somebody else had
the same idea-- Abraham and Sarah. She couldn't get pregnant. So she thought, Abe,
forget this whole thing. I'm an old woman. You're an old man. Ain't going to happen. Take Hagar, have a baby. We'll call that the fulfillment. So a right thing
done the wrong way is still wrong, no matter
how sincere a person may be. Well, three months
later, the Ark finally makes it
up to Jerusalem. No one dies. They're very slow. They walk a few steps. They sing a few songs. They sacrifice some animals. They can make a few more
steps, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat all the way up to
Jerusalem, took a long time. But they did it the
way God prescribed. Chapter 7 brings us to one of
the most important chapters in all the Bible. In fact, I'll say this. The message of the
Bible from this point on rests upon this chapter. The rest of the Bible will
not make sense to you. Predictions will not
make sense to you. Eschatology will not
make sense to you. The ministry of Jesus Christ
will not make sense to you unless you know this chapter,
because as you open up the New Testament, the first words
in the New Testament are, "This is the genealogy of Jesus
Christ, the Son of Abraham, the Son of David." And that language
and that concept of Jesus as the greater son of
David comes from this chapter. Mary, when she was a teenager,
understood this chapter. The angel Gabriel said,
"You're going to have a son. You're going to
call his name Jesus. And the Lord God will
give him the throne of his father David." She didn't go, huh? She got it. She understood
her Old Testament. She understood the
promise of the covenant made in 2 Samuel 7. It was predicted. Isaiah chapter 9, "Unto
us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government, there will be no end,
upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to
order it and establish it from this time forth,
even forever more. The zeal of the Lord of
hosts will perform this." That promise is based upon this
covenant made in chapter 7. Well, as we get
into it, David says, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to build
got a big old house. He lives in a tent,
the Tabernacle. I live in a beautiful palace. I'm going to make
God a cool house. God says, David, I never
asked for a cool house. Simple is fine with me. I'm OK with that. I don't mind camping out. You're obsessed with this
thing of building me a house. I never asked for it. In fact, God turns it around,
verse 10 in chapter 7. "Moreover, I will appoint a
place for my people Israel and will plant
them that they may dwell in a place of their
own and move no more, nor shall the sons of
wickedness oppress them anymore as previously. Since that time,
I commanded judges to be over my people
Israel and have caused you to rest from all your enemies." Also, the Lord tells you that
He will make you a house. Now we're dealing figuratively. Don't think that
the Lord's going to be out there with
hammers and nails and actually pounding
an edifice for David. He means it figuratively. I'm going to build you
a kingdom, a house. Verse 12, "When your
days are fulfilled and you rest with
your fathers, I will set up your seed after you
who will come from your body. And I will establish
his kingdom. And he shall build
a house for my name. I will establish the throne
of his kingdom forever." First of all, notice what
I just read, the I wills. I will, I will, I will, I will. God is making a
covenant with David. It's an unconditional covenant. This is what I'm going to do. This covenant first
means David is going to have a son, Solomon,
who's going to build a temple. This covenant also
means, second, that the throne of David
will be established forever-- not Solomon this time,
because that never happened. Solomon sinned, and it was
an if-then proposition. If you do this, then I'll
do that for your son. If he blows it,
then I'll do this. But here is an
unconditional covenant. What do we see here? We see God blending two things. And I don't want you
to skip over this. This is important for
understanding all of scripture. God often blends
a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment into one. He has in mind two
different things-- something that will happen immediately
with Solomon, something that will happen eventually, not
with Solomon, but with one of David's offspring,
the greater son of David. So David's dynasty physically-- Solomon and the rest-- that
whole dynastic succession will be interrupted in 586 BC
by the Babylonian captivity. In fact, it will come to an end. In fact, God will curse the
