Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. David the former shepherd boy.
Now the spiritual shepherd of Israel brought the snake of sin into his home. and he'd been badly bitten. This sin is going to have a tremendous impact in his family and on the nation. Welcome to The Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. David is described in the Bible as a man after God's own heart.
but this godly and mighty king was still only a man. and susceptible to sin. Today on the verdict, we're unpacking how and why David comes to commit a series of terrible sins.
Now, to introduce today's lesson titled David's Fall. Here's Pastor John Monroe. Today we look at the fall of a great man. in fact, a man after God's own heart. Israel's greatest king?
King David. In the series, we've been thinking of the life of David and marveling at this man of God. Who's so gifted and who appears to be so close to the Lord. But Scripture is very clear that the best of men are only men at their best. And David was a man.
And as we come to 2 Samuel 11, we see that David has a mighty fall. This incident is very significant in David's life. and offers an important warning. Scripture says, He who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. No one is immune from temptation, so be on your guard.
and let's learn from David's fall. It is spring nine hundred and ninety two. BC Almost 3,000 years ago. And life for King David is very, very good. Under his skilled leadership, Prosperity and peace has come.
to Israel. And Judah. David is Israel's greatest king. He's a skilled military strategist. He's a brilliant political administrator.
He is an amazing musician, a poet, a writer. And above all, he's a man after God's own heart. Life For David had not always been easy. But now the former shepherd boy is at the pinnacle of his career. And he's taking things a bit easy.
The general of his army, Joab, is fighting the Ammonites. in the Rabah, present-day Jordan. And the Bible says that all Israel is fighting with Job.
Now, normally the kings of Israel. were meant to lead their armies into war. But on this occasion, David is back home in his palace in Jerusalem. David is a man of action, a brilliant soldier. But if the truth be known, This particular day he's a bit bored.
And there is a barrenness in his soul. Late one afternoon after a cap nap, He goes to the roof of his palace for some fresh air. And from his roof, as he looks down, He sees a beautiful woman bathing. Whether she was on her roof or in her house, the scripture doesn't say. But this we do know: that David is mesmerized.
by her alluring beauty. And he makes some inquiries. And he's told, this is Bathsheba. And her husband is Uriah, one of your mighty men, who at this moment is fighting. with Joab fought away in the present day Jordan.
David is the king. And he thinks it's time to meet the neighbours. And he sends for beautiful Bathsheba. Oh yes, she's married, she's a married woman, she's Uriah's wife. And uh Wait, David, aren't you married yourself?
David indeed is married. He has a number of wives and concubines. He had married, you may recall, King Saul's daughter Michael. She turned out to be a bit of a problem, a bit of a nag. But he had another Number of wives.
Abigail, for example, who was very beautiful, who was very intelligent. And there is no question that David loves Abigail very, very deeply, but over the years, the romance has become. A little bit thin. And this beautiful, the scripture says, very beautiful woman. is so exciting.
And after all, David is the king. Who's going to tell him what to do? And uh after all It will be a private matter between two consenting adults. Nobody's going to get harmed. No one is really going to know about it.
And so David sends for But she baffled. And she comes. Into David's palace. and into David's bed. She returns to her own home.
And then the story, no criticism is made of Bathsheba. And for David the matter is at an end. But then he receives the news that Bathsheba is pregnant. And her husband is away at war. And that's a real problem.
Open your Bibles to 2 Samuel. Chapter 11. And we'll read a few verses on this as we continue. This series on the life of David. And 2 Samuel chapter 11.
Verse one. In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle. David sent Joab, that's his general, his commander-in-chief. He sends Joab. and his servant with him, and all Israel.
And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened late one afternoon. When David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing. And the woman was very Beautiful.
And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
So David sent messengers and took her. And she came to him. And he lay with her.
Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived And she sent and told, David. I'm pregnant.
Now David at this point is no novice, he's an expert in crisis management. He's dealt with difficult situations before. And David, obviously a very brilliant man, a very clever man, but here a very devious man, he devises an ingenious plan. He sends for Uriah, the woman's husband, to come back to Jerusalem, ostensibly to talk to him about the progress of the war. But really, of course, he wants to get Uriah back home.
and back into his own home. And into bed with his wife Bathsheba. And in this way David thinks his sin will be covered up. It will be assumed that any baby born to Batsuba is Uriah's. But he hadn't reckoned on Uriah.
Uriah, not an Israelite but a Hittite, but he's a mighty warrior. And he's a man of high honor, he's a man of loyalty and integrity, and he refuses to go to his own home.
Well, he says Israel's army is still at war. When they're camping in the open fields, I can't do that, king. And try as David might, and David tries a few occasions, as we read here in 2 Samuel 11, David is unable to persuade. Uriah to spend time at home with Bathsheba. David is now desperate, so He commands Uriah to go back to the battle, and with Uriah, he He sends a letter, a letter that Uriah is to deliver to Joab, his commander-in-chief, who's still battling with the Ammonites.
