Israel’s Experience With Human Kings” Series

The Game of Thrones- Israel’s Experience with Human Kings”

“You Are The Man”

We have been studying a man who lived 3000 years ago, who was a great man, who served a great nation, under a great God, with great passion. His name was David. Keep in mind that sixty-two chapters of the Old Testament are devoted to him. He has almost sixty references in the New Testament. As we return to our series “The Game of Thrones” The kings of Israel I have a question.

What do King David, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton have in common?

They all at one time entered "THE SPIN ZONE." What is "The Spin Zone"? The "Spin Zone" is when you enter into God's "No Sin Zone" out of a lust for power, sex, influence which causes you to sin. In the Garden of Eden God warned Adam and Eve about His "No Sin Zone" and they refused to listen, they entered into "The Spin Zone" and said… it’s not my fault….and you know the rest of the story.

Nixon had his Watergate, Clinton had his Monica-gate and David had his Bathsheba-gate all because they entered "The Spin Zone". If you were to ask the average person, "What do you remember most about King David?" Children would quickly answer, "Goliath." Adults would quickly answer, "Bathsheba." Goliath reminds us of David's greatest victory; Bathsheba reminds us of David's greatest defeat.

When we last left David I noted that it was spring. You can feel the warm breeze blowing in the Jerusalem evening. Clouds are gone. The army is off to war. David’s not. David can’t sleep. He’s restless… Time on his hands.

David took a walk. He pushes aside the curtain. He is enjoying the view from his new palace porch which opened onto the patio roof. A place to sit in the cool of the evening. Above and away from the streets.

(read II Sam.11:1-4)

Even though he was called "a man after God's own heart", a one night stand with a woman named, Bathsheba. When she announces that she is pregnant, David panicked. Panic usually causes poor decisions. David panicked…. He tried to solve the problem by inviting her husband, Uriah, home for a visit. (II Samuel 11:5-17)It did not work.

David had Uriah, murdered. Time goes bye. An outside observer would have felt that David had committed the perfect crime - that he had gotten away with it and that God was either asleep at the wheel or decided to give David a free pass. Joab is in perfect position for future blackmail.

There is a little foot note, just a single sentence at the end of Chapter 11 that reads like this: "But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord." (II Samuel 11:27, NASB)

David may have fooled most, but he hadn't fooled God. God had waited patiently for a year, because God doesn't always settle His accounts at the end of the month but He does settle them.

Two weeks ago I shared a quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was hanged at the age of 39 on April 9, 1945 by the Nazi SS. In one of his books he wrote: “The Devil does not fill us with hatred for God, only forgetfulness of God.”

If I read the religious lay-of-the-land, the culture wars are about making a nation forget the “rules God has stated for humanity.” Just remove the “Ten Commandments” then people will forget. “Keep your religion private.” We can create our own man made cultural rules about the sanctity of life and marriage. Which is what our culture is struggling with.

Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, was asked by a reporter; "To what do you attribute your 50 years of successful married life?"

"The formula," said Ford, "is the same formula I have always used in making cars - just stick to one model". Unfortunately his grandson did not follow his grandfather’s example and lost his family and almost lost the Ford Motor company.

II Samuel 12:1 states: "Then the LORD sent Nathan to David." Notice, Nathan did not come on his own. It wasn't his idea to confront David. He was sent by God.

David went twelve months and refused to seek forgiveness. He had managed to knock off six of the Ten Commandments. He had coveted another man's wife, committed adultery, killed her husband, stolen his wife. II Samuel 12 is the beginning of the rest of the story.

Read II Samuel 12

It is obviously not hard to see the symbolism in the story. The rich man is David. The poor man is Uriah. The pet lamb is Bathsheba. The traveler passing by is sin.

I could just imagine that David is literally on the edge of his seat listening to this story. 12 months have gone by. A baby boy has been born. David listens to Nathan and believes that it happened right there in his own city, his temper kicks into high gear.