line of David and Solomon when Jeconiah, a King that's
so wicked that God says he will have no descendants on
the throne anymore after this-- the line of David through
Solomon, the royal line, was cursed in the
book of Jeremiah. But it's going to
be restored not by Solomon, but by the greater
Son of David, Jesus Christ. How? He's going to come first and
conquer the sin of the world when He dies. And He's, second, going to come
again and conquer the world and rule and reign with those
that He conquered sin for. This is why, FYI, there
are two genealogies-- one in Matthew, one in Luke. We believe Matthew's
genealogy follows the record of David's
genealogical record down to Joseph, whereas Luke follows
David's genealogical record down to Mary. And there's two
different branches. One, Joseph's, is the
one that is cursed. It goes through
Solomon, Jeconiah-- the King that is cursed-- all the way down to Joseph. Mary traces all the
way back to David, but not through Solomon, but
through another son of David by the name of Nathan-- not the prophet Nathan,
the son of David Nathan. Two different
genealogical records. Why is that important? Because now Jesus has the
legal right because of Joseph-- Joseph wasn't Jesus'
real father, right? It was His stepfather. He raised Jesus. Jesus was born of the
Holy Spirit, virgin born. But Joseph has the genealogy
back to the legal right to the throne. But God cursed that line. So God got around his curse. And there's only one way
to get around that curse-- have the child born of a virgin
and let his mother's genealogy go all the way back to
David as well, but not through the cursed bloodline
of Jeconiah up to Solomon, back to David, but this one
through Nathan to David. So God curses the bloodline,
gets around His curse by giving Jesus a virgin birth. Problem is solved. So those are the
first 10 chapters. First 10 chapters-- those
are David's triumphs. He unifies a nation. He secures a capital. He's never once
defeated in battle. He expands the nation
from 6,000 square miles to 60,000 square miles. There is prosperity everywhere. There's a chicken in every pot. There's a car in every
garage, or in this case a camel in every garage. But David peaks
out after 20 years. He peaks. And he starts sliding back down. Now we have a study in contrast. All those triumphs,
now we have introduced David's transgressions. Chapter 11 verse 1, the most
vulnerable moment in his life. Can I tell you when
that is for you as well? When you are most prosperous,
when you are in greatest ease, when everything's going
just the way you think it always should go-- I want it to just
go so smoothly-- you are most vulnerable at times
of prosperity and popularity. Chapter 11 verse 1, "It happened
in the spring of the year at the time when
kings go to battle"-- that's an interesting
statement-- --"that David sent Joab and
his servants with him and all Israel. And they destroyed the people
of Amman and besieged Rabbah. But David remained
at Jerusalem." It's April, maybe
beginning of May. The rains have ceased, the
latter rains in Israel. And when that happens,
its fighting season. It's like baseball season. Mud's dry. Let's go kill somebody. That's when kings
go out to battle. David had been a warrior. He was a busy warrior. He was a successful warrior. But now he's older. And he's thinking, oh man,
that's a young man's game, fighting. I'm going to kick back
and enjoy the palace. I've worked hard. I've earned it. So he stays back
from the battlefield. But if David would have
been in the battlefield with his troops, he wouldn't
have been in the bed with Bathsheba. Now he's enjoying the
leisure a little too much. Now he can get diverted
and distracted. At the risk of sounding
like your grandmother, beware of idleness. Remember your grandma
used to say that? Idle minds are the
devil's workshop. She's right, just
as David the King. Verse 2. "Then it happened one evening"-- that's all it
takes, one evening-- --"that David arose from his
bed and walked out on the roof of the King's house. And from the roof, he
saw a woman bathing. And the woman was very
beautiful to behold." Jerusalem is built on hills. Kings are where on the hill? Top of the hill,
king of the hill. So he's on top. And if you were standing
in the City of David, I could show you. There's no place to
look but downward. It slopes out from you. And you could see every house
that would be built below you. David was looking down, looking
down at the terrorist homes below him. And he saw something. In fact, I want you to notice
how it is written in verse 2. "He saw a woman that was
