Title: Nobody loves a lawyer
Text: 2 Samuel 12:1-7; Exodus 12:49
FCF: You can’t argue your way out of judgment. You can only appeal to the mercy of Christ.
Nobody loves a lawyer.
I can say that as somebody who once wanted to be a lawyer. Nobody loves a lawyer because at one level, we know that the law should so clear. Too often, it seems that the rich go free and the guilty walk. It has been said that only difference between a dead snake in the road and a dead lawyer in the road, is that there are brake marks in front of the snake. But, I think it was Ambrose Bierce who said it best. He defines a lawyer as this: “One skilled in the circumvention of the law.” I know shouldn’t be so hard on lawyers, it’s just that 95% of them give the rest such a bad name!
In all seriousness, attorneys do good and noble things. They defend the poor, they seek justice. But often, when we use the word “lawyer,” we’re not thinking about that – we’re thinking about the guy who can get us off even when we don’t deserve. When I talk about lawyers this morning, that’s the usage I want you to hear – not the profession. Something in sour souls, of course, knows right from wrong. The question is, are we going to listen to it? Or will our inner lawyer win out?
The law, of course, is clear, even without one to speak it. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. That shalt not bear false witness.” It’s hard to argue with “not.”
I think sometimes we fancy ourselves as little Davids, facing the Goliaths of our own temptations, hoping that we can be victorious. But in our scripture this morning, the King of Israel is an older man now. You may even remember that David was called, “a man after God’s own heart.” But David was also a sinner, just like you and me. The difference was, he was a shepard-king, not a lawyer-king.
In 2 Samuel, we get the big story of David. And it does include his famous fight with Goliath. But so much of the book deals with an incident that defines the peak of David’s reign. It deals with the most famous King of Israel, not in glorious battles or righteous crusades, but in terms of how he treated a man named Uriah, and his wife Bathsheba.
If you know the story, you’ll remember that David stayed home while he sent his men off to war. While his fighting men were away, he spied a beautiful woman taking a bath on the roof. In his heart, he wanted her. You could even say he coveted her. He let his desire take over, and he committed adultery with her. This soap opera might have ended there, but then, she became pregnant. They might not have had DNA evidence, but everybody would have known that she couldn’t have gotten pregnant while her husband Uriah was away at war. This scandal was going to break.
And so, David concocted a plan.
David told his general, “I want you to attack the city.” But, you’re not going to win this battle. Instead, I want you all to fall back – all except for Uriah. The general “followed orders,” and Uriah was killed. Problem solved. You might even say, “Mission Accomplished.” David had won.
Nearly a year has passed. David did right by Bathsheba. He married her and brought her into his house. The child was born, and David has gotten away scot-free. Call it executive privilege if you like, but David probably slept at night, secure in the knowledge that this scandal was behind him.
Until, one day, the prophet came.
<1 Sam 12:1-7>
This is not a story unique to the Bible.
Just in the past few weeks, we have learned that our President has been circumventing the law. The media likes to call it “domestic spying.” Depending on your politics that term may or may not be overstated, but one thing cannot be denied – it’s being done without the approval of courts specifically set up to monitor such a thing. The law is crystal clear, thou shalt get the approval of the court. But he covered it up. And for a year, he got away with it. Even now, there are lawyers arguing the case.
And don’t think this is relegated to Republican administrations only. I’m suspect if David had a press conference, he might have been tempted to declare, “I did not have sex with that woman!” How many months did we have to debate what our definition of “is” was? Normally a President in his second term doesn’t have to concern himself with fund-raising, but he passed the plate so he could pay the lawyers justifying his every move.
What makes David’s story unique is not the circumstances. What makes this story unique is David’s response. It would have been easy to dismiss the charge. David might have even tried to justify the charge.
Let me read you verse 13: <2 Sam 12:13>
In a moment so rare it has made the history books, David admitted, “Guilty as charged.”
We live in a place where truth is a precious commodity precisely because it is so rare. But I suspect that it is rare because of this simple truth. Men love darkness rather than the light.
We all know that despite the best efforts of lawyers, the law can be pretty plain. Don’t covet. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t lie. Don’t kill. You can argue around the margins, but the basic truth remains. The law is pretty clear. It is precisely that clarity that we hate most.
The same Ambrose Bierce I began with defines the Bible as, “a book of laws and morals most aptly and perfectly suited to the needs of my neighbor.” We love the Word of the Lord, until it applies to us.
Nathan was pretty smart when he decided to confront the King. He knew that David knew the law. He knew David was a good man. David has simply failed to see that the law applied to him. The word is ever so clear, as long as it isn’t personal.
