2 Samuel 12

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And though he had never met and knew nothing about any of these men, on this intuition he sent to 12 men the following telegram anonymously.

Thank you.

So let's not do that.

What are you hiding?

What are you hiding?

Right now.

Sitting politely and publicly in this congregation.

What are you hiding?

The knowledge of which would shame you.

What is it that shames you even now to think of it in your mind?

What?

What grave and heinous sins have you done that you were not thinking of until this moment?

And now what does your conscience say to you?

Does it accuse you of some guilt?

Does it tell you still to hide?

To maintain a perfect posture to avoid all eye contact with anybody?

With me?

For fear of incriminating yourself?

I have for you this evening horrifying news.

All is discovered.

The jig is up.

You are found out.

And if you let it.

This discovery of your great evil will be to you a great mercy.

On whether you will evade, deny, plead your own innocence, or instead confess, I am guilty, Lord have mercy.

On that choice depends everything.

In Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth, after organizing the murder of one who stood in the way of her husband's ascent to the kingship,

she's found sleepwalking, rubbing her hands together feverishly, incessantly, before she yells out in despair,

Out, damned spot, out, I say.

Who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?

Will these hands never be clean?

Here is the smell of blood still.

All of the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.

The hand with which she murdered King Duncan.

And if all the perfumes of Arabia could not conceal the blood of this one man,

what, I beg you, will conceal the blood on your hands.

Our text tonight will answer for you this question.

But only if you let it.

Only if you decide now, at this very moment, to permit this word from the Lord to read your soul.

Will it have anything to say to that shame, guilt that you conceal so well?

You must decide now, at this very moment, that the word of the Lord tonight is aimed directly at you.

Forget for these moments a friend you came with, a neighbor to whom you are witnessing.

This medicine will only heal you if you receive it.

Our text for this evening is 2 Samuel chapter 12.

2 Samuel 12 · chapter mention

Turn with me there, if you will.

If you've been coming to these evening services now, you recognize the context.

David is well ensconced in his throne in Jerusalem.

And as his armies go out to war in the previous chapter, he sees a woman bathing on her rooftop.

He knows her husband to be off at war, and therefore he invites her in.

He sleeps with her.

They have a child.

He brings back her husband from war.

Try to cover up his tracks.

And when the husband won't do so, he has him killed.

That's the context.

And that brings us to our text this evening.

We're focusing on verses 1 through 25.

Let's read those together.

2 Samuel 12, verse 1.

2 Samuel 12:1

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 ewe 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 traveler 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.

Nathan said to David,

You are the man.

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,

I anointed you king over Israel,

and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

And I gave you your master's house

and your master's wives into your arms

and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah.

And if this were too little,

I would add to you as much more.

Why have you despised the word of the Lord

to do what is evil in his sight?

You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword

and have taken his wife to be your wife

and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

Now therefore,

the sword shall never depart from your house

because you have despised me

and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite

to be your wife.

Thus says the Lord,

behold, I will raise up evil against you

out of your own house.

And I will take your wives before your eyes

and give them to your neighbor.

And he shall lie with your wives

in the sight of this son.

For you did it secretly.

But I will do this thing before all Israel

and before the son.

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.

Nevertheless,

because by this deed

you have utterly scorned the Lord,

the child who is born to you

shall die.

And Nathan went to his house.

And the Lord afflicted the child

that Uriah's wife bore to David

and he became sick.

David therefore sought God

on behalf of the child.

David fasted and went in

and lay all night on the ground.

And the elders of his house

stood beside him

to raise him from the ground,

but he would not.

Nor did he eat food with them.

On the seventh day,

the child died.

And the servants of David

were afraid to tell him

that the child was dead.

For they said,

Behold,

while the child was yet alive,

we spoke to him

and he did not listen to us.

How then can we say to him

the child is dead?

He may do himself some harm.

But when David saw

that his servants

were whispering together,

David understood

that the child was dead.

And David said to his servants,

Is the child dead?

They said,

He is dead.

Then David arose

from the earth

and washed

and anointed himself

and changed his clothes.

And he went

into the house

of the Lord

and worshipped.

He then went

to his own house.

And when he asked,

they set food before him

and he ate.

Then his servants

said to him,

What is this thing

that you have done?

You fasted

and wept for the child

when he was alive,

but when the child died,

you arose and ate food.

He said,

While the child

was still alive,

I fasted and wept,

for I said,

Who knows

whether the Lord

will be gracious to me

and the child may live.

But now he's dead.

