1 Samuel 17:34-37; But David said to Saul, “Your
servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and
carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it
and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its
hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the
lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them,
because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who
delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me
from the hand of this Philistine.” [1]
2 Samuel 5:9-10; David then took up residence in the
fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from
the supporting terraces inward. 10 And he became more and more
powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him. [2]
2 Samuel 6:13-15; When those who
were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and
a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the
Lord with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel
brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. [3]
2 Samuel 6:17-18; They brought the ark of the Lord and
set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David
sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offeringsf before the Lord.
18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty.[4]
2 Samuel 7:11-16; “ ‘The Lord
declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When
your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your
offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will
establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for
my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I
will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish
him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my
love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I
removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure
forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ” [5]
2 Samuel 7:18-19; Then King David went in and sat
before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family,
that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough
in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the
house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign
Lord? [6]
2. David the Sinner
While David was not perfect and
made many mistakes, the story of Dave and Bathsheba shows how lust and desire
can even get the best of the best of people.
From the roof of his palace, David noticed a beautiful woman bathing,
and he sent for her. When she became pregnant, he ordered her husband Uriah
home from the battlefield, so the adultery might not be discovered. But Uriah
was a dedicated man: he would not enjoy the comforts of his home or wife while
his companions were camped in the open before the walls of an enemy city.
Desperate now, David sent secret
orders to his commander to place Uriah in an exposed position so the enemy
might kill him. After Uriah’s death, Bathsheba was taken into David’s house as
one of his wives. And the Bible tells us, “The thing David had done displeased
the Lord” (2 Sam. 11:27).
Now came a confrontation between
David and Nathan the prophet, who was sent to announce God’s judgment on the
king. This judgment needs to be seen as a natural consequence of David’s act;
his own disrespect for the divinely ordained family pattern would bear its own
bitter fruit.
David’s immediate reaction is
revealing. Unlike others who struck out in anger against such prophets and
condemned them, David immediately confessed his sin and admitted the rightness
of God’s judgment: “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’ ” (2
Sam. 12:13).
Scripture tells this story
simply. All the facts are recorded. No cover-up is attempted. Meditating on the
incident, David was led to make the fullest possible revelation of his inner
thoughts and feelings. We find them in Psalm 51, a psalm later used in public
worship! We see timeless themes in Psalm 51, and find guidance to help us
realize how we ourselves are to approach God when we sin. As the analysis of
this psalm shows, David’s reaction is appropriate for us too when we fall short.[7]
3. David the Penitent
THE PENITENT’S PSALM
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out
my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and
my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done what
is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified
when You judge. Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my
mother conceived me.
Surely You desire truth in the
inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop,
and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy
and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Hide Your face from my
sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or
take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and
grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors
Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You. Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, and my
mouth will declare Your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would
bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:1–17 [8]
Because
David was fully loved God, God was still going to use David to bring about the
coming Kingdom of God that Christ would set up.
What
we learn from David is that even when we sin God will still forgive us when we
seek his forgiveness. David was forgiven
because he loved God fully.
[1] The
Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids :
Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Sa 17:34-37
[2] The
Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids :
Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Sa 5:9-10
[3] The
Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids :
Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Sa 6:13-15
[4] The
Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids :
Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Sa 6:17-18
[5] The
Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids :
Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Sa 7:8-16
[6] The
Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids :
Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Sa 7:18-19
[7]Richards,
Larry ; Richards, Lawrence O.: The Teacher's Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. :
Victor Books, 1987, S. 235
[8]Richards,
Larry ; Richards, Lawrence O.: The Teacher's Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. :
Victor Books, 1987, S. 235