So you saw what Nathan did. He gave the facts, and just left out the names.
It’s a pretty simple tactic actually. The biggest impediment to seeing how the Lord would direct our lives is that we’re pretty invested in the outcome. If we could detach ourselves from the consequences, morality would be easy.
It takes great humility to admit that the law applies to us.
Often, when somebody runs a stop sign or parks in no parking zone, I’ll joke to my wife, “Whoops I missed the fine print. It says, ‘No Parking’ except for this guy.” But, then again, when it comes to speed limits, I’ll admit my selectivity applies to me too.
We can be so selective when we choose what justice will apply to our nation as well. How we treat people has little to do with how God sees them, and so much more with how we see them.
The simple truth about God’s Word is that it’s clear. It’s only our self-protective and selfish desires that make it ambiguous.
David was great because he was willing to stand under the Lord’s judgment, because no matter what it cost, he wanted to stand with the Lord. We need that today.
You probably don’t know the name Sgt. Joseph Darby, but last year you couldn’t have forgotten what he did. Just west of Baghdad, there was a prison that used to be where Saddam Hussein would torture prisoners. When we liberated Iraq, Abu Ghraib became a place to put those people who had been party to the crime.
In January, 2004, Joseph Darby knew that the common law of treating your fellow man with dignity was not for American citizens only. He made a CD of those notorious pictures, and gave it to the people who could do something about it. You’d think that such a man would be a hero. You’d be wrong.
Since that time, they’ve been shunned by friends and neighbors. But do you think he’ll be turned away from the Pearly Gates? I doubt it. He’s had to move away from his house in Maryland to an undisclosed private location where he remains in protective custody. He may have received the 2005 Profile in Courage Award, but his profile has appeared with a bulls-eye on it in his hometown.
Nobody can accuse Joseph Darby of being lawyer. He worked at a Wendy’s. But he knew the law just as well if not better than a battalion of JAGs. He just knew one simple thing. The law applies to us all.
It’s even possible to be the bad guy and know this. Sgt. Chip Franklin was one of the men who went to jail because of what he did at Abu Ghraib. Listen to what he says of Darby, “He did was he thought was right, and” – get this – “it was right.” But don’t think his entire unit shares that sentiment. But we know truth when we hear it.
The truth is, nobody loves a prophet, because the prophet speaks it as he sees it. We all know that we don’t want the law to apply to us. We love lawyers when they are bending the law for us. It isn’t nice to know how we really measure up. It isn’t comforting to conform to our God’s call to complete love. Indeed, we don’t want to live in the grace of our Good God who wants a better world.
When I get to heaven, I’m sure I’d rather have Johnny Cochran come up to me than Nathan. When my life is laid bare, and God divides us, left from right – those who fed and clothed him from those who didn’t visit when he was sick or in prison – I’m going to need every twist and loophole I can find to correct the Lord’s mistaken impression of my life. [Sarcasm off]
No, I’m never going to win on the merits. There is only one answer that will ever stand up, and it is the same one David used. “Yes, I have sinned against Lord.”
But I have a word of hope: 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) His grace is sufficient for Thee.
Would you pray with me?
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I don’t know if you know about our “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy when it comes to Cubans illegally trying to enter the United States. It doesn’t matter if the person will be killed when they’re returned to Cuba or just returning from a family visit. If you’re a Cuban, the only thing that matters is, did they catch you in the water or already in Florida. Talk about selective justice!
I’m waiting for the day some Cuban asks the immigration judge to tell him what his definition of “wet” is.
We tend to see the “Old Testament God of Justice” as a harsh policeman who’s only interested in punishment. Well, that same God is the one who is called “the protector of the widow and the orphan.” He’s the same one who demands that there is only one law for you and the “illegal” alien in your midst. You can look that up in Exodus 12:49 or Leviticus 24 if you don’t believe it. But it amazes me the selectivity with which we apply it.
Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Invocation Psalm 51
*Opening Hymn #379
“I Need Thee Every Hour”
Welcome & Announcements
Morning Prayer
*Responsive Reading [See Right]
*Offertory Hymn #391
“Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus”
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
Scripture 2 Samuel 12:1-7; 13
Sermon
“Nobody loves a lawyer”
Invitation Hymn #187
“Just As I Am”
Benediction
Congregational Response
May the grace of Christ of Savior / And the Father’s boundless love
With the Holy Spirit’s favor / Rest upon us from above. Amen.
* Congregation, please stand.
Depart To Serve
RESPONSIVE READING
The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied.
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world
- Isaiah 28:17; Amos 7:7; Matthew 5:17-20; 1 John 1:5 – 2:2