beautiful to behold." So look at the two words "he
saw" and the word "behold." One suggests a glance-- he saw. Beautiful to behold
means a gaze. You and I cannot
help the first look. It's not your fault
if you're somewhere and somebody walks into
your site like with David. But it's the double
take that'll kill you. It's the what-- what? Now I'm not just seeing. I'm beholding. [LAUGHTER] St. Augustine defined
sin's progression by saying, "A thought, a
form, a fascination, a fall." He was fascinated
by what he saw. Verse 3, "David sent and
inquired about the woman." And somebody said, like reading
his thoughts-- like, dude, I know what you're thinking-- "Is this not
Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of
Uriah the Hittite?" This is somebody's daughter
and somebody's wife. Remember that. David sent messengers
and took her. "She came to him. And he lay with her, for she
was cleansed from her impurity. And she returned to her house. And the woman conceived. So she sent and told David
and said, I am with child." Just a one-night stand. And she says, I'm pregnant. Now David enters into
his cover-up scheme. He sends for her husband,
the heroic Uriah the Hittite, brings him off the
field to the house and treats him really nicely
and says go home with your wife, hang out with your wife,
go to bed with your wife, hoping that will just cover up
everything that has happened. He won't do it. He goes, how can
I go to the palace when my men are on
the battlefield? Ooh, that must have struck
an arrow in David's heart. So David says, well, you
won't listen to that, you got so filled with
integrity, have a beer, have a little wine,
have a little more wine, gets the guy drunk
thinking in his drunken stupor he's going to go home
and sleep with his wife. Didn't fall for it. Doesn't bite. Still, even soused, Uriah the
Hittite says, I can't do it. I relate to my compadres
on the battlefield. So David it gives
him a note and says give this to your
commanding officer, Joab. The note was Uriah's
death warrant. He didn't know he was
carrying in his hand the very instruction to put him
in the front of the battlefield in the heat of the battle
and eventually get killed. I want you to see the
underpinning truth that one sin always leads to another. Left unchecked, it
always leads to another. In this story, we have lust
that leads to adultery, adultery that leads to
deception, deception that leads to entrapment,
and entrapment that leads to murder. It's spring in the city. It's summer in
David's thought life. He's burning with lust. That leads to a fall
of sinful actions and the winter of
his discontent. Things go south
quickly after this. Chapter 12, David sits on it. Uriah's dead. David doesn't mention he's
done anything for a whole year. He gets by with it. I'm sure he felt
miserable inside. In fact, I know he did. Psalm 32, David wrote, "When
I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable. I groaned all day." He felt that way for a year. So God is patient with him. Since he won't come to God,
God's going to come to him. God's going to make a house
call in the form of a prophet by the name of Nathan. Nathan the prophet utters a
parable to him in verses 2 through 4 of chapter 12. And there's a few
people in the story. There's a rich man. There's a poor man. And there's a little lamb. The rich man is
emblematic of David, the poor man
emblematic of Uriah, and the little ewe lamb
emblematic of Bathsheba. So said, here's a story, David. There was this guy. He had a whole bunch of sheep. There was a poor guy who
only had one little ewe lamb, little female lamb
that he took care of, became like a family pet. Rich man had a friend
coming in from out of town, wanted to cook him a
nice lamb kebab dinner. Instead of taking one
of his own flocks, he stole the poor man's
lamb, roasted him up, and gave him to his friend. David was livid when
he heard this story. He thought it was a true story. Now, here's a question. Why didn't Nathan come in
and go, I know what you did, you scoundrel, you creep. You slept with Bathsheba. You stole a-- you
committed adultery with another man's wife. Why the indirect approach? The indirect approach
is for this reason. David is blind to his own sin. And so his sin is
seen on somebody else. And he can spot it right away. We're like that. We are often blind
to our own failures. But boy, we see it
in somebody else. And we get all mad about
it, hot and bothered David was that way. Took a good look at himself. He was mad. Verse 5 of chapter
12, "David's anger was greatly aroused
against the man. And he said to Nathan,
