Prayer is Love

2 Samuel 15-16:14

Purpose

: Waiting on God to act demands remaining faithful in word and deed.

Introduction

When we look at David’s life, we are thankful for God’s willingness to give us a clear view of David both good and bad. David is far from perfect. He is made into a great king, but he can’t resist having another man’s wife. He loves God, but he is a poor father. David’s life reveals both victories and defeats. Does David’s sin give us license to pursue that which is unholy? Hardly. A reading of Psalm 51 would convince us otherwise. Written after David’s sin with Bathsheba, David is distraught. He is a man who not only recognizes his sin but longs for the sin to be taken away – not just the guilt but the memory as well. Such doesn’t happen and David realizes that his sin has long term consequences upon himself, his mind, and the people.

Although David transgressed God’s divine law, God does not turn his back on David. Repenting of his sin, David pleads for God’s presence and love. God grants to David what he desires but he does not stop the consequences from happening. Instead, the results of David’s sin are a constant reminder to him. David’s inability to shepherd his own children leads to a rebellion from his son, Absalom. Shame and disgrace become David’s friend for a time and as we study the text, we are struck with David’s complete defeat. But in the midst of that defeat there is hope. David turns once again to the God who has always provided and trusts him to do what is right for David and for his people. Let’s be encouraged.

Absalom’s Conspiracy

Absalom has returned from exile and it isn’t long before he begins taking on a new role in Jerusalem. He becomes a self-appointed judge for those who need justice from the king. Absalom would get up early in the morning and with his large entourage, he would position himself at the city gates to hear the cases of those who had come to petition King David. In 15:3, “there is no representative” is a way of telling us something very important. David has taken on too much. The king is to hear the most important cases. He has become swamped with so many cases that those who come to get a hearing cannot. Too many are being either turned away or ignored. It is these that Absalom hears. In addition to being a self appointed judge, Absalom also demonstrates his desire to align himself with the people. When they come with a problem and bow down to him, he quickly brings them to their feet and kisses them. In this manner, he aligns himself as an advocate for the people. Verse 6, the language demonstrates that Absalom dupes the people into believing that he cares.

This is far from the main point of this story but it is a minor point which I want to briefly highlight. Absalom hid his true motives behind a facade of good things. He acted the role of confidante and righteous judge, but the truth was he was only trying to gain support for his ungodly actions. He even used religious reasons for amassing his army. The point is that motives can be hidden. It isn’t always possible to know what is going on in the heart and mind of a person. This is not to cause us to be cautious, but it is to remind us that it is important not to place our complete faith and trust in a person. Of course, we trust people, but our ultimate trust must be in God.

After four years of playing the game of political rival, Absalom believes that he has enough support to overthrow his father. Traveling to Hebron he amasses a small army and from Hebron, Absalom declares himself king of Israel. David upon hearing the news immediately leaves Jerusalem. Now older and less mobile, David returns to the life of running and hiding. You can imagine the turmoil and the disorganization which is taking place. The king has become the exiled and the exiled has become king.

To add insult to injury literally, David then has to hear a man named Shimei curse him and to pelt him with stones. The boldness of this man is beyond belief. Although David is surrounded by his “secret service,” this man pelts David with stones. And for some distance he had to listen to this man’s curses and to feel the dirt being thrown on him. It is truly a moment of disgrace for David and his family.

Lessons

What are we to learn? First, when life is in chaos, our friends can make the chaos more bearable. Various faithful friends stand by David. Ittai the Gittite, someone from the same region as Goliath, joined David to offer protection and comfort. Some are sent back to Jerusalem to serve as spies for David. Each of these friends offer more than words of encouragement. They literally put their lives on the line for David. That is the mark of a true friend. They always put you first.