And Joab is instructed by King David to place Uriah At the very fiercest point of the battle. And therefore, the most likely place to be killed. Job is a very shrewd man. Job himself is a very devious man. If you have read.
The scriptures in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. And Job understands what he has to do. He's a man who can be trusted by David. And so Uriah is placed at the very point Of the fiercest point of the fight, and he goes too close to the Ammonites, and Uriah and some of the other soldiers. are killed.
Away from home. in these very treacherous circumstances. After the death of Uriah, David now sends for Bathsheba to be his wife. No one will ever know. Uriah is now dead.
And Joab, well, Joab can be trusted. Joab is a man. Who can keep his mouth closed? And the cover-up, David thinks, has been very, very successful. But Second Samuel ends with these words.
In verse twenty-seven. But the thing that David had done Displeased. The Lord. Ah, the Lords. Knew all about it.
And David and all of his scheming. Had forgotten his theology that God knows everything that goes on. And someone else did know Nathan. The prophet. And Nathan confronts David.
It isn't very easy to confront a powerful king like David, but Nathan does in a very, very skillful way. He tells David a story. Read with me. in second Samuel eleven verse twenty six. For the wife of Uriah heard, that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.
And when the morning was over, David sent and brought her to his house. And she became his wife. and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord. And the Lord sent Nathan to David, He came to him and said to him, There were two men in a certain city, the one rich.
and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little yew lamb which he had bought. And he brought it up and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup. and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
Now there came a traveller to the rich man. and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd. to prepare for the guests who had come to him. But he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man.
And he said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die. And he shall restore the Lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity. Verse 7. Nathan said to David, you. Are the men?
You. Other man. interesting when David hears this story of the rich man and the poor man. He's absolutely outraged. who is so callous and would not use his own flog, but take the one lamb from the poor man That man deserves to die.
Strange, David, isn't it? You've committed great sins. Not only did you take another man's lamb, you took another man's lamb. Wife. And why are you so passionate?
about a man who took a lamb. And Nathan is saying to David, No, you're the man. Just think, David, of all that God has given you. All that you are and you have comes from God. You came from a very humble beginning.
And God has made you king, and God has abundantly blessed you, and God would even have given you more if you had asked. How blessed you have been, David, but instead of being thankful, you have despised the Lord. You've displeased the Lord. You've committed a great evil in the sight of the Lord. Nathan is the voice of God.
to the king. And David, as he hears this, is shaken to the core of his being. Under the law, the penalty for adultery, the penalty for murder is death. And the full enormity of the sin, I think, begins as he's confronted by Nathan to overwhelm the king. The scandal of Bathsheba.
is going to become a national scandal. Perhaps David's father, Jesse, had told in the story of the little shepherd boy who is repeatedly warned by his father to have nothing to do with snakes. One night when they're out in the hills, The little boy is in his tent. And a snake crawls to the entrance of the tent and says to the little boy, It's cold out here. Will you please pick me up and take me into the tent?
I put you on your stomach and we will warm each other. The little boy says no. My daddy says, I should never listen to snakes. I should never have anything to do with them. Go away.
But the snake persists. And eventually the little boy picks up the snake. Brings it into the tent, puts it on his Stomach. And the snake bites him. And the poison goes into the little boy.
And as a little boy is dying from the snake bite, he asked the snake, Why did you bite me when I brought you into the tent to warm you? The steak. Reps. That's what snakes do. They bite.
And they poison. And you knew what I did before you took me into the tent. And David, the former shepherd boy, now the spiritual shepherd of Israel, knew what snakes do. He had brought the snake of sin into his home. and he'd been badly bitten.
Yes, he may sin in private. But we never sin in isolation, do we? And poison now had entered the home of David, his family, and indeed the nation. Through David's deceit in adultery and murder, This sin is going to have a tremendous impact in his family and on the nation. Have you found that one sin leads?
to another Like a cancer sin left unconfessed. Will grow and will grow, robbing us of our communion with God, taking away the joy of Christian service, and causing our hearts to become harder and harder so that we don't hear and we don't respond to God's word. Yes, that happened even to a great man like David, a man after God's own heart.
Now each one of us here I think you'll agree with me. Each one of us here has the potential to commit. Very serious sins, no exceptions. Adam and Eve sinned in a perfect environment. in paradise.
And here is David, King David. Brilliant man.
So gifted.
So blessed by God, God's grace being showered on him, this man, a man after God's own heart, falls into the sin that we just read about. A sober warning. to us all. Turn over to 1 Corinthians. Chapter ten.
We read there. In verse 12. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he falls. Fall. Is there anyone here who thinks that you couldn't commit such sin.
If so, be very careful. The one who thinks that he stands. Take heed. Lest he fall.
Next week we're going to think of David's restoration, but I want us to think with a backdrop. of the terrible sin of David to think and to learn about temptation. About the snake. About what it does and how it's to be resisted so that we will not fall. as David did.
