Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:17):
Hi and welcome to the
Recovered Christian.
This is Suzanne.
Today we're going to meet KingDavid, one of the heroes of our
faith, a boy turned king in aman who fell into temptation.
The story of King David andBeth Sheba is found in 2 Samuel
11.
Here's the story from the BibleIn the spring of the year when
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kings normally go out to war,david sent Joab and the
Israelite army to fight theAmmonites.
They destroyed the Ammonite armyand laid siege to the city of
Raba.
However, david stayed behind inJerusalem.
Late one afternoon after hismidday rest, david got out of
bed and was walking on the roofof the palace.
As he looked out over the city,he noticed a woman of unusual
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beauty taking a bath.
He sent someone to find out whoshe was and he was told she is
Beth Sheba, the daughter ofEliam and the wife of Uriah the
Hittite.
Then David sent messengers toget her and when she came to the
palace he slept with her.
She had just completed thepurification rates after having
her menstrual period.
Then she returned home.
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Later, when Beth Shebadiscovered that she was pregnant
, she sent David a messagesaying I am pregnant.
Then David sent word to Joabsend me Uriah the Hittite.
So Joab sent him to David.
When Uriah arrived, david askedhim how Joab and the army were
getting along and how the warwas progressing.
Then he told Uriah go on homeand relax.
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David even sent a gift to Uriahafter he had left the palace.
But Uriah didn't go home.
He slept that night at thepalace entrance with the king's
palace guard.
When David heard that Uriah hadnot gone home, he summoned him
and asked what's the matter?
Why didn't you go home lastnight after being away for so
long?
Uriah replied the ark and thearmies of Israel and Judah are
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living in tents and Joab and mymaster's men are camping in the
open fields.
How could I go home to wine anddine and sleep with my wife?
I swear that I would never dosuch a thing.
Well, stay here today, davidtold him, and tomorrow you may
return to the army.
So Uriah stayed in Jerusalemthat day and the next.
Then David invited him todinner and got him drunk.
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But even then he couldn't getUriah to go home to his wife.
Again, he slept at the palaceentrance with the king's palace
guard.
So the next morning David wrotea letter to Joab and gave it to
Uriah.
To deliver.
The letter instructed Joabstation Uriah on the front lines
where the battle is fiercest,then pull back so he will be
killed.
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So Joab assigned Uriah to a spotclose to the city wall where he
knew the enemy's strongest menwere fighting.
When the enemy soldiers cameout of the city to fight, uriah
the Hittite was killed alongwith several other Israelite
soldiers.
Then Joab sent a battle reportto David.
He told his messenger reportall the news of the battle to
the king.
But he might get angry and askwhy did the troops go so close
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to the city?
Didn't they know they would beshooting from the walls?
Wasn't Abimelech's son ofGideon killed at Thabez by a
woman who threw a millstone doton him from the wall?
Why would you get so close tothe wall?
Then tell him Uriah the Hittitewas killed too.
So the messenger went toJerusalem and gave a complete
report to David.
The enemy came out against usin the open fields, he said, and
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as we chased them back to thecity gate, the arches on the
wall shot arrows at us.
Some of the king's men werekilled, including Uriah the
Hittite.
Well, tell Joab not to bediscouraged.
David said the sword devoursthis one today and that one
tomorrow.
Fight harder next time andconquer the city.
When Uriah's wife heard that herhusband was dead, she mourned
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for him.
When the period of mourning wasover, david sent for her and
brought her to the palace andshe became one of his wives.
Then she gave birth to a son,but the Lord was displeased with
what David had done.
Oh David, I don't know aboutyou, but I don't ever want the
Lord displeased with me.
I know he is a lot, but still Idon't want him to be.
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King David was a shepherd, boyand musician who became one of
Israel's greatest kings.
After defeating Goliath on thebattlefield and the service of
King Saul, he went on to becomethe chosen ruler of Israel.
He made Jerusalem the newcapital of his kingdom, built a
royal palace in the city and wasinspired by God to write many
of the Psalms a giant slayer,brave warrior and beloved by God
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.
In 1 Samuel 13, verse 14,samuel told King Saul that his
kingdom would end because theLord had sought out a man after
his own heart.
That was David.
In Acts 13, verse 22,.
The Bible says that God removedSaul as king and replaced him
with David, a man about who.
God said I have found David,son of Jesse, a man after my own
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heart.
He will do everything I wanthim to do.
He did do everything God wantedhim to do.
He loved the Lord, praised him,took counsel from him and
became a great king.
He also had an affair andkilled his friend to cover it up
.
David, the one after God's ownheart, gave into temptation.
David, from his palace, laideyes on Bathsheba, the wife of
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Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers.
Despite knowing that Bathshebawas married, david's desire
overwhelmed him, leading to anaffair.
Confronted with theconsequences of his actions as
Bathsheba became pregnant, davidattempted to cover up his
mistake.
His subsequent decisions weremarked by deception and
manipulation.
He schemed to involve Uriah inan effort to conceal the affair,
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ultimately ordering Uriah'splacement in a dangerous battle
position, resulting in his death.
David's story serves as acautionary tale.
It shows us the dangers ofyielding to temptation and the
devastating consequences ofattempting to cover up our
wrongdoing.
Temptation can be very powerful.
It often comes unexpectedly,preying on our vulnerabilities.
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Even the strongest among us canfalter in moments of weakness.
David's lapse highlights theneed for constant vigilance
against our desires.