Why should I fast?

Can I bring him back again?

I shall go to him,

but he will not return

to me.

Then David comforted

his wife,

Bathsheba,

and went into her

and lay with her

and she bore a son

and he called his name

Solomon.

And the Lord loved him

and sent a message

by Nathan the prophet.

So he called his name

Jedidiah

because of the Lord.

This evening,

I want to note

two things together

from this text.

The first

is that sin

brings

sure consequences

and condemnation.

Sin brings

sure consequences

and condemnation.

Secondly,

fleeing from sin

brings

sure

consolation.

Fleeing from sin

brings

sure consolation.

First then,

number one,

sin

brings

sure consequences

and condemnation.

in chapter 11 the chapter previous to this one we see david comfortably ensconced on his jerusalem

throne where instead of going out to fight battles on behalf of his people he sends others to do his

bidding this is the operative word david sends six times in previous chapters he would go out

and come in he would wage the wars but in this chapter he sends he has you see all the authority

to move men and women around like pawns he sends this one and he sends that one and they go wherever

he wills but in verse one of this passage in our chapter tonight we see there is another authority

sending someone to david the lord sent nathan to david

and with what tidings does nathan the prophet come but with a pressing legal question demanding

immediate adjudication nathan tells a beautifully crafted story that could not help but appeal

both to david's poetic soul after all this was the king who wrote all those glorious psalms

and also to his kingly sense of justice and when presented with this heinous evil this rich man has

done to this poor man david responds precisely as he should verse five his anger was greatly kindled

against the men 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 david's moral calculus

is spot on in the abstract

to this strange thought experiment david declares an unequivocal verdict

condemnation

and that's the right answer david knows his law david knows his law perfectly

and in that perfect knowledge of the law he hides himself

he hides himself even while he condemns himself without knowing

he does not yet know that he has condemned himself until nathan delivers it to him straight

you are the man

you are the man

you are the man who has trampled on the joys of those in your control

you are the man that has abused your authority for murder

you are the man that has stolen the precious possession of another simply to be your own plaything

you david you are the man who must make restitution

you are the man who must die

you are the man

and all at once

david realizes that his sin is not concealed from god though it is concealed from every other person in the world

and now he will die

as saul died

he has delivered the condemnation himself

he deserves to die

the kingdom must surely go to another

sin brings sure condemnation

david sees his sin for what it is

for the first time

not a simple lack of sexual self-control

but the presumption that he the king can perform whatever he pleases with the pawns in his power

