Thank you once again for listening to Cultivating Growth. We started just last week. Uh, kind of a, a discussion, a conversation, John and I over David and his life. There's certainly a lot to be covered in his life. We're kind of cherry picking, you know, certainly a little bit. And last week we talked about the story of David and Goliath in one Samuel chapter 17.

And we're gonna jump a little bit ahead to now, David, as King and, and the tremendous faith that he showcases in the story of David and Goliath. We're going to see a side of David that shows that he's human, that he's fallible a massive mistake and sin that cost him dearly in really a lot of ways. But there still is so much to learn from this story, how David handled himself in this story, both bad of course, and good.

And that story is found in Second Samuel chapter 11 and will leak in to chapter 12 as well. So I'm looking forward to this conversation. Let's get to it.

Jeremy. Last week we talked about the story of David and Goliath, and we mentioned that that was in, in a lot of ways, kind of a springboard for David as, uh, everyone around him began to take notice of him after the events of that story. As we get into Second Samuel chapter 11, we are well into David's kingship at this point, and he is.

Quite a warrior. He is quite a king. He is a wealthy, wealthy man. He has been extraordinarily blessed by God in almost innumerable ways. And we get to chapter 11, and this is a story that is. Um, very difficult to read because of the uncomfortable nature of it. David does some terrible things in Second Samuel Chapter 11.

Yeah. Right in a row. Right in a row. And it is, it is difficult to read, but it is important for us. To consider what transpires here between him and Bathsheba and Uriah Bathsheba's husband, because of really how David is ultimately going to respond to all of this. It's important for us as we build out our understanding of David, I.

And as we begin to talk about him next week as a man after God's own heart, this is a story that's an important part of that. Mm-hmm. And it's important for us not to gloss over the mistakes that David makes and the horrible things that he does, because without that, we wouldn't fully understand. How he gets to the place of being a man after God's own heart.

And so that's why I think, you know, you mentioned we're kind of cherry-picking the stories of, of David that we're talking about and you're, you're absolutely right. But I think this is a, a crucial one to really understanding who David truly was. And it's a crucial one for us. You know, we're gonna get.

Deep into it next week when we talk about, you know, that phrase a, a man after God's own heart and everything that goes into that and how we wanna be that. Mm-hmm. But, you know, it's important for us to understand that there is a way for that statement. To marry with what happens in Second Samuel Chapter 11.

Yeah. Now there's a spec, there's, there's a specific way. Chapter 12 has a lot to do with that. It does, you know, for sure. But I think that's an important part for us to really grab hold of. And that's what makes this chapter so important. I is that, listen, we see it from Moses. You know, Moses was an imperfect man.

Uh, and, and we, we see that, we see it from Abraham, another faithful man who was not a perfect man. And we see that from David, and I think it's God. Doing us a service. Mm-hmm. Almost out of his love. Yep. You know, to know that, listen, there's going to be mistakes, but it's how we react in those moments in a lot of ways.

And ultimately what our kind of a attitude or thought process is, you know, in regards to God and how we deal with those shortcomings and, and. Not to do those things again, of course. But I think this is an important, you know, for God to show us. Mm-hmm. And, and it's something important for us to see from David.

Well, you mentioned that there are several mistakes that David makes throughout the course of two Samuel chapter 11, and the first of them might be found in verse number one. It's an unusual way that this chapter begins. And you know, there, there's some speculation wrapped up in, in this perhaps, but the, the chapter begins by saying that it was a time of year when the kings go out to battle.

David is a warrior. David is a man of war, and he has been known to lead his troops into battle. But for whatever reason, he is not with them at this point in time. And again, you know, there can be some speculation as to why he stayed back at this point in time, but it seems as if he has. Sent his troops, his armies out to battle, and other kings are leading their troops to do the same.

But David has decided to stay back. Why exactly he made that decision? I don't know, but it's important enough to make mention of it's important enough to make mention of, and. That decision then places him in the situation that he's gonna find himself in as the chapter continues on. And so perhaps we're seeing mistake number one right off the bat as we get into this.