I doubt anyone's walk inrecovery is absent of temptation
.
Those moments get fewer andfewer the longer we are in
recovery, but they still come.
We need to be ready and have aplan to stay strong.
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Giving into temptation hurtspeople other than us.
David's actions not only harmedhimself, but also resulted in
collateral damage to others.
His choices led to Uriah'sdeath, hurt Bathsheba and caused
the death of their child.
The cover-up compounded David'swrongdoing.
Trying to hide ours often leadsto deeper entanglement and it
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usually ends up makingeverything worse.
But David had a path toredemption.
Nathan the Prophet was sent byGod to confront David.
In 2 Samuel 12, nathan tellsDavid a story about a rich man
and a poor man.
The poor man had a little lambthat he loved.
The lamb grew up with hischildren and ate from his table.
He even cuddled the lamb in hisarms like a baby.
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One day the rich man had aguest and instead of killing the
lamb from his own flock, therich man took the poor man's
lamb and killed it to preparefor the guest.
David was furious when he heardthis story and told Nathan that
any man who would do such athing deserved to die.
Nathan tells David that he isthat rich man.
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Verses 7-9 say Then Nathan saidto David.
You are that man.
The Lord, the God of Israel,says I anointed you king of
Israel and saved you from thepower of Saul.
I gave you your master's houseand his wives and the kingdoms
of Israel and Judah, and if thathad not been enough, I would
have given you much, much more.
Why, then, have you despisedthe word of the Lord and done
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this horrible deed?
For you have murdered your eyeof the Hittite with the sword of
the Ammonites and stolen hiswife.
God knows what we are doing.
We are never hiding anythingfrom him.
He knows our sin.
He knows our shortcomings andour failures.
He knows when we stumble.
When confronted with this,david did what we should all do.
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He confessed his sin.
He humbled himself and Godforgave him.
Much later in his life, davidtook a census when he wasn't
supposed to.
After he did it, his consciencebegan to bother him and he
asked God for forgiveness.
He said please forgive my guilt, lord, for doing this foolish
thing.
David, a powerful man whodedicated his life to God, loved
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God and did so many things tohonor him, gave into temptation.
We will give into temptation,we will stumble, we will sin
against God.
It's what we do next.
That's key.
David's response to hiswrongdoing, when confronted by
the prophet Nathan, showed hisrepentance and remorse.
He didn't justify or minimizehis actions, but sought
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forgiveness and reconciliationwith God.
He said I've sinned, forgive me.
In David's story mirrors our ownstruggles.
Temptation comes in lots ofways Relationships, power,
marital desires, materialdesires, things and substances
we shouldn't have.
So what can we do as people inrecovery?
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Understanding ourvulnerabilities helps us
anticipate and resist temptation.
Temptation will come.
Knowing that will help usrecognize our triggers and
fortify ourselves spiritually.
Acknowledging the potentialconsequences of our actions will
help us make good choices.
In my early days of recovery,someone told me to think through
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the drink.
Think about what comes next ifyou choose to take that drink or
use that drug or place that bet.
You may have a tiny bit ofhappiness or relief, but that
fades pretty fast.
What happens after is all bad.
Think it through before you act.
If we never make that poorchoice, we don't have to deal
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with the fallout.
And if we do make that poorchoice, let's be like David.
Let's ask for goodness from Godand anyone we hurt because of
that choice.
And let's remember this reallyimportant thing A poor choice
does not erase anything goodthat came before it.
If you drink on day 300, itdoes not erase the 299 days of
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sobriety before it.
If you're on a diet and lose100 pounds and gain a pound or
two over Thanksgiving becausewho can honestly resist that
sweet potato casserole and allthose pies Does that take away
the 98 that you've lost?
No, of course not.
I've never been a fan of theidea that one stumble erases all
the good and you have to startover on day 1.
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No, you don't Just pickyourself up and keep going
forward.
Don't keep making the samemistake.
Learn from it.
Think about what you could havedone differently and do that
next time.
All is not lost because of astumble.
David had a pretty big stumble.
He had an affair and hadsomeone killed to cover it up,
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and he was forgiven and went onto become a righteous and
honorable king.
He was still beloved by God.
Punished, yes, but still loved,and so are we.
Let's pray, Father, you know wewill make mistakes.
You know we will sin.
Thank you for loving us inspite of it.
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Help us to be strong in theface of temptation, to have the
courage and wisdom to pause andmake good choices.
Keep us on the path of recoveryand guard us against anything
that wants to push us off.
We need you and if we dostumble, please help us humble
ourselves and ask forforgiveness.
We love you, so Keep us tuckedunder your wing and keep us safe
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In Jesus name, amen.
David's story has profoundlessons about being human, our
capacity for both greatness andfailure.
Let's learn from David'striumphs and failings.
The impact David's temptationhad in his life was huge.
It serves as a reminder thateven great leaders and
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individuals can and will stumble.
His response to his failings,his humility, his repentance and
his pursuit of restorationshows us his true character.
It offers hope and inspiration,showing us that, despite our
shortcomings, sincere repentancepaves the path to redemption.
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I hope I never give in totemptation again.
I hope you don't either.
But if we do, I pray we all dothe right thing.
Next, ask for forgiveness, growwiser through it and, above all
, don't let it derail us fromour recovered life.
We need to keep moving forwardwith recovery, no matter what,
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no matter what.
I'll see you next time.
Thank you for watching.