“YOU ARE THE MAN” II Samuel 12:1-15

July 29, 2012 Will the real King David please stand up?

• Over here we have the young shepherd boy of Bethlehem – fresh from his victory over the Philistine giant Goliath – drawing on God as his strength.

• Over here the young King entering his new capital city in a great parade, but he is not at the head of the procession nor is he clothed in expensive garments. In humility and in worship he follows the Ark of the Covenant – dancing in praise – a sign that this King recognizes a higher authority.

• Over here, an older King receiving the blessing of God that he and his descendents are chosen to be the household of God – the royal line of David – from which a ruler will come with an eternal Kingdom.

• And over here a middle-aged King who took by force the wife of one of his captains, caused her to become pregnant and then had his captain killed to cover up his sin.

Whoa – hold on here. That last one doesn’t sound right at all. No way can all of these be the same person. Can they? Can this be David? “You are the man” the prophet Nathan declares to David and David fell down in guilt and repentance. So yes, this is David: He is all of these things. Which tells us today that every believer, no matter how strong their faith, can make deeply sinful mistakes. The only question is when we do, will we admit it – and repent? David gave in to temptation – tried to cover it up. And then convinced himself what he did was OK. David has grown older. We know this because II Samuel tells us “it was the spring of the year. The time when Kings go forth to battle to secure borders and perhaps acquire more land.” But David sends his general Joab and stays home in Jerusalem. David is a much-loved King, solidly supported by his army, well-respected by his people. But he is solidly middle-aged – too old to go to war. And he is apparently restless because in the middle of the day he wanders up on the roof. Now, that’s a problem. A restless middle-aged man hanging out on a roof? That’s a recipe for disaster. How many times in our lives do we give in to temptation because we are restless - not focused on our life’s purpose – distracted – hanging out in places we have no business being?

• We are angry at our spouse so we look for someone else to talk to. • Our lives feel empty. We aren’t satisfied that we are accomplishing anything. So we take the

credit card and go to the mall. • We are restless in our job – unappreciated at home. So we start stopping by the bar, just to

hang out with friends, people who really understand us.

< and before we know it, there’s a sin to account for, maybe try to cover up >

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In David’s case the woman he found on the roof – another man’s wife – got pregnant, and David decides to try to cover it up. He calls for her husband to come home from the battlefield, but Uriah won’t go home to his wife. He tries to get Uriah drunk enough he’ll go home to his wife – doesn’t work. So finally he sends him back to the battlefield with a letter to the General. Uriah carries the letter himself of his own death. “Put him in the heaviest fighting. Then pull back so he will be killed”. And he is, and David marries Bathsheba. See? No problem. Everything worked out. Nobody even suspects a thing and to finish it all up, David sends another message to his general. “Now Joab”, the message says “don’t

worry about this. Be encouraged. This is simply the way of war.”

Now we are at the heart of David’s sin. Not only has he successfully hidden this sin from everyone else. He has convinced himself that he just did what he had to do and it really wasn’t that bad.

this is simply the way of war! Bathsheba was just a woman and casualties occur in war. End of story.

• I just did what I had to do. Besides, nobody will ever know. • Yes, I blew up and said horrible things, but I said I was sorry. What’s the big deal? • If they hadn’t done this to me, then I wouldn’t have done it to them. So what I did is really

their fault. We’re pros at it – justifying the things we do – blaming other people – denying the serious consequences that our actions have caused.

• I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want the reputation of Penn State football to suffer. • Well, yes, I told her that, but I didn’t know she was going to tell all her friends and they would

tell all their friends. It’s not my fault everyone is avoiding her. I just stated my opinion. • Maybe, I have started drinking too much, but I’m in my own home. What’s the problem? • No, I haven’t spoken to them all day – all week actually – truthfully for years. But that’s

because of what they did to me. • Yes, I blew up and told her I don’t care about her - have never cared about her. But she

knows I didn’t mean it. So what’s wrong with her now? And the consequences of the sin increase and our denial of the sin gets deeper. And we can fool everybody else – even fool ourselves – but we can’t fool God. God sends Nathan, the prophet to talk to David and Nathan knows if there is going to be any reconciliation with God, David has to admit he has sinned and he is responsible. So Nathan tells David an example of someone else. There was this rich guy, see, and a poor guy. And the rich guy has everything he wants, but he takes the one thing the poor guy has and loves. And David is furious. “Who is the man in my kingdom who would dare act this way?” (and all creation holds its breath as Nathan says: “You are, David. You are the man.”

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Nathan, the prophet has a hard job. He certainly is not a perfect man himself. Yet he is the one who has to help others recognize their sin. He stands in a had place – Nathan does – and nobody really wants him around. Especially when he comes to us and says. “There once was a rich man who had vast wealth – much wealthier than citizens of other nations in the world.”

But instead of being grateful for that wealth – instead of giving 10% of it to God and singing praise in the house of God every single Lord’s day, he dropped pennies in the place and headed out to the water places of his world: the pool, the lake, the beach.

Instead of having compassion on others who had less, he went to town meetings to make double sure that he and his children were getting every little piece of everything they were entitled to.

Instead of being kind and civil to strangers, he was hostile in public places and rude to others on the highway.

Instead of being grateful for all the big things God had forgiven him for and forgiving others the small sins they committed against him, he harbored grudges – called people names – refused to speak to loved ones – mulled over grievances – licked his wounds.

Who in the world is this selfish – self-centered - unloving man? We ask. And all of creation holds its breath as Nathan says to us “You are. You are the man.”

Will we let Nathan’s words bring us to our knees in repentance of our sin? Our relationship with God depends upon it because we can’t say I’m sorry for sins we refuse to admit we’ve committed. Will the words of the prophet convict us to humble ourselves before God and take a new attitude towards people in our lives? Or will we kill the messenger? * I don’t go to church because I don’t like the preacher.

• I agree with some of the teachings of Jesus, but some of them are just not realistic. • Or even – some of what you say may be true, but I am the way I am because of how my Mama

treated me and I won’t be changing any time soon. Will the real King David please stand up? And the true heart of David – what he was really made of – raised his hands and said – I was wrong. I admit my sin. I will do what I can to make it right and I beg forgiveness. Old Testament scholar Walter Bruggemann says at this point in David’s life he is reminded of words spoken by Patrick Moynihan following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Moynihan told a grieving nation – “We will laugh again, but we will never be young again.”

The age of innocence has passed. David has seen too much of the deadly power of temptation and sin to ever be young and innocent again. David’s child with Bathsheba will die and David will soon face a massive civil war headed by his oldest son, Absalom.

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He will laugh again, but he will never be young again. And perhaps that is exactly why this text from David’s life is so powerful to us. We too have known the dark depths of broken relationships and tragic mistakes. And we – like David – have had to beg for forgiveness. David’s story promises us again that there is more mercy in God than mistakes in us. So, will the real King David please stand up? Over in the corner along with the other portraits of David is an old man with deep lines in his face. He has lived long years and has seen many things: love – and hate., joy – and sorrow, life – and death. Yet on his face is the unmistakable expression of hope.

• Hope that despite our sin, God never gives up on us. • Hope that despite our failures, God still uses us to fight the darkness and build His Kingdom. • Hope that the day is coming and soon will be, when sin is destroyed and the realm of God is

established and David will see the Son of David – the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end – established as our eternal King.

This is David’s hope. This is our hope. This is the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ, born of the house and lineage of David. Thanks be to God,

Amen