'As the Lord lives, the man who has done this
shall surely die.'" Whoa! Dude, you kill a guy
for killing a lamb? What are you, Lambo? What's up? The law of Moses
required only one thing if somebody steals a lamb. You know what it was? Restitution, a
fourfold restitution. David pulls-- he
goes to DEFCON 5. Kill him. Death to him. "And he shall restore
fourfold for the lamb because he did this thing
and because he had no pity." Boy, his sin looks
bad on somebody else. Then Nathan said to
David, you are the man. Took guts. Somebody once said
secret sin on earth is open scandal in heaven. It's all displayed before God. And God revealed it to Nathan. Beginning in chapter 12 and
13 and the rest of the book, at the end of chapter 12,
on into 13 to chapter 24 is that third word, troubles-- David's troubles. I'll sum a couple things up. In chapter 12, David's son dies. Bathsheba is pregnant,
has the child. The child dies. That's trouble number one. Trouble number two
is in chapter 13. David's daughter by
the name of Tamar gets raped by Amnon, the
half-brother of Absalom. This is a wacky family. Verse 21, "But when the King--
when King David heard of these things"-- heard about what? That his daughter had been raped
by a brother, by a stepbrother? "When King David heard
of all these things, he was very angry." I don't know. That's just a little too
understated for me, isn't it? That's it? Yeah, I'm kind of
mad about that. That's all you got? Your daughter's been raped? Yeah, I'm mad. I'm very angry. OK, thank you for the very. "And Absalom spoke
to his brother Amnon, neither good or bad, for
Absalom hated Amnon because he had forced his sister Tamar." Now here's what
I want to get at. David didn't do a thing. Oh, he got emotional. But he did nothing. Why? Well, he probably thought,
I have no moral high ground to stand on. I committed sexual sin myself. How am I going to rebuke
somebody for doing this? I did it to somebody
else's wife. So he probably felt he did
not have moral authority to speak about sexual sin. Let me say something about that. Some of us may be in a
very similar category-- a background we
committed adultery or had an abortion or
sex out of marriage. And Satan will come. And he'll say, you
have no right to speak on this subject to anybody
ever, especially your children. Actually, you do, because right
is right and wrong is wrong. In fact, it can be more powerful
as you tell your children, let me tell you
what happened to me. Let me tell you the sorrow
that I have experienced and the fallout because of
certain choices that I've made. And because of that, let my
life be the parable, the living example of what not to do. If you could get
yourself that humble, it could be that powerful
to a son or a daughter who would listen. Well, now a plot develops. Absalom plans to kill Amnon. And so verse 23, "It came
to pass after two full years that Absalom had sheep
shearers in Baalhazor, which is near Ephraim. So Absalom invited
all the King's sons." Now just let me help you
understand that sheep shearing for shepherds-- it's like Super Bowl weekend. For shepherds, it's Super Bowl. It's shearing time. And bring out the
Budweisers for this. This was their Super Bowl. So long and short of it, he
kills Amnon, his half-brother, and becomes a refugee. He runs away. Verse 39, "King David
longed to go to Absalom, for he had been comforted
concerning Amnon because he was dead." So all this happened. David's life is falling apart. His family life is in an uproar. But he wants to be with Absalom. Time has passed. And enough time has
passed that he wants some kind of a reconciliation. So he brings Absalom-- after a couple of years,
brings him back to Jerusalem. But for two years, while
he is in Jerusalem, David won't see him. Now, how frustrating
would that be? Come back home, but I won't
see you for two years. This causes bitterness to grow
in his son's heart, animosity to grow in his son's heart. And his son commits
an act of treason. In chapter 15, it
says Absalom, verse 6, stole the hearts of
the men of Israel. He stands out by the gates. He says all the right things to
get people to love him and not David, because David's
hidden away in his palace and he's so aloof. So for five horrible chapters,
Absalom after an act of treason rules and sends his
father David into exile. David is now deposed off the
throne, out of the kingdom. Absalom, his son, is in
charge until finally Joab-- who's Joab? Commander of whose army? David's army-- kills
Absalom, his son. I just want that to sink in. Think of what David, so far,