Jesse Owens seemed sure to win the long jump at the 1936 games. The year before he had jumped 26 feet, 8 1/4 inches — a record that would stand for 25 years. As he walked to the long-jump pit, however, Owens saw a tall, blue eyed, blond German taking practice jumps in the 26-foot range. Owens felt nervous. He was acutely aware of the Nazis’ desire to prove “Aryan superiority,” especially over blacks. At this point, the tall German introduced himself as Luz Long. “You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed!” he said to Owens, referring to his two jumps. For the next few moments the black son of a sharecropper and the white model of Nazi manhood chatted. Then Long made a suggestion. Since the qualifying distance was only 23 feet, 5 1/2 inches, why not make a mark several inches before the takeoff board and jump from there, just to play it safe? Owens did and qualified easily. In the finals Owens set an Olympic record and earned the second of four golds. The first person to congratulate him was Luz Long — in full view of Adolf Hitler. Owens never again saw Long, who was killed in World War II. “You could melt down all the medals and cups I have,” Owens later wrote, “and they wouldn’t be a platting (sic) on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long.”

Such relationships demonstrate the care God has for each of us. In the chaos of our sin, Jesus took our place in fighting Satan. In our defeat, Jesus brings victory.

Second, throughout this story, David trusts God to set things right. He shows a deep concern for those who are loyal to him and yet continues to wait for God to act. In 15:14, he encourages everyone to flee for their own safety. In 15:19-20, he offers release to Ittai and his men. In 15:25-26 he instructs the priests to return the ark to Jerusalem and leave it for God to decide what is best. In 15:31-34, David learns that one of his trusted advisors has joined Absalom so he prays for God to turn that man’s counsel to foolishness. At that time Hushai appears and David sends him back to Jerusalem to confound Ahithophel’s counsel. In 16:7-12 when Shemei cursed David, David accepts the cursing as possibly being from God and resists the urge to kill him. All through this text, David looks to God to make things right. If it is God’s will for him to return to Jerusalem, then he will and if it is God’s will that he should die, he will. David is determined to honor God even in the tough times.

What a great lesson for us. It is easy to honor God when times are good, but honoring God when things are hard and tough is not so easy. But isn’t that really when faith is evident. Like Job of old, when things are going well it is easy to thank God, but it is more difficult to thank God when the times are not easy.

But this is the nature of trust. We trust God when times are good and we must learn to trust God when times are not so good. David eventually returns to Jerusalem, but in the meantime he is a man disgraced. But David trusts God to do the right thing and David is willing to wait for God to act on his behalf. David demonstrates to us the nature of faith.

Are you trusting God in the hard times as well as in the good times? God is able to bring about his will and purpose for you. Even in those hard times, he will act. Are you trusting him?

2 Samuel 12:15-25

Purpose

Introduction

Bad things happen to good people. Not all bad things which happen to us can be explained in a simple cause and effect relationship. For example, a child’s cancer cannot be explained by some type of thing that the child or parents did which produced the cancer. Jesus recognized this in John 9 when the man who had been born blind was healed. The disciples looking for the cause and effect relationship simply asked, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.” Jesus’ answer is designed to cause the disciples to look at life a bit differently. Neither the man nor his parents sinned. Sometimes bad things happen in life for no explainable reason.

But then there are times in which we sin and we must suffer the consequences of that sin. You tell a lie. You are caught in the lie. What happens? At the least, you must apologize. But there are long term consequences which come with that sin. Trust is broken. Relationships can be broken or completely severed. It may take a long time for someone to trust you again. This long term consequence is a direct result of your sin. How we respond to those long term consequences says something about our faith.

David, God’s man and king of Israel, has sinned. He thought he had gotten away with his sin, but God was not going to allow him to do wrong and not be confronted. David is confronted. David confesses his sin. But one of the immediate consequences is that the child born to Bathsheba will die. David is struck with grief. Today as we look at David’s reaction to the consequence of sin, we can learn several lessons but none more important than seeing his faith in action. When faced with our own sin, we have a choice to make – to be bitter or to be strengthened in our faith.

Dealing with the Consequences

Nathan leaves David. Without much delay, the child of David’s sin is struck with illness. Notice the text names Bathsheba by calling her Uriah’s wife. Even at this point, the author does not want us to forget the sin or the reason for the baby’s illness. Some would focus on the innocence of the child and the unfairness of the child being ill. But this is to miss the point of David’s sin. The author has set it up so that the reader can recognize the seriousness of the sin and such serious sin demands serious consequences. Our attention is now turned to David and his reaction and response to the child’s illness. How will this man of God who has repented and been forgiven respond to the judgment of God? How will this one who loves God react to the loss of one who is close to him? Will he grow bitter or will he respond in faith?