Again, it's a point worth making because the text tells us specifically that this is what transpires and that's going to then put him in the situation that we find him in chapter or in verse number two. As he's up on the roof and he sees Bathsheba bathing, and that's going to lead to the events that then take place.

And that certainly is the kind of the step one that we often will make reference to, to this really down slide in the reality of the whole chapter. Mm-hmm. Is that, you know, of what takes place in, in verses two, three, and four, the lust for sure, followed by, you know, the adultery. Uh, there really is an important component to the end of verse two that we, we do need to, you know.

Uh, take note of as the, you know, the text tells us that, you know, at evening, David arose from his bed. There's no, nothing wrong with that. No. He, he walked on the roof of the King's house. Certainly nothing, you know, nothing wrong with that. And, uh, uh, from one roof, he saw a woman bathing, and I'm not gonna say there's anything necessarily wrong with that.

Maybe these were things that, you know, would happen from time to time, but it is the very end of that verse. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That we begin to have a problem because it is mentioned that she was a very beautiful woman. And one to behold. Yeah. And, and that now is painting the picture that he's not averting his eyes.

Right. You know, in, in this moment he is lusting after her. Mm-hmm. And that lust grows Yep. To the point that he inquires about who she is and, uh, finds out who she is and that she is married and, and not just that. He doesn't just inquire, he then calls for her and sleeps with her and, and it's just, I mean, these three verses kind of roll right at Yeah.

And man, we are in a bad, bad spot very, very quickly here. And that's what happens a lot of times. Yeah. Is you can find yourself in a bad, bad place very, very quickly if you are not. Turning, you know, from a, you know, from a mistake as quickly as you can. There, there's an important point to be made there about why God places so much emphasis on the importance of self-control.

That's right. Because there was a, there was a, a brief moment Yeah. In which everything could have changed had David exercised a level of self-control. Yep. He saw this woman again, to your point, if that was accidental, that that. Happens. And he had an opportunity to avert his eyes and to exercise self-control in that moment.

And he chose not to do that. And I think especially as you get into the New Testament, it seems like God emphasizes the importance of self-discipline and self-control over and over again. And this is a story as to why that's so important. Everything that transpires, the adultery, the ultimate murder of Uriah, the child that's going to be born and ultimately die as a result of all this.

All of it could have been avoided if David had exercised self-control in that moment. And so it just highlights why God sees that as such an important quality of his people. If David had that, none of this would've happened. And so for, for us today, that's why we, we have to give so much attention to self-discipline and self-control because it protects us.

From so many sinful behaviors that could potentially transpire. And if it's not there, if it's not present, if it's not exercised, that's when the door is open to all kinds of sinful behavior. Yeah, and I was thinking about this uh, a little bit earlier today that absolutely there at the beginning. I mean, that was the best opportunity for him to kind of, you know, nip this thing in the bud.

But he had a lot of opportunities. Yeah. Um, to kind of stop this thing rolling down the hill. Yeah. And he just, he just simply doesn't, I mean, after the inquiring that he makes, uh, he, he sleeps with her, she conceives, uh, and now she's with child and he begins to try to cover that up. He calls Uriah in from the battlefield to try to get him to, you know, go and sleep with his wife.

And he refuses to do that. Uh, he is a man of integrity, it seems. Mm-hmm. And, uh, he knows that his fellow soldiers are still in the battlefield. How can, how can he be home to sleep in his bed with his wife? And no one else is able to do that. And so, uh, David, then he's like, well, uh, if I get him drunk. Yeah.

If I get him drunk, maybe then, you know, he'll stumble inside and, and that ultimately doesn't work. And, and he ultimately then makes a decision, well, he's gonna go back to the battlefield. I'll just set him up in a position where he's going to die. Yeah. And, and you know, it's, you know, eight through 13 versus eight through 13, you see deception and deceit lies multiple times.