he had ample wives to entertain himself

this was not about that

this was about him

believing that he was the highest law of the land

what did david lack

that caused him to flee outside of god's direction for him

several centuries later god will ask through his mouthpiece jeremiah

what fault did your fathers find in me that they went far from me

and it went after worthlessness

and they became worthless

and the answer here is simple

david found no fault in god

nathan opened up the royal histories

and regales david with all the blessings that god had showered upon him

like a very flood of grace

i anointed you king over israel god says

i delivered you out of the hand of saul

i gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms

and i gave you the house of israel of judah

and if this were not enough

i would add to you much more

there was no fault in god's provision for david

he simply looked grace right in the face and said

i am bored with this

david felt the smiling face of god upon his soul

and said in response

i do not love you

as we sang in the song

in the hymn just now

i have sinned against thy grace

and provoked thee

to thy face

and now death must ensue

the sword shall never depart from your house

says nathan

prophesying about the civil war

into which israel will soon be thrown

after absalom's rebellion

i will take your wives before your eyes

and give them to your neighbor

and he shall lie with your wives

in the sight of the sun

says nathan

foreseeing that absalom

david's rebellious son

will soon drive david out of the city

into hiding

and he himself will go into the palace

and sleep with all of david's concubines

and wives

in a tent

on the roof

of the palace

in the sight of the sun

for all of the sun

and he has learned well

from his father

the sins of the fathers

are visited upon the children

the fathers have eaten sour grapes

and the children's teeth

are set on edge

absalom

looks just like his father

and though david will escape this sin

with his very life

as we will see

by only the pure grace of god

he will lose the life of his son

the heart of bathsheba will be shattered

as her son dies

the kingdom will shortly be thrown into disarray

all because david did not apply to himself

all his knowledge of the law

he did not think

it applied to him

what then will we make of this

will we do with david

will you do with david

what david did

with this rich man

and poor man

will you think of this as a thought experiment

or will you hear nathan's voice

saying to you

even now

you

are the man

you have done this

do you see yourself in david

with that shameful sin you committed

that i made you think of

at the beginning of this sermon

do you see yourself in david

do you recall how your conscience

speaks against you

while you did that sin

do you remember how you are recognized

you recognize and admitted in the abstract

that this is a sin

but you somehow are exceptional

doesn't apply to you

you are not the man

this is a mere thought experiment

did you think you would not be found out

sin this passage tells us

brings sure consequences

and certain condemnation

and the harrowing thing about our text

is that that condemnation

and those consequences

might fall on those around you

more than they fall on you

do you consider that those who pay the penalty

for your sins

may be your children

your friends

your parents

while you get off with a minor sentence

do you realize the very real possibility

of leading a child of god astray

you

do you hear nathan saying

that you

you are the man

you must hear it that way

if you are to hear that sin

brings consequences

and condemnation

i do not mean sin in the abstract

i mean your sin

brings consequences

brings condemnation

that's my first point

of the evening

sin brings sure consequences

and condemnation

secondly

fleeing from sin

brings sure

consolation

david

knows himself

to be found out

the jig is up

all is discovered

he must flee

he makes

not a shade

of an excuse

plainly

simply

unequivocally

he states

i have sinned

against the lord

where

first

in nathan's story

he may have said that

such and such a man

sinned against the lord

now he says

i have sinned

against the lord

and between those two

is a world

of difference

between those two

is

the knowledge

of the law

the knowledge

of what god demands

the knowledge

of sin

the knowledge

that i am a sinner

the knowledge

that i have sinned

in fact

in the 51st psalm

that david writes

after this whole affair

he will confess

to god

that against you

and you alone

have i sinned

you and you alone

he's not trying

to hide it

and this

i think

is why david

keeps his life

while saul

didn't

this i think

is why

there is a note

of consolation

here

in the middle

of the consequences

and calamities

that are caused

by sin

there is still

some consolation

you david

will not

die

the kingdom

will not

go to another

it will remain

with your house

even though

there will be

a sword

in your house

so nathan

can say to david

a sword

will never

leave your house

and still david

can have another son

and name him

solomon

which is derived

from the hebrew word

salem

shalom

peace

the sword

will never

depart from your house

and you shall

name your son

peace

there is a note

of consolation

how

does david

have access

to this

consolation

how might

you have

access

to this

consolation

i have

three

suggestions

for you

first

see yourself

in the mirror

of the word

see yourself

when the word

comes to you

condemningly

see yourself

when the bible

says

what can a man

gain

if he loses

his soul

ask yourself

not in the

