Thomas Cromwell was having a portrait painted. He said, “paint me as I am leave out not a scar or a blemish.” There is a Wikipedia article on the portrait of Thomas Cromwell. The article says that Cromwell’s portrait is the least flattering portrait the artist ever painted.
For centuries a portrait could be the photoshop of today. An airbrush can make anybody look good. Your picture can be photoshopped and even your videos can be edited to make you look better than ever.
If you read a biography and it never tells you anything bad about that person, then you rightly suspect that the biography has been airbrushed and is not telling you the whole story. Our Bible heroes do not have the luxury of the airbrush, photoshop or a skewed biographer. The Holy Spirit inspired version gives us the scars and blemishes.
Here are a few examples of some blemishes:
Noah: His drunkenness.
Aaron: His forming the golden calf.
Jeremiah: Wanted to quit the ministry.
Peter: We see in the Bible his denial of Christ.
What about the first century churches?
Corinthians: Disorder and licentiousness.
Philippians: Division.
Galatians: Legalism
Ephesus: Lost their love for Christ.
The most famous and glaring scar and blemish of all is King David and his sin with Bathsheba. David learned, and his life teaches us, that sin is not something to be covered up. You don’t commit sin and sweep it under the rug and go on without consequences. You can be forgiven, yes, but there are still consequences put in motion.
David’s sin teaches us that sin requires repentance, confession to God and forgiveness from God. That one lesson, if fully learned and practiced could save countless heartaches. David could not hide his sin from the very one who he ultimately sinned against, God. God knows your every move, your every thought, and your every motive.
David sailed to the very height of achievement. He went from a lowly shepherd where he was passed over as a choice for king to being confirmed ask God’s anointed. He was not man’s choice to be king, but he was God’s choice.
David first became the king of Judah and then all of the nation Israel. He ruled from a beautiful cedar palace. David was victorious in his battles and extended Israel’s possession of the promised land. He even showed kindness to Miphiboseth as an extension of his own personal blessings.
Up to this point David himself was accompanying troops to battle, but this time he sent Joab to lead the troops. So, during the time that David was normally out to battle, he was at home. That is when he saw a woman bathing. You can’t help what you see, but it matters what you do when you see it. If only he would have quickly looked away and gone back into the palace and wrote another Psalm of praise.
Martian Luther said you can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair. David invites the sin of lust to roost in his hair and build a nest. It became the sin of lust that turned into the sin of adultery.
All sin will separate us from God. All sin is equal in that respect. But even with that, not all sin is the same degree. The sin of adultery if the more severe progression of the sin of lust. Out of adultery comes conception of a child.
This was not a day where David could have sent Bathsheba to have an abortion, but instead he brings back Uriah so that all but he and Bathsheba will be led to think that this was the child of Uriah. Uriah did not know that David brought him back to his home as part of a cover up plan.
Uriah was brought back so he would sleep with his wife and think the baby was his. Then wa-la the whole sin would disappear and be forgotten by everyone. He did not know that his wife Bathsheba was pregnant because King David had an affair with her. Uriah is a faithful soldier and faithful to King David to an incredible extent.
Once David’s cover up plan was in place nobody would have to be stoned to death for adulty as the Old Testament law required. King David lived above the law, but this law could be a danger to Bathsheba.
Uriah is too loyal to go back home and be with his wife. There was a war in progress and Uriah was a faithful soldier. David even tried to get Uriah drunk so that he would then put his own interests before the duties of the kingdom. Even that part of the cover-up plan did not work. This was a mess that was not easily cleaned up.
Covering up this sin had really hardened David’s heart. David came up with a darker plan to cover up his sin. He would have his loyal commanding soldier Uriah killed. This was the most serious category of murder in the legal system. It was pre-meditated murder.
This kind of disregard for justice can creep up on the rich and powerful when they are trying to protect their interests. Corruption is all too common among powerful leaders. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
God is no respect of persons. God does not show favoritism based on your position in life. (Acts 10:34). No matter your race or religion or position of status and power you are accountable before God. That goes for you and that goes for the most powerful King of Israel of all times, King David. From the common man to the king all are level in God’s eyes.
After David put this murder plan into place this message came back to David.
Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead. (2 Samuel 11:24).
David was very matter of fact about the news of Uriah’s death that had been arranged. Don’t worry, these things happen. (2 Samuel 11:25). David thought he finally put this sin behind him. It was all swept under the rug now, he thought.
David’s action may have been common amount the privileged politically powerful people. David was no ordinary king. He was chosen by God. David was now ready to forget the whole thing. But God had not forgotten.
Then the prophet Nathan tells his incredible heart touching story about the abuse of power.
The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” (2 Samuel 12:1-4)
When Nathan told the story to David is was clear to David that the rich man sinned greatly. The man had no pity or compassion. He deserved to be punished for his sin, even to die.
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” (2 Samuel 12:5-6)
The Nathan told David; you are that man!
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. (2 Samuel 12:7)
David, you killed Uriah. In your greed you did not have enough. The reality of sin pierced David’s heart. What have I done. David is overcome with awesome dreadful sense of conviction of his sin.
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. (2 Samuel 12:13)
David killed Uriah and committed adultery with Bathsheba. Yes, he murdered Uriah and was unfair to Bathsheba but, first and foremost his sin was a sin unto God. Ultimately this sin was an affront to God. All sin is an affront to God.
David realized of how terrible his sin was. It was a dreadful realization when David saw his sin in light of Holy God. True revival means a confession of sin that is costly. Confession and repentance also means a restored relationship with God. There are people who have been gripped by sin who went back to their employers to confess wrong of abusing their position at work.
David’s sin is matched by his depth of repentance. There are people who in their repentance went to the tax authorities to confess their crime of hiding income. Do they face legal problems to confess this? Yes, but the most important thing for a sinner gripped by their sin is restoration with God.
Look at Zacchaeus when he was getting right with God. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19:8)
In the Psalm of David, Psalm 32 David says he was like a sick man when he was not restored to God.
When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long. (Psalm 32:3)
It is Psalm 51 that records the anguish of David over his sin.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51:12)
There will be consequences for David as a result of his sin. The focus for now is that David received forgiveness.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity. (Psalm 51:9)
Come to Christ. Jesus died the just for you, the unjust to bring you to God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Confess your sin to God. Turn to God in genuine repentance and restore the joy of your salvation.