And ultimately, yeah. Verse 15, the murder of Uriah. And there are so many opportunities to halt, you know, this thing rolling down and he just doesn't do it. And again, before we start picking up huge stones and tossing them, you know, in David's direction. Yeah. That's how sin operates sometimes. Yeah, it is.

Well we often will use the, you know, the sin of lying to showcase that where, you know, you, you, you tell a lie and. Maybe you're caught in that in some way, but you try to, you tell another lie to cover up that lie and then you tell another lie to cover up that lie. Well, sins themselves kind of culminate in a lot of ways.

And lut, we were talking about you and I a little bit earlier, not that that is any more as sin than anything else, but it seems to be one, if not controlled, oftentimes rolls in to really, really. Dangerous places for people. And you know, as painful as it would've been for David to admit what he had done to Uriah, to confess his sins, to put a stop to all of that before it went, any as painful as that would've been, as embarrassing as that would've been.

You go read Psalm 32, Psalm 51, Psalm 86, Psalm 1 22, the Psalms that David writes during this period of his life, and there is no question that. If he could take it all back, he would have Right. He would've dealt with the embarrassment. Yep. No question. He would've dealt with the, the pain of all of that. He would have, because what transpired?

Just wrecks David. Mm-hmm. I mean, he, he grieves and mourns and pours out his heart and I mean, it was. Not, not just did it cost the life of Uriah and the life of David and Bathsheba's son, it, it just wrecked him emotionally. Mm-hmm. In a way that is, again, you read some of those psalms and it, it is. Heart wrenching to hear the words of David poured out.

He would go back and do this all differently if he could, and I think that's a good lesson for us. To your point, as sin potentially begins to build in our lives and roll downhill. It is worth whatever pain, embarrassment, hard conversation, whatever, to stop it as soon as you can stop it, because as it continues to roll downhill, it's only gonna get more and more painful, harder and harder to deal with, and more people are gonna suffer as a result of it.

Stop it when you have an opportunity to stop it as soon as you can. Whatever it takes, it's worth it to do that. This is a great story that teaches that lesson very, very clearly to us. And then ultimately I think it is God's love that really comes to the forefront, you know, at the very end of chapter 11.

I mean the literal, very end, the of verse 27, but the thing that David had done, displeased the Lord. He is angry about this. Yeah. But yet when you get into chapter 12, even though David has had. Multiple opportunities to put a stop to the slide that he was on, and he doesn't take any of 'em. You get to chapter 12 and what does God do?

He's angry. He's displeased. But he, he throws, he throws David another lifeline. Mm-hmm. He throws him another lifeline and he sends Nathan, and Nathan tells him a story that is about David, and, uh, David gets all worked up about that. And you have this powerful moment where Nathan, you know, lets David know this is what you have done.

Mm-hmm. And to your point, it smashes David in the face. I mean, it absolutely crumbles him. And, um, and ultimately there's a price to pay no matter, you know, the, the morning that he does the fasting, the praying that he does this child that was conceived with Bathsheba ultimately is taken. And, um, it, it is a powerful scene, but it is God's love.

Yeah. Even in he's displeased, but here's another lifeline and. This time David takes it. Yeah. Well, and it's what transpires here between David and Nathan, and ultimately David's response to all of this is really going to be the important setup to the conversation next week as we talk about David Af as a man after God's own heart because of how he's gonna respond to Nathan's story.

Nathan tells him this story and David is distraught over it. Nathan confronts him that David, you're the man. This story is about and, and David is. Immediately struck by this and his response that we see in verse number 13 is crucial to why David is going to be a call, uh, called a man after God's own heart.

And so let's wrap up our discussion today by looking at those couple of verses and second Samuel chapter 12, beginning in verse number 13, after Nathan has told this story to David, David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die.

However, because by this deed, you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord, to blaspheme the child also who is born to you shall surely die that Nathan departed to his house.

Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast, whatever platform you're listening, rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus widely and effectively as possible. Thanks again for joining us this week, and we'll talk again next week.