Caught In The Spin Cycle Series

Title: Caught In The Spin Cycle

Text: 2 Samuel 11:1-12:13

Introduction

Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” He was of course talking about science. But what if we applied it to life? What in your life have you repeated over and over again and expected a different result? It was a question that we asked at Celebrate Recovery. The follow up question was this. What is it that you are looking for?

We are creatures of habit by nature. And we can quickly establish patterns in our lives. Sometimes they are healthy; sometimes they are not. And before we know it we can be caught in a vicious cycle of repeated behaviors. And it can be hard to break. At times it feels like it is downright impossible.

And we move through the cycle of action, to guilt, to promises not to do it again, to doing it again. Have you ever been caught in the cycle of sin?

Common Ground

One more swig; just one more hit; one more drag; just one more look on the internet; it’s just a few dollars that no one will even notice are missing; it’s just a simple shopping trip. It’s the cycle. And before we know it, we are caught in the cycle of insanity brought on by sin. We repeat things over and over again hoping for; longing for; or even expecting a different result.

Reason For Message:

How do we break that cycle?

I want to filter this question through our story today.

As we identify a Principle Truth:

Principle: Sin will function at its highest efficiency when it operates in isolation or secrecy.

Today’s Text:

2 Samuel 11:1-17; 12:1-13

Read 2 Samuel 11:1-17

Today’s passage is the story of a man named David. He was king of Israel during her Golden Age. And while Scripture tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart, David was also prone to huge lapses in judgment.

And so at a time when kings would normally go out to war, David stays in Jerusalem. He remains safe and secure. He does not go out with his men to fight. Instead, he remains at home alone. Idle hands end up being the Devil’s playground.

After waking up from an afternoon nap, he takes a stroll in the cool breeze afforded on the palace roof and he looks over the city. And he sees a woman who is taking a bath on the roof of an adjacent house.

It may sound odd to us, but this would have been a normal practice. In David’s time there were no hot water heaters. Tubs were placed on the roofs of homes to let the sun warm the water. That’s where this woman was.

David sees her exposed and admires her extraordinary beauty. He is so intrigued that he risks an inquiry about her. “Who is this woman?” he asks. He receives word back that this woman is named Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

I love that response. In it Bathsheba is more than just an object of David’s desire. She has a daddy, and she has a husband. David had objectified Bathsheba making her an object of his desire when he asks about her. Moreover, this woman is married to a man who serves in David’s army. Now the honorable man would leave the situation alone. If David had stopped, the cycle would have stopped. But David does not. And the spin cycle of sin continues.

He sends a message that he wants to see this woman. One thing leads to another, he sleeps with here, and word soon comes back that Bathsheba is pregnant. This is troubling news.

Historical Context:

It is more than a political scandal for David to overcome. Under Old Testament Law, David and Bathsheba could have been taken out of the city and stoned to death.

They along with the child might die.

Remember or principle - Sin functions at its highest efficiency when it operates in isolation and secrecy. David attempts to cover up his sin / he wants to keep it a secret. By doing so, he wants to limit the damage that it can cause. He devices an immediate action plan.

He brings Uriah back from battle in hopes that he will spend a little quality time with his wife. So he invites Uriah back from the field of battle and sends him home to Bathsheba. You know what David is doing right? He hopes he can make the claim that the child isn’t his own.

Plan “A” flops. Uriah will not even go to his wife or even his own house while the other men and the Ark of the Covenant are on the field of battle. So David goes with plan B.