1 Corinthians 10. Verse 11 Now these things happen to them, Israel as an example. But they were written down for our instruction, as true of what we've read regarding the story of David. And his sin, his immorality with BeSheba. They were written down for our instruction.
On whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, Having regard to these sins of the past. To people who were far stronger in their faith than us. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. It's a warning to you.
It's a warning to me. Don't think of other people, think of yourself. This is a warning to us. The one who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.
God is faithful. And He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee. from my dollar tray. What's Paul saying?
What's scripture saying? You will be tempted to sin.
Now temptation to sin is not a sin. We sometimes sing the old hymn. Prone to wander, Lord, I Feel it prone to leave the God I love. The students were singing about God's love and how God loves us even when we don't feel it. And we, in spite of God's love, we're prone to wander, aren't we?
Prawn to take the snake into the tent. All of us here are tempted. unkindness, dishonesty, gossip. Lustful thoughts, laziness, vengeance, covetousness. Every single person here has sinful desires.
Everyone is tempted. You are not an exception. Temptation is an incitement to sin, but the temptation itself is not a sin. Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, was tempted. For 40 days, we read.
Jesus was in the wilderness. being tempted by Satan.
So be prepared. for temptation. Share your struggle with a stronger believer and have some accountability. Bring your temptation from the dark into the light.
Now, what is Paul saying here?
Something wonderful. No temptation has overtaken you that it is not common to man. Brother, don't flatter yourself that you have some unique or special temptation. Your temptations are not exceptional. In fact, they're very, very common.
All of us experience temptations. Pride, greed, anger, laziness, sensuality, cheating, flattery, deception. I talked about. uh being honest in our taxation. Anyone here ever been tempted to fudge?
Yeah. What you would report to the IRS? I'm sure many here have been tempted. These are common temptations. Yielding to the temptation is sin.
and has very, very serious consequences. Turn over to James. James chapter 1. We went from 2 Samuel to 1 Corinthians, now to James 1. James tells us about temptation.
James 1. Verse thirteen. Let no one say when he's tempted, I'm being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. Verse 14, but each person is tempted.
When he is allured, and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin when it is fully grown. brings forth Yeah. It's easy, isn't it, to use the words of verse 14.
to be lured and enticed by your own desires. Lured and enticed are fishing or or hunting terms. The Shaitland Isles uh the most northerly island in uh in Scotland. That's where I met Goodney. And many a time in the Shetland Islands I've gone fishing.
There are many, many small locks. In in Shepherd. And there's a lot of trout in these locks. And uh I would go fishing with some of my friends. And usually we would go fishing with a lure.
So you're cast in the lure. What's the point of the lure? The lure is to deceive the fish. You want the fish to see the attractive lure And when the fish bites on the lure, Yeah. Realizes too late that it's caught by the hook.
The hook is hiding. The lure. And these lures are, they come in all different shapes and sizes, some of them very. like like uh silver and they gleam in the water. or a blue one and the different ones depending on where you're fishing.
and how deep it is and what kind of fish you're after. But they all have this in common. They're there to deceive the fish. And when the fish bites on the lure, It grabs the hook and is caught. It's enticed.
It sees the lure, grabs the lure. thinking it's going to have a meal and it ends up being your meal. That's what sin does, doesn't it? Yeah. lures us it entices us, it attracts us, it deceives us.
And James is saying, be careful, there's a hook. And when you bite on the lure, when you bite on the temptation, then you are caught. And the consequence when it's fully grown, brings forth death. The wages of sin is death. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the start of a message titled.
David's Fall. And as a special bonus for our current study on the life of David, We'd like to offer you a free copy of the helpful listening guide John has put together for this series. Designed to walk you through each of these daily lessons, this printable workbook will equip you with keynotes, questions, and specific prompts to help you apply the biblical teaching from the life of David to your own life.
So, take advantage of this free resource today by downloading your copy of the Life of David Listening Guide on our website. at the verdict.org. And while you're there, be sure to also sign up for John's monthly email newsletter. And if you're looking for ways to impact others for the gospel, Will you consider playing a part in this radio ministry by making a one-time donation? With your financial gift of any amount, you'll be joining our efforts to bring the truth of God's Word into new communities across the globe.
and we've made it quick and easy to give through our website. Check it out when you go to theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte, and we'd love to have you visit us this weekend. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road, and we invite you to come join us for worship this Sunday. For more details about Calvary and current service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? What about the temptations in your life? And what areas are you tempted to send? Know yourself. the consequences of sin are serious.
Realize that it is impossible to contain your sin. Keep close to the Saviour. Understand that sin is devious, deceitful. and the devil always gives you the best first. Praise God that God is faithful.
to forgive our sin. if we repent. Join me next time as we continue to think of David's fall. and the lessons for us when we are tempted to sin. Thanks for joining us today on the verdict.
I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mm.
