20150802 10th Sunday after Pentecost B Web Site
Title: Behaving Badly
Text: II Samuel 11:26-12:13a
Thesis: Bad behavior and the consequences thereof may be far-reaching but in coming clean we find the grace of God to be equally far-reaching.
If this text were to be funneled through the College Board Advanced Placement U.S. (Biblical) History Standard people, it would likely be perceived as being too negative and in need of a revised positive spin. It does little to advance the idea of Biblical Judeo-Christian Exceptionalism. This is just one of many historical Biblical accounts that do not reflect well on God, the people of God or the human condition. Fortunately God has the integrity to be authentic rather than white-wash the way we are. So we have stories like David and Bathsheba woven into the Biblical narrative.
Introduction
Public shaming is all the rage now. Parents use shaming to embarrass their teenagers. Pet owners hang signs on the collars of their pets that read, “I was bad while mommy was at work.” The idea behind shaming is to point out legitimately horrible behavior and the posting of their shameful behavior on public media is supposed to be a deterrent… after all, who wants to be publically shamed?
Walter Palmer is currently experiencing the effects of public shaming for having paid $55 K for the privilege of shooting Cecil the lion just outside the boundary of a Zimbabwean Conservation area. Apparently his big-game hunting guides tied a dead animal to the back of their vehicle and lured the lion from the conservation area so they could make a legal, albeit unethical kill.
Dr. Palmer is something of a big-time game hunter and he has the means to buy a safari from professional guides that assure him of a trophy kill. If he was unaware that his guides had not acquired the necessary permits and that Cecil had essentially been baited for the kill and that there was a deliberate attempt to lure the lion from the conservation area… he most certainly was aware that Cecil was wearing a tracking collar and party to the attempt to destroy and hide it.
And so it is, Dr. Palmer is at the center of a public shaming media storm.
Can you imagine what kind of media storm King David would stir up today?
I. David was blind to his hardening heart, II Samuel 11:1-27
The challenge is the tension between spiritual awareness and apathy.
This text begins rather innocuously but it unfolds very quickly to reveal a developing crisis.
David was…
A. He was Disengaged
It was the spring of the year, when Kings normally go to war. David sent Joab and his army to fight the Ammonites, however, David stayed behind. II Samuel 11:1
B. He was Distracted
…he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was. II Samuel 11:2-3 (He sent for her and slept with her…)
C. He was Deceitful
When David found out Bathsheba was pregnant, he sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah…” II Samuel 11:6
His hope was to get Uriah home so he could sleep with his wife and would never know the child she carried was not his but when that scheme did not work David upped the ante.
D. He was Deadly
David sent a letter to Joab, “Station Uriah on the front line where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so he will be killed.” II Samuel 11:14-15
About the only way God could have made this sordid story any worse would be to have King David become a “Hannibal the Cannibal” Lecter and literally consume the evidence against him. It is a wretched story that many, if not most of us can hardly relate. We have trouble seeing ourselves as being that bad. And yet we are reminded that David was once a handsome young man with a heart for God and a faith large enough to take on Goliath and character so strong that he resisted the opportunity to kill the man who was making his life hell because he thought of Saul as the Lord’s anointed.
There is a developing sinkhole phenomenon occurring around the world as without warning gaping holes open up revealing the effects of long term, ongoing erosion. Here in the U.S. Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania are particularly prone for sinkhole locations. It seems the ground beneath these states is rich in easily dissolved rock types which are eroded by water seeping into these formations. Eventually a vast cavern collapses creating a sinkhole crater. We’ve all seen them…
The 2010 a 330-foot deep sinkhole in Guatemala City swallowed land, power poles, a three-story factory building and a security guard.
One way to think of what happened in David’s life and can happen in our lives as well is to think of the way our inner lives can be affected by the gradual erosion of our spiritual vitality. We neglect time with God. We are less faithful in spiritual activities. We refuse to deal with issues in our lives. We continue to live in habitual sin and excuse our character flaws. And then one day the pretty exterior we’ve maintained collapses and exposes our spiritual vulnerabilities and we are revealed for what we are…
It is important that we closely monitor the tension of our inner lives, checking to see if we are spiritually aware or slipping into spiritual apathy.
David was unaware of gradual erosion of his spiritual life and the hardening of his heart… and it is also apparent that he was blind to his own bad behavior.
II. David was blind to his own bad behavior, II Samuel 12:1-7
The challenge is the tension between authenticity and hypocrisy.
We are familiar with the idiom about “sweeping something under the rug.” When we sweep something under the rug we are capturing the image of someone who sweeps the floor but rather than catch the dirt in a dust pan, they pick up the corner of a throw rug and sweep the dirt under the rug. The idea is to make the place appear clean when in fact it isn’t. When we sweep something under the rug we are trying to conceal something that would be embarrassing or shameful or even damning.
It would seem that this story had run its tragic course. What was done was done. But it was far from over. In chapter 12 we see a direct confrontation. David may have convinced himself that everything was swept under the rug but God can see what we sweep under the rug. Behind every scandal is an attempted cover-up… what happened to the tapes or what happened to the emails or what happened to the cell phone that conveniently got destroyed?
Nothing gets by God though and David’s behavior was so egregious that there was no letting this kind of stuff slip by. So God sent Nathan the Prophet to have a little “come to Jesus” chat with David. Nathan was clever. He simply told a story that infuriated the King. A rich man had taken the only lamb of a poor man and used it to feed his guest rather than use one from his own flock of many, many sheep.