the troubles he has seen, his tragedies-- the death of
a baby, rape of his daughter Tamar, murder of his son
Amnon, rebellion of his son Absalom, and now the
murder of Absalom, his son. One trouble, one
blow after another. Chapter 18 verse 33,
the King was deeply moved after he hears
that his son is dead. The King was deeply moved. He's emotionally torn up. He's distraught, deeply moved. And notice, as he went up to
the chamber over the gate-- gee, I wonder if that's perhaps
not the same room where it all started with Bathsheba,
where from that perch he could look down at the
commanding view over the city. And he wept. "And as he went, he
said thus, oh my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. If only I had died
in your place, oh Absalom, my son, my son." You know what this pain is? They never reconciled. All of that treason, all of
that exile, finally saying, OK, you can come back,
not seeing him for two years-- they never
got together and were able to talk to each other
and extend forgiveness, a hug, an embrace, something. And now Absalom is dead. You know how many
emergency rooms I've stood in and seen families
in exactly the same situation? There has been unforgiveness. There has been foul words
that have been shared. There's never been
a reconciliation. Both parties are
dug in, prideful, won't talk to the other, don't
want anything to do with them. Then there's a death. Too late. The bitterness that follows,
the fallout that ruins life afterwards-- it's not worth it. FB Meyer, one of the greatest
authors of biographies in scripture, said, "This
is the bitterest of all, to know that suffering
need not have been, that it has resulted from
indiscretion and inconsistency, that it's the harvest
of one's own sowing, that the vultures which
feeds on the vitals is a nesting of
one's own rearing. Ah me, this is pain." Are you nurturing any vultures? Are you raising them
and they're pecking away at your life because of
pride and unforgiveness? And if you project
100 years from now, it won't matter how
successful your business was. It won't matter in 100 years
what a cool house you lived in. But it will matter what
you did with your children. It will matter how you
handled that relationship. You will never die
with a regret, man, I wish I had a bigger house. I've never seen anybody do that. Wish I had a better
bank account. Wish my car was cooler. But I've seen a lot of regret
over relationships unresolved. Not worth it. We now come to the
final days of David. Next couple chapters after
18, things get sorted out. He kind of gets back on
track after all that misery. But I want to take
you now to chapter 23, the final days of David
and among his final words. Chapter 23 verse 1, now these
are the last words of David. "Thus says David,
the son of Jesse, thus says the man
raised up on high, the anointed of God of Jacob and
the sweet Psalmist of Israel." One sentence, a
biographical sketch of David, how God took a kid
and turned him into a King. Verse 5, "Although my
house is not so with God"-- in other words,
David is saying, even though I haven't lived a perfect
life and I'm aware of that-- "yet He has made with me
an everlasting covenant ordered in all things insecure,
for this is all my salvation and all my desire. Will He not make it increase?" It's part of a psalm
that he writes. The last chapter illustrates
how that imperfect life that God chose and
made a covenant with-- what happens to it? A final error, a final trouble. David takes a census in
chapter 24, not unusual. Kings did it all the time. You know why they did it? They wanted to see
how many people could be in their
army, number one, number two for taxation reasons. Chapter 2 of Luke,
Caesar Augustus takes a registration
census because he wants to get Rome funded. So he takes a census. That was not unusual. But with David,
it was different. This is God's King. This is a man after God's heart. And David does it for
the motivation of pride so he can gloat over size. In 1 Chronicles, we
are told that Satan incited David to do it. In our text of 2
Samuel, it indicates the Lord was a part of it. How does that work? Is it a conflict? Not at all. In fact, it's a perfect
illustration of sovereignty. Satan tempted or incited David. God sovereignly
allowed it to happen and then restored and redeemed
it in David's situation. Well, chapter 24 verse
10, "And David's heart condemned him after he
had numbered the people." So David said to the Lord,
"I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now I pray,
O Lord, take away the iniquity of
