Several years ago, heard an older man named John talk about one of his most formative experiences as young Christian – He was young, eager, and hungry to grow in his relationship with Lord – He went to a conference and, at conference, had a chance to meet a well-known pastor and theologian – John boldly asked pastor if he’d be willing to go on a walk with him so they could talk – Surprisingly, pastor agreed to walk with this complete stranger next morning
John spent that night thinking of all questions he wanted to ask on walk next morning – But, all these years later, John could only remember one question and one answer from walk they took next morning
Question: “What is your secret to having a strong relationship with the Lord and such a powerful ministry to others?” – John expected: “Two-hour quiet times in Greek” or “Memorizing whole books of Bible” – But that was nothing close to answer he got
After several paces made in silence, prominent and successful pastor drew a deep breath and said, “Honestly, John, I feel like I spend most of my time just trying to get back on track.” – As a young man, John was a bit taken back by that answer – But, as an old man, John held it as a pearl of great price – Because time and experience had taught him the wisdom of nurturing a repentant heart[1]
This morning, overview of David’s life as described in 2 Samuel 7-12, which will be subject of reading next week – Here are three key points I want us to see and consider in this segment of David’s life and reign: 1) The Promise of and Eternal Kingdom, 2) The Consequence of a Fleeting Sin, 3) The Wisdom of a Repentant Heart
Before we jump in, let me set stage– 1 Samuel 6 ends with big celebration in Jerusalem: singing, dancing, feasting, offering sacrifices – Why? – Because King David has given Israel victory over her enemies and brought sacred ark of God, which symbolizes God’s presence, safely to Jerusalem
And as we turn to 2 Samuel 7, becomes clear that David wants to make this a permanent set-up – He wants to solidify Jerusalem as capital of Israel and central place of worship for One True God – And he wants to do it by building a permanent temple for Yahweh in city
David makes his desire known to Nathan, prophet – Nathan initially endorses plan, but he receives word from Lord later that night – And bound up in Lord’s revelation to Nathan is a promise to David and his descendants: The Promise of an Eternal Kingdom
2 Sam. 7:11-16 – This is Lord speaking to Nathan, giving him a message to deliver to David:
“…the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Sam. 7:11-16)
This promise made by God to David is known as Davidic Covenant – And central to Davidic Covenant is God’s promise to build David a “house” – The word translated “house” in this section is key word – Hebrew word is bayit – Bayit can refer to a physical dwelling, like a house, palace, or temple – But bayit can also refer to a family or a line of descendants (see Exodus 2:1) – And what we are seeing is that God, in His response to David, plays on this word bayit
David wants to build Yahweh a bayit (temple) in Jerusalem – But God responds saying, “You want to build me a bayit? – Well, that’s thoughtful of you, but that’s not how this is going to work – You’re not going to build me a bayit – I’m going to make you a bayit – A regal family – A royal line of descendants – So that line of a Davidic throne and kingdom shall be established forever”
And that will start with David’s son, Solomon, whom God will raise up and whose throne God will establish at David’s death – Solomon will be permitted to build Yahweh a temple in Jerusalem – God will have a father-son kind of relationship with Solomon, which means that God will discipline him when He sins – But, and this is significant, God’s steadfast love will not depart from David’s line as it did with Saul – When Saul sinned, God rejected him and put him away for good – David, Solomon, and every other Davidic king you read about in OT will also sin – But, God will not reject Davidic line – Discipline, yes – Reject, no – God will be faithful to keep His promise and establish Davidic throne forever
And it’s really important that we understand this covenant because it’s framework by which we can understand what is going to be coming as we continue to moving through Bible
This is now third covenant promise God has made in relation to Hebrew people –With each successive covenant, God’s plan of redemption grows clearer:
God’s covenant with Abraham tells us that God intends to bless Abraham’s descendants; Hebrew people – And then to bless all families of earth through them
God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai tells us that God intends for this to happen as Israel lives in covenant obedience to His Law and is exalted as kingdom of priests and a holy nation in fallen world
And, now, God’s covenant with David tells us that it will be a king from David’s line who will lead God’s people to do God’s will for God’s glory and the fulfillment of God’s plan
Covenants are building on one another and they tell us what we should be looking for as narrative continues – Namely, a righteous and obedient king from David’s line who will live in covenant obedience to God, usher in an era of God’s blessing for God’s people, and then extend that blessing to all families of earth – In other words, covenants sketch a silhouette of Jesus, who would come to fulfill them all through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension
So, David receives this grand covenant promise from God – This sure seems like a pinnacle of David’s life – And He’s absolutely flattened by it – Humbled – Smothered, in best of ways
But, a short time later, a matter of four chapters as we read it, David tests God’s promise – Because in David’s story, The Promise of an Eternal Kingdom gives way to The Consequence of a Fleeting Sin
2 Samuel 11 tells us that, one spring during David’s reign, he sent his army out to fight Ammonites – While they went to fight, David stayed back in Jerusalem, which was not common practice for David, or for ANE rulers, in general[2] – We don’t know why David stayed on this occasion, but we do know that his choice became a snare that trapped him in sin
One afternoon, as he was walking on roof of his house, he saw a woman named Bathsheba bathing – David was enticed by his own sinful desire – And, abusing his power and authority as king, he sent for Bathsheba, had her brought to him, and slept with her