So we go to verse 16. David pleads with God to relent. He pleads that God will take the illness from the child. He goes without food. He refuses the simple pleasure of lying on a bed to sleep at night. You can see David curled up in the fetal position. His knees are pulled to his chest. The pain in his heart far exceeds the pain in his empty stomach. He cries. He prays. He begs. And he knows that it is his sin which has brought this tragedy. Later in verse 22 David tells us his motive and rationale for this display. He hopes that God will change his mind. He is hoping that God will see his heart and by grace bring a different outcome.

For seven days, David pleads for God to change his mind. On the seventh day the verdict is carried out – the child dies. David sees his servants whispering around him. He knows something has changed. “Is the child dead?” David asks timidly. “Yes, he is dead.” Without hesitation, David’s demeanor changes. He gets up off the floor. He washes his face and his hands. He changes his clothes. He puts lotions on. And he heads over to the tabernacle. He makes sacrifices. He praises God. He returns home and has a good meal. “Where is your sadness? Where is your grief?” David’s response demonstrates his faith. “While the child lived, I went without food and I cried because I hoped God would change his mind. But now that he is dead, I must eat and continue with life. I cannot bring him back from the dead, but I will join him in the realm of the dead someday.”

Eventually David and Bathsheba have another child. This child is named Solomon. God tells Nathan to name him Jedidiah which means loved by the Lord. In time, Solomon will become David’s replacement.

Lessons

First, suffering for the consequences of sin is a lonely experience. There is nothing in the text to suggest that David and Bathsheba were together during the illness of their child. They both suffered through the illness in isolation of each other. Other than the servants, sin and its consequences often isolate us. It is during this time that we can develop and give room for bitterness to enter our life. We can begin to think that in some way God is being unfair in allowing us to suffer such terrible consequences. It is a lonely experience.

Second, the consequences of sin need to be a humbling experience. The scene of David on the floor of his room with no food and no comfort is a vivid image. The king with all of his finery is undone. He is a broken man. There is no attempt on his part to look as if everything is okay. His life is undone. In his pride he had taken another man’s wife and another man’s life. The consequences of sin allows us time to put things back into perspective. David must learn that it is God who supplies what he needs. When we suffer the consequences of our sin, it is a time to humble ourselves and to be thankful again. Humility means realizing that the world doesn’t revolve around us. Humility means learning to be appropriately small.

Third, God is good. This may be the hardest lesson of all. David sins. God in his grace does not kill David, but he does allow the child to die. How can we explain God’s goodness? What if God had killed David rather than the child? God’s promise to make David’s house a dynasty would have effectively ended. So God keeps his promise and in the process he wins back the heart of David. But maybe that is too much to swallow. Try this then. The child is ill. Who does David pray to? Why would he pray to the one who allowed his child the illness anyway? Verse 22 – perhaps the Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live. Words spoken by a man who has been touched by the grace of God once before. What does David do when the child dies? He praises God. How do you explain that? Because God is good. Perhaps we have a hard time with this story because our view of God is too limited.

Maybe we believe that God is good only when things are going well. Maybe we believe in the deep recesses of our hearts that God is supposed to overlook our sin and still make everything turn out okay. Maybe we even believe that our failure isn’t supposed to result in anything bad happening.

We must think correctly about our sin and we must think differently about God. God is good. When I sin, God is good. When I suffer the consequences of my sin, God is good. I may not understand, but God is good. There are some who grow bitter and resentful when things do not go well. They operate with the view that their sin is no big deal and they do not understand why such bad things are happening in their lives. They refuse to take responsibility for their actions.

And in their bitterness they deny the faith. God is good. He is good when we sin. He is good when he disciplines. He is good when he judges. We mustn’t blame God for our sin. Instead like David we praise him for his goodness. In our limited view cannot see what God sees, but we can know and hold on to the goodness of God. He wants what is best for us.