When David heard the story he was livid.
A. Seeing the other
David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives, any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!” 12:5 It is easy to see the flawed character and shameful behavior in others…
But then Nathan twisted the knife and David saw himself as that man.
B. Seeing oneself
Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man!” 12:7
In the 12th century period film Robin Hood, King Richard the Lionhearted and his army having fought in the Crusades, is on their back to England. One evening King Richard, weary of the patronizing of his inner circle, emerges from his tent and walks with his right-hand man, Sir Loxley, in search of an honest Englishman’s opinion of him and his crusade.
They encounter Robin Hood and Little John in a scuffle and when Sir Loxley breaks it up he asked, “Which one of you started this?” Both replied, “I did.”
The King is pleased that he has found an honest Englishman and asked Robin Hood, “Are you honest enough to tell a king something he does not want to hear? What is your opinion of my crusade? Will God be pleased with my sacrifice?”
Robin Hood looked into the King’s eyes and said, “No, he won’t.” When asked, “Why?” Robin replied, “In that battle where you had us herd 2,500 men, women and children together, the young woman at my feet, with her hands bound, looked up at me. There was no fear in her eyes. There was no anger. There was only pity. For she knew that when you gave the order, and our blades descend upon their heads, in that moment, we would be godless.”
King Richard did not like to be told he was godless. King David likely was not all that keen on being thought of as godless and none of us like to think of ourselves as godless. Other people are godless… other people do despicable things.
The challenge is the tension between being authentic people vs. being hypocritical people. Authentic people are able to see themselves and own who they are and what they’ve done.
In the end, having been confronted by Nathan, David faced up to his sin and received forgiveness but not without one final consequential caveat. Because of the contemptuous nature of his sin, the child conceived as a result of the tryst would not live.
Nathan went on to point out the absurdity of what David had done.
III. David was blind to the blessings of God, II Samuel 12:7-9
The challenge here is the tension between what we have vs. what we do not have.
Why would David do such a despicable thing?
God reminded David…
A. Made King
“I anointed you King… II Samuel 12:7-8a
B. Much, much more, 12:8b
“I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that was not enough, I would have given you more…” II Samuel 12:7-8
Populist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently said, “We all know people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs.” Speaking of the extremely rich he said, “These people are addicted to money…”
Studies show the ultra-rich are more likely to behave selfishly and with little regard for others. They are more likely to behave unethically, less likely to give to charities and display higher levels of narcissism and entitlement than average. (Bethania Palma Markus, U.S. News, July 31, 2015)
I wonder if King David was like an ultra-rich person who got wrapped up in himself and felt entitled to do and have whatever he wanted because he deserved it? Had King David given some thought to how blessed he was rather than to how entitled he was… might he have behaved differently? And if we take time to reflect on the goodness of God in our lives we might spare ourselves and others a lot of hurt.
The sweet little lamb story was really the story of a man who had everything a man could want and God wanted to know, “Why, then have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed?” II Samuel 12:9-10
An idiom one of our teenagers posted on Facebook goes, “Appreciate what you have before it turns into what you had…”
The challenge is the tension between what we have vs. what we do not have (want).
I think the thing that most amazes me by this account from King David’s life is that he did not see it coming.
IV. David was blind to the consequences of his behavior, II Samuel 12:10-13
On occasion I’ve heard people say, “If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.” Many of us are seemingly blind to the reality of consequences in every venue of life.
The challenge is the tension between being conscious of potential consequences and ignoring potential consequences.
We are familiar with the New Testament teaching on the consequences of our behavior and experience… we do indeed reap what we sow. It is not that God legislates consequences to keep us in line… but rather it is a natural law. No word spoken or deed done is exempt from the natural or spiritual law of there being an equal and opposite reaction or consequence for every action.
These are some of the consequences of David’s behavior:
A. Family dysfunction
This is what the Lord says, “I will cause your household to rebel against you.” 12:11
B. Public Shame
“You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” 12:12
David thought he had covered his tracks pretty well… he had carefully swept his dirt under the rug but his life went downhill quickly. His baby died. One of his sons raped his sister. Another brother killed the son who raped his sister. That same son orchestrated a rebellion to oust David from his throne… and we are still talking about it 3,000 years later.
I once heard a lady say of her daughter, “Once I got her over fool’s hill… she has become a fine young woman.” The news is filled with stories about young people who act irrationally and/or impulsively and find themselves in big trouble and suffering the consequences of their bad choices.
But it may also be said, “There is no fool like an old fool.” King David was no kid. Young people and middle-aged people and older adults all think and say and do things for which they and others suffer the consequences.
Nothing escapes the eyes and ears of God… and if we have learned anything at all, nothing escapes the eyes and ears of others. As if security cameras and traffic cameras and dash cameras were not enough… we are constantly monitored by cell-phone cameras and our actions and attitudes and words are captured on social media for all to see.
The challenge is to always be conscious of the consequences and never, ever ignore them.
Conclusion
If we wish to avoid personal and public shaming for having behaved badly we might we wise to take these life lessons to heart.
Life Lessons:
• Remember sin is personal… we own our own sin.
• Count your blessings… appreciate what you have before it becomes what you had.
• Think consequences… do not deceive yourself, God will not be mocked. We reap what we sow.
• Come clean when you blow it… if we confess our sin God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.
