King David's Temptation & What We Can Learn From Him | 2 Samuel 11

Hi and welcome to the Recovered Christian. This is Suzanne. Today we're going to meet King David, one of the heroes of our faith, a boy turned king in a man who fell into temptation. The story of King David and Beth Sheba is found in 2 Samuel 11. Here's the story from the Bible In the spring of the year when kings normally go out to war, david sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Raba. However, david stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon after his midday rest, david got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was and he was told she is Beth Sheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent messengers to get her and when she came to the palace he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rates after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Beth Sheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message saying I am pregnant. Then David sent word to Joab send me Uriah the Hittite. So Joab sent him to David. When Uriah arrived, david asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah go on home and relax. David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn't go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king's palace guard. When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked what's the matter? Why didn't you go home last night after being away for so long? Uriah replied the ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents and Joab and my master's men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing. Well, stay here today, david told him, and tomorrow you may return to the army. So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn't get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again, he slept at the palace entrance with the king's palace guard. So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah. To deliver. The letter instructed Joab station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest, then pull back so he will be killed. So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's strongest men were fighting. When the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. Then Joab sent a battle report to David. He told his messenger report all the news of the battle to the king. But he might get angry and ask why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn't they know they would be shooting from the walls? Wasn't Abimelech's son of Gideon killed at Thabez by a woman who threw a millstone dot on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall? Then tell him Uriah the Hittite was killed too. So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. The enemy came out against us in the open fields, he said, and as we chased them back to the city gate, the arches on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king's men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite. Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged. David said the sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow. Fight harder next time and conquer the city. When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, david sent for her and brought her to the palace and she 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 about you, but I don't ever want the Lord displeased with me. I know he is a lot, but still I don't want him to be. King David was a shepherd, boy and musician who became one of Israel's greatest kings. After defeating Goliath on the battlefield and the service of King Saul, he went on to become the chosen ruler of Israel. He made Jerusalem the new capital of his kingdom, built a royal palace in the city and was inspired by God to write many of the Psalms a giant slayer, brave warrior and beloved by God. In 1 Samuel 13, verse 14, samuel told King Saul that his kingdom would end because the Lord had sought out a man after his own heart. That was David. In Acts 13, verse 22,. The Bible says that God removed Saul 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 heart. He will do everything I want him to do. He did do everything God wanted him to do. He loved the Lord, praised him, took counsel from him and became a great king. He also had an affair and killed his friend to cover it up. David, the one after God's own heart, gave into temptation. David, from his palace, laid eyes on Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers. Despite knowing that Bathsheba was married, david's desire overwhelmed him, leading to an affair. Confronted with the consequences of his actions as Bathsheba became pregnant, david attempted to cover up his mistake. His subsequent decisions were marked by deception and manipulation. He schemed to involve Uriah in an effort to conceal the affair, ultimately ordering Uriah's placement in a dangerous battle position, resulting in his death. David's story serves as a cautionary tale. It shows us the dangers of yielding to temptation and the devastating consequences of attempting to cover up our wrongdoing. Temptation can be very powerful. It often comes unexpectedly, preying on our vulnerabilities. Even the strongest among us can falter in moments of weakness. David's lapse highlights the need for constant vigilance against our desires. I doubt anyone's walk in recovery is absent of temptation. Those moments get fewer and fewer the longer we are in recovery, but they still come. We need to be ready and have a plan to stay strong. Giving into temptation hurts people other than us. David's actions not only harmed himself, but also resulted in collateral damage to others. His choices led to Uriah's death, hurt Bathsheba and caused the death of their child. The cover-up compounded David's wrongdoing. Trying to hide ours often leads to deeper entanglement and it usually ends up making everything worse. But David had a path to redemption. Nathan the Prophet was sent by God to confront David. In 2 Samuel 12, nathan tells David a story about a rich man and a poor man. The poor man had a little lamb that he loved. The lamb grew up with his children and ate from his table. He even cuddled the lamb in his arms like a baby. One day the rich man had a guest and instead of killing the lamb from his own flock, the rich man took the poor man's lamb and killed it to prepare for the guest. David was furious when he heard this story and told Nathan that any man who would do such a thing deserved to die. Nathan tells David that he is that rich man. Verses 7-9 say Then Nathan said to David. You are that man. The Lord, the God of Israel, says I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master's house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered your eye of the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. God knows what we are doing. We are never hiding anything from him. He knows our sin. He knows our shortcomings and our failures. He knows when we stumble. When confronted with this, david did what we should all do. He confessed his sin. He humbled himself and God forgave him. Much later in his life, david took a census when he wasn't supposed to. After he did it, his conscience began 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 who dedicated his life to God, loved God and did so many things to honor 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 his wrongdoing, when confronted by the prophet Nathan, showed his repentance and remorse. He didn't justify or minimize his actions, but sought forgiveness and reconciliation with God. He said I've sinned, forgive me. In David's story mirrors our own struggles. Temptation comes in lots of ways Relationships, power, marital desires, material desires, things and substances we shouldn't have. So what can we do as people in recovery? Understanding our vulnerabilities helps us anticipate and resist temptation. Temptation will come. Knowing that will help us recognize our triggers and fortify ourselves spiritually. Acknowledging the potential consequences of our actions will help us make good choices. In my early days of recovery, someone told me to think through the drink. Think about what comes next if you choose to take that drink or use that drug or place that bet. You may have a tiny bit of happiness or relief, but that fades pretty fast. What happens after is all bad. Think it through before you act. If we never make that poor choice, we don't have to deal with the fallout. And if we do make that poor choice, let's be like David. Let's ask for goodness from God and anyone we hurt because of that choice. And let's remember this really important thing A poor choice does not erase anything good that came before it. If you drink on day 300, it does not erase the 299 days of sobriety before it. If you're on a diet and lose 100 pounds and gain a pound or two over Thanksgiving because who can honestly resist that sweet potato casserole and all those pies Does that take away the 98 that you've lost? No, of course not. I've never been a fan of the idea that one stumble erases all the good and you have to start over on day 1. No, you don't Just pick yourself up and keep going forward. Don't keep making the same mistake. Learn from it. Think about what you could have done differently and do that next time. All is not lost because of a stumble. David had a pretty big stumble. He had an affair and had someone killed to cover it up, and he was forgiven and went on to 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 we will make mistakes. You know we will sin. Thank you for loving us in spite of it. Help us to be strong in the face of temptation, to have the courage and wisdom to pause and make good choices. Keep us on the path of recovery and guard us against anything that wants to push us off. We need you and if we do stumble, please help us humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness. We love you, so Keep us tucked under your wing and keep us safe In Jesus name, amen. David's story has profound lessons about being human, our capacity for both greatness and failure. Let's learn from David's triumphs and failings. The impact David's temptation had in his life was huge. It serves as a reminder that even great leaders and individuals can and will stumble. His response to his failings, his humility, his repentance and his pursuit of restoration shows us his true character. It offers hope and inspiration, showing us that, despite our shortcomings, sincere repentance paves the path to redemption. I hope I never give in to temptation again. I hope you don't either. But if we do, I pray we all do the right thing. Next, ask for forgiveness, grow wiser through it and, above all, don't let it derail us from our recovered life. We need to keep moving forward with recovery, no matter what, no matter what. I'll see you next time. Thank you for watching.