abstract

what can a

president

or world leader

or senator

gain

if he gets

the whole

world

but loses

his soul

ask yourself

what can

i gain

if i gain

the world

and lose

my own

soul

what does

it profit

me

if i gain

the world

and lose

my soul

you must

see yourself

in the word

the sin of the king

is not hidden

from the eyes

of the lord

he thought it

was

it wasn't

the new

testament

says

everything

that is done

in secret

will be revealed

on that day

the lord

is already

keeping a catalog

of every

sin

we've done

all will be

revealed

everything is

found out

fully at once

to receive

some consolation

you must

not hear

nathan

saying only

to david

that he is

the man

you must

instead hear

that you

are the man

it is

you

to whom

every

command

in scripture

is addressed

kirk

guard

soren kirk

guard

has a

glorious

sermon

called

what is

required

to see

oneself

in the

mirror

of the

word

and his

second

requirement

is

you must

remember

to say

to yourself

incessantly

it is

i to whom

it is

speaking

it is

i about

whom

it is

speaking

when you

read the

bible

is it

for you

a set

of morality

tales

about

other

people

but is

it

reading

your

soul

in order

to receive

the

consolation

that comes

with fleeing

from sin

you must

allow the

word

to read

your

soul

charles

spurgeon

in a

sermon

called

the special

call

and the

unfailing

result

says this

to repeat

the old

saying

of john

branford

when he

saw a

cart full

of men

going off

to tyburn

to be

hanged

he said

to himself

there goes

john

branford

me

but for

the grace

of god

when you

see the

swearer in

the street

or the

drunkard

rolling home

at night

there are

you

there am

i

but for

the grace

of god

who am

i and

what should

i have

been if

the lord

in his

mercy

had not

stopped

me in

my mad

career

i know

there are

some of

us who

can remember

the old

story of

roland hill

when a

good scotchman

called to

see him

and without

saying a

word sat

still for

some five

minutes

looking into

the old

gentleman's

face

roland hill

is a

is a

preacher

famous

evangelical

preacher

advocate of

the smallpox

vaccination

at last

roland hill

asked him

what engaged

his attention

so much

and the

scotchman

said to

him

i was

looking at

the lines

of your

face

well what

do you

make of

them

i make

of

them

this

that if

the grace

of god

had not

been in

you

you would

be the

biggest

scoundrel

living

spurgeon

says and

some of

us feel

just that

that if

it had not

been for

the grace

of god

we should

have been

out and

out ring

leaders in

every kind

of infamy

and sin

i know for

myself i can

never do

things by

halves

if i had

served bail

i would

have built

him an

altar and

made victims

smoke upon

it day

and night

and if

we serve

god

zealously

and earnestly

we have

the more

reason to

be humble

and to

lay low

in the

dust

for that

very zeal

of spirit

would have

been turned

to the

very worst

account

unless divine

grace had

been pleased

to transform

us

do you

recognize in

yourself the

possibility of

great sin

the reality

of great

sin

and the

possibility of

even greater

sin

it is

necessary

before you

receive

consolation

to hear

this word

to you

secondly

how can we

receive

consolation

seek out

a nathan

seek out

a nathan

nathan

you see

has the

king's

ear

and he

comes into

the king's

court

and the

court and

the king

listens to

him

there is

nothing that

keeps david

from killing

nathan right

there on the

spot

always revealed

he can kill

nathan right

there

he doesn't

david

had at least

one person

around him

to whom he

gave permission

to be lovingly

intrusive

in his life

david

willed himself

not to see

his own sin

and we

are very

liable to

the same

blindness

therefore find

for yourself

a person

several people

perhaps

who are to be

lovingly intrusive

in your life

this is one of

the functions

of the local

church

you give to

the people

around you

the permission

to hold you

accountable to

the standards

of the faith

that you

profess

you have

given them

the opportunity

to be lovingly

intrusive

in your life

and the reason

for this

is that

this word

you are the

man

is a word

of mercy

if you will

hear it

before the

judgment

comes

faithful

says the

proverbs

are the

wounds

of a

friend

but the

kisses

of an

enemy

are deceitful

if all

the people

around you

are those

who flatter

you

beware

find some

at least

one

who will

say the

true things

to you

will hold

you accountable

to the

faith

you

profess

this

finding

for yourself

a Nathan

is required

for you

to feel

the consolation

that comes

from fleeing

from sin

thirdly

and finally

simply put

flee

in order

to feel

the consolation

to have

the consolation

that comes

from fleeing

from sin

you must

simply

flee

flee

from your

sin

flee

with everything

in you

from that

sin

do you

not know

that the

living God

the head

of the

armies

of heaven

has sworn

eternal

hatred

toward all

sin

and evil

in this

world

and he

is coming

revelation

19

depicts him

like this

i saw

heaven

opened

and behold

a white

horse

the one

sitting

on it

is called

faithful

and true

and in

righteousness

he judges

and he

makes

war

his eyes

are like

a flame

of fire

and on

his head

are many

diadems

and he

has a

name

written

that no

one

knows

but himself

he is

clothed

in a

robe

dipped

in

blood

and the

name

by which

he is

called

is

the

word

of

god

do you

think

this is

jesus

do you

