Proper 13
After Pentecost • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
2 Samuel 11:26–12:13a
2 Samuel 11:26–12:13a
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
12 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the 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. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Sermon
Sermon
David breathed a sigh of relief. The report had come back from the battlefield. Uriah was dead. Bathsheba, pregnant with his child, mourned her husband’s death. But after the time of mourning was over, David married her and brought her to live with him. As he got the last of her things settled, he thought to himself, “and no one will ever know what I did.” Now, there might have been suspicions or rumors, but there was no proof. No one would ever find out what David had done. To the depths to which he had stooped. To steal another man’s wife, and then to kill her husband.
Shortly after this, David is in his royal office. A servant knocks at the door. Sir. There’s someone here to see you. Nathan, the prophet. Nathan is a friend and trusted adviser so David tells the servant to send him in. After some greetings and how do you dos, David asks Nathan the reason for his visit. And Nathan tells David, he has a story to tell him. It’s a story of conflict and Nathan is seeking David’s wisdom in the resolution.
There are these two men. One who is wealthy and has everything he could possibly need. The second a man of limited means with only one lamb which he had bought and raised as a part of the family. Yet, when a traveler came to town, the wealthy man did not use any of his belongings to provide for this traveler but instead stole the lamb from the poor man.
At hearing this, the Bible says, King David, “burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” David was indignant that someone could do such a thing. He demanded justice for this poor man.
And Nathan turns to David and says, “You are the man”. Just when David thought he had kept this all secret, Nathan tells David, “God knows everything you have done.” Nathan reminds David that his actions are known to God. David thought he had kept it in the dark, but God turned on the light.
Nathan confronts David over the sin he committed. His open disobedience against God in what he had done, killing Uriah to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba. And there were three parts to this message. First, God reminds David of all He had done for him. And God says, after all this, “if this was too little, I would have given you more.” Secondly, God identifies David’s sin. His affair with Bathsheba and his killing of Uriah. And third, God tells David there will be consequences for his actions. God tells David that out of his own household, God will bring calamity on David.
Now David might have denied what he had done again. But he knew this wasn’t simply Nathan talking, but it was God talking through him. And David responds, openly confessing, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
David had walked with the Lord for a long time. He’s the only person who has ever been referred to as a man after God’s own heart. Yet, he confesses to sinning against the Lord. The Bible affirms “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But the Bible also affirms that Christ died for our sins. Christ’s death washes away our guilt.
This morning, we receive communion. Again, we gather at the Lord’s table and are reminded of our own sins. We are reminded of our need to confess to the Lord anything we have done that needs confessing. We receive the bread and the cup as a reminder of God’s grace that He doesn’t leave us in the same condition in which He found us. By grace, He invites us to walk with Him.