your servant, for I have done very foolishly." Good on you, David. And you're right. It was foolish. He owned it. He confessed it. Verse 25, "And David built
there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings
and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the
prayers for the land," because even though
God forgave David, there was a
consequence of death. Keep that in mind. God will forgive
you all day long. Doesn't mean the
consequence goes away. It's like when you cut
yourself, you can-- that wound can heal. But the scar will remain. So there was a consequence. But verse 25, "David built
an altar to the Lord, offered burnt offerings
and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the
prayers for the land. And the plague was
withdrawn from Israel." In the four minutes we have
remaining, let me give you a 1, 2, 3. What do you do with sin? It's a refresher course. Most of us know this. Number one, admit it. Admit it. The Bible talks about
confessing your sin, right? "If you confess your
sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness." So admit your sin. Take responsibility for it. Own it. Don't blame shift, which is as
old as the hills and twice as dusty. What did Adam say
when he sinned? It's the woman you gave me. He blamed two people-- the woman, but more than
that, You gave her to me. It's Your fault.
It was Your idea. It's the woman You gave me. Solomon, who will
come the son of David, says, maybe thinking back to
his own father's life, maybe his own life, "He who conceals
his sins does not prosper. But whoever confesses and
renounces them finds mercy." That takes us to
our second thing. Admit it. Number two, leave it. Leave it. That's repentance. Turn from it. Make a clean break from it. When I was a kid growing
up in the Catholic church, I sinned all week long because
I could go to confession at the end of the week. That gave me a clean
slate to sin the next week and go to confession
at the end of the week. I'd just sort of keep doing it. No, admit it then leave it. Leave it. By God's grace and God's
power, make a clean break. Go in the opposite direction. So admit it, leave it, and
number three, replace it. Replace it. The book of Romans
talks all about that. Don't be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good. Develop new activities, new
habits, new disciplines. Add those things to your
life so that you're so consumed with
doing those things, you don't have time in
the spring of the year to kick back, let the
other people do it while you get distracted
in your thought life. Admit it, leave it, replace it. Father, we are people. And as people, we blow it. When we look at David, we could
say, well, that's a male thing. No, it's a human thing. There's not a person here who is
not dealt with temptation, even sexual temptation, from
a member of the other sex or even the same sex
where we get tempted. [MUSIC PLAYING] And Father, that's
the fallen humanity. It's the humanity that
you came to redeem. It's the humanity
You understand. And so we are moved
when we find out that God became flesh
and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory
even as He beheld our sin. But he didn't just behold it. He did something about it. He came to wash it
away, to forgive sin. Lord, I pray for anybody
who might be here tonight invited by a friend,
even with somebody who's come maybe for weeks
or months or even years. But there has never
been a personal turning. Maybe there's been an
admission, but there hasn't been a turning, a
repentance, a leaving the past, making a clean break
and giving Jesus charge as Lord of that life. And so Father, I pray
that if somebody is here broken by sin, broken
by their past failures, not yet have turned to
Christ or maybe somebody had some experience with You
years ago, but turned away and is not today following
Jesus Christ, not living in obedience to Christ,
they need to come back home. I pray, Lord, that you
would touch the heart even as you touched
David's heart when he said, I have sinned gravely. And he made a monument
right there to the Lord, I pray that there will
be a monument made, a testimony made
tonight in this place as people give
their lives to you. With your head bowed, if you've
not given your life to Jesus or if you strayed
away from Him and you need to come back to Him, if you
are willing to do that and be forgiven by Him, to be refreshed
and restored and God to pour joy into your life and
love into your life along with forgiveness
for your past-- if you want that, I want you to
raise your hand up in the air. Just raise it up in the air