understand

this

making

war

robed

dipped

in

blood

this

is

jesus

and the

armies

of

heaven

arrayed

in

fine

linen

white

and

pure

were

following

him

on

white

horses

and

from

his

mouth

from

jesus

his

mouth

comes

a

sharp

sword

with

which

to

strike

down

the

nations

and

he

will

rule

them

with

a

rod

of

iron

he

will

tread

the

winepress

of

the

fury

of

the

wrath

of

god

the

almighty

on

his

robe

and

his

thigh

he

has

a

name

written

king

of

kings

and

lord

of

lords

god

jesus

has

pledged

holy

warfare

against

all

sin

and

he

has

with

him

all

of

the

armies

of

heaven

to

execute

his

wrath

on

that

sin

why

would

you

coddle

his

enemy

in

your

bosom

why

would

you

make

peace

with

the

very

thing

he

hates

do

not

dare

to

take

the

battlefield

with

the

forces

of

sin

against

the

armies

of

heaven

led

by

jesus

christ

himself

do

you

see

this

is

what

david

does

he

does

not

vacillate

he

openly

says

i

have

sinned

against

the

lord

i

am

the

guilty

one

i

am

the

man

who

has

done

this

i

will

not

coddle

the

sin

that

i

have

committed

i

will

separate

myself

from

it

i

realize

now

that

it

is

worthy

of

the

wrath

of

god

which

will

be

revealed

against

it

one

day

i

will

not

make

peace

with

it

i

will

flee

but

the

question

is

to

where

will

you

flee

david

has

no

immediate

refuge

except

simply

repentance

and the

amazing

thing

about

his

repentance

is that

as soon

as he

says

it

nathan

turns

to him

and says

the lord

has put

away

your

sin

you

shall

not

die

how can

the lord

put away

sin like

this

how can

he pass

over

sin

like

this

it's a

massive

theological

problem

for hundreds

of years

he has

sworn

warfare

against

those

who commit

this

sort

of

sin

and yet

he's

put

this

in

a

way

how

will

he

do

this

and the

christian

knows

that he

does

this

by

punishing

that

sin

in

his

own

body

on

the

cross

that

is

where

you

must

flee

if

you

would

escape

the

wrath

to

come

if

you

would

escape

the

sure

condemnation

that

comes

with

sin

and

receive

the

consolation

that

comes

from

fleeing

from

sin

to

Jesus

is

where

you

must

flee

look

to

the

cross

and

you

must

hear

both

of

these

words

of

Nathan

you

are

the

man

the

Lord

has

put

away

your

sin

you

will

not

die

this

is

the

message

the

cross

has

for

you

you

are

the

man

who

pinned

Jesus

to

the

cross

you

and

you

are

the

man

who

because

of

the

cross

will

not

die

you

and

that

consolation

can

only

apply

to

you

if

you

apply

also

that

condemnation

only

if

you

recognize

yourself

to

be

a

great

sinner

can

you

realize

yourself

to

be

a

recipient

of

great

grace

when

you

look

at

Jesus

on

the

cross

do

you

see

him

dying

for

your

sins

do

you

realize

it

was

for

you

he

did

this

for

you

he

loves

you

so

all

of

this

condemnation

is

washed

away

there

is

now

no

condemnation

to

those

who

are

in

Christ

Jesus

Romans

8

says

there

is

no

condemnation

you

shall

not

die

the

Lord

has

put

away

your

sin

yours

you

shall

not

die

Jesus

paid

it

all

all

to

him

I

owe

I

owe

all

sin

had

left

a

crimson

stain

he

washed

it

white

as

snow

the

blood

stain

of

Lady

Macbeth

that

could

not

be

stamped

out

by

all

of

the

perfumes

of

Arabia

sin

had

left

a

crimson

stain

Christ

washes

it

white

as

snow

Martin

Luther

would

say

often

that

the

devil

would

come

to

him

and

tempt

him

and

say

Martin

you

are

a

great

sinner

and

to

this

he

would

respond

I

yes

devil

but

Christ

came

to

save

great

sinners

and

therefore

you

are

defeated

with

your

own

weapon

do

you

see

that

the

consolation

of

salvation

comes

not

from

denying

that

you

are

the

man

who

is

sin

but

confessing

this

running

to the

bar

of

God's

mercy

saying

I

plead

guilty

be

merciful

to

me

and

Christ

will

say

to

you

your

sin

is

put

away

you

will

not

die

Jude

he

he's

given

you

a

hope

and

a

future

not

because

of

what

is

owed

to

you

but

because

of

what

is

owed

to

him

the

possibility

of

eternal

life

and

glory

forever

more

it's

yours

it's

yours

if you let the word read your soul

recognize yourself to be a sinner

flee to Christ

believe in him

despair of any possibility you have

of earning your salvation

through the work that you do

and cling only to the goodness of Christ

then you will hear the words

your sin is put away

you shall not die

then you can sing truly

Jesus paid it all

all to him I owe

sin had left a crimson stain

but he washed my crimson stain

white as snow

let's pray

I thank you for these words Lord

I thank you for the way your word reads us

I pray that you would apply your Holy Spirit

to open up our souls and not be defensive

but open up the wound

to the great physician

who will cut out

the tumor

and replace it with health

thank you Lord that you have given us

the opportunity to hear from you

from you Lord

your sin is put away

you shall not die

I pray that we would revel in these things

this week

that just as we hear from the Bible

that we are sinners

we would hear in even greater tones

that we are forgiven

that we are redeemed

that I am saved

that my sins put away

that I shall not die

because Christ died for me

thank you for these glorious words

of consolation

and hope

and comfort Lord

work them deep into our hearts

even tonight

in the name of Jesus I pray

Amen

Amen