and hold it up for a moment so I can acknowledge. Just raise it up. You're saying pray for me. God bless you in the
back, right in the middle, in the back to my right, a
couple of you, a couple of you right over here to my right,
in the back on the left, on the left here,
toward the front here, right there in the middle. Father, thank You for all of
these hands that have gone up and some I can't even see. But Lord, you see. You know. And You love. And oh, it is your
joy to restore. How You love to forgive. You get so excited
when somebody says, I'm going to come to
you broken with my sin, because you know that there can
be a solution for that person. That person can be restored
in a fullness of life. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Would you stand to your feet? As we sing this final
song, those of you who raised your hands, in
this family setting, I'm going to ask you
to do one final thing and that is get up from
where you're standing. Some of you were in the back. Some of you were in
the middle of a row. Doesn't matter. People will make way for you. We're used to this. You get up as we
sing this final song. And you come, in effect
making a monument of I'm leaving the past. I'm stepping into the future. I want to be forgiven. After you come, I'm going
to lead you in a prayer. It'll just take a few moments. As we sing, right now you come. And I'll meet you right here. I'll lead you in that prayer. (SINGING) --is washing over me. Come on up. (SINGING) Your
face is all I see. You are my everything. Jesus Christ, you
are my one desire. Lord, hear my only cry
to know you all my life. Your love's so deep. It's washing over me. Your face is all I see. You are my everything. Jesus Christ, you
are my one desire. Lord, hear my only cry
to know you all my life. I'm going to wait
just another moment. Wait just another moment. Jesus called people publicly. And there's something
that happens, I believe-- no, I don't believe. I know. I've seen it. I've experienced it. When you are willing to make
a public decision to put Jesus first, it just makes
every other time that you make a public stand
for Jesus a whole lot easier. And I think it settles
something in your own heart when you're willing to make
a clean break from your past and say yes to Christ in the
present and for the future. So really quickly, anybody
else, if you haven't come yet, you're seeing those who
have walked forward, you're thinking-- and you're right--
you need to be a part of this. Yes, you do. If you're not
certain about where you're going when you die,
you need to be a part of this. It's why you were put on
Earth, to be forgiven by God and to live the life
God has for you. Anyone else, really quickly? [APPLAUSE] (SINGING) Your
face is all I see. You are my everything. Good choice. Good thinking. (SINGING) Jesus Christ,
you are my one desire. Lord hear my only cry
to know you all my life. Your love so deep
is washing over me. Lord, I see, you
are my everything. Jesus Christ, you
are my one desire. Lord hear my only cry There's a lot of you here. [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] For some of you, that
might sound really weird. It's like, we're in church. I'm standing up front. Everybody's clapping, shouting. And I kind of feel, like,
broken up inside even. So why are they clapping? The Bible says when
one person does what you're doing,
turns to Christ-- when one sinner, the Bible
says, comes to Christ, that all the angels in Heaven rejoice. They rejoice. [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] So I think if they're
happy about it-- if there's a party
in Heaven, why not join the party
right now on Earth? That's why we're so excited. So real simple. I'm going to lead
you in a prayer. I'm going to ask you to say
this prayer out loud after me, say these words from your heart,
mean them as you say them. You say them to God. That's all prayer
is, talking to God. And you're asking Jesus to
come in and take control, OK? Let's pray. After me, say this. Lord, I give you my life. I know that I'm a sinner. Forgive me. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe He came from Heaven to
Earth, that He died on a cross, that He shed His blood for
me, and that He rose again. I turn from my sin. I leave my past. I turn to Jesus as my Savior. Help me to follow
Him as my Lord. It's in Jesus'
name I pray, amen. Let's rejoice! [CHEERING] We hope you enjoyed this message
from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. For more resources,
visit CalvaryNM.church. Thank you for joining us for
this teaching from The Bible From 30,000 Feet.