Then, when David found out that Bathsheba was pregnant, he continued to abuse his power and authority by creating an elaborate scheme to try to cover up his sin –He orchestrated death of Bathsheba’s husband and, at his death, David made Bathsheba his wife – But he would not escape in his sin
If 2 Samuel 7 is a pinnacle in David’s life, then 2 Samuel 11 is a dark, dark valley – To our shock, we see that David, “man after God’s heart,” is not much different than Saul – Saul abused his power to get what he wanted – He manipulated people and situations to do what was right in his own eyes, with no regard for God’s Law – He acted like kings of all the nations – And now David has, too
While Lord’s steadfast love will not depart from David as it did from Saul – David will face just consequences for his sin – Once again, God delivers message through mouth of Nathan:
2 Samuel 12:9-14, 9 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. 10 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.’…13 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. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” (2 Sam. 12:9-10, 13-14)
So, David’s life will be spared for sake of God’s promise, but this child, which was conceived with Bathsheba, would die – And sword would never depart from David’s house – David’s family, his children, would become more and more divisive and destructive – In end, his family would end up being torn apart – God will keep The Promise of an Everlasting Kingdom – But David will now experience The Consequence of a Fleeting Sin
Now, I said that David is not much different than Saul in shape and depth of his sin – That is true – However, it is also true that David is different than Saul in how he responds to his sin – And that’s what I want to focus on in rest of our time
We see a repetitive pattern in stories of Saul, David, and Solomon: 1) A rise to greatness, 2) A turning point involving sin, 3) A response to Lord’s rebuke[3] – And it is at third and final point that David’s pattern breaks away from that of Saul and Solomon
Saul was confronted twice by Lord – In those instances, he shifted blame, rationalized his actions, and minimized his disobedience (1 Sam. 13:11-12, 15:15-25) – Solomon was also confronted twice by Lord for his sin – Both times, Solomon stubbornly refused to repent (1 Kings 11:9-13)
But David was different – David did what Saul and Solomon didn’t: he repented – What we see in David’s response at pinnacle is same we see in David’s response in valley – And that is what makes David “a man after God’s heart” and a man worth emulating – It’s that, whether he’s at pinnacle or in valley, he’s flattened by God’s presence – Humbled – Smothered in the best of ways
We see in David’s response The Wisdom of a Repentant Heart – And we see this most clearly in Psalm 51, a psalm David wrote after he’d been confronted by Nathan
We aren’t going to look at entire psalm, you will read it this week – But I want us to consider nature of David’s repentance in Psalm 51 by using Thomas Watson’s framework for repentance – Watson was an English Puritan pastor in 1600s – Wrote a book called The Doctrine of Repentance – I don’t read many old books by Puritans but, when I do, I like when I can understand them – And I understand most of Watson’s book
He says, “repentance is a spiritual medicine made up of six special ingredients: 1) Sight of sin, 2) Sorrow for sin, 3) Confession of sin, 4) Shame for sin, 5) Hatred for sin, 6) Turning from sin.”[4] – I think we see all these ingredients in Psalm 51
First, David sees his sin – In verse three he writes, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” – What mercy it is that God would show us our sin – It’s always painful, never enjoyable – But if we do not see our sin, we cannot bring it before Lord and know His forgiveness and redemption – David sees his sin
And that causes him to have sorrow for his sin – Verse 8, “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.” – David requests to hear joy and gladness because all he can hear in his sin is sorrow – Unlikely that David actually had broken bones, but sorrow over his sin was so real that it sure felt that way
And this wasn’t sorrow because his sin had consequences – It was sorrow because his sin offended God – It is one thing to be sorrowful because sin is painful – It is quite another thing to be sorrowful because sin is sinful – A thief may be sorrowful that he got caught, yet never be sorrowful that he stole – David has sorrow for his sin because he knows his sin is sinful
He sees his sin – He has sorrow for his sin – Third, he confesses his sin – Notice that David’s confession is self-accusing – True confession always is – When we sin, we have a tendency to want to charge God and acquit ourselves – But in confession we charge ourselves so as to clear God[5] – That’s exactly what David does in verse 4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” – David confesses his sin, charging himself and acquitting God
Next, David demonstrates shame for sin – Verse 2, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” – Verse 9, “Hide your face from my sins…” – I have had many people confess sin to me over years – Many people physically hunch over – They look down to hide their face – They know their sin is bad and it’s shameful to say it out loud
It’s a great privilege to remind these people, who feel shame for sin, that they are forgiven – Nothing stands a person up or lifts a person’s chin quicker than forgiveness – When it comes to repentance, Watson says that “Blushing is the color of virtue.”[6] – Path to repentance may very well run through shame for sin – But it won’t stop there – It will move on to something stronger: hatred for sin
My wife and I occasionally correct our seven-year-old for saying he “hates” things – I “hate” school – I “hate” unloading the dishwasher – I “hate” when my little brother destroys my Legos – “Hate” is not an accurate or helpful word to use in those situations – But it is an accurate and helpful word when it comes to our attitude toward sin – We should hate sin
We see David’s hatred for sin in way he desperately desires to be free of it – Verses 1-2, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” – David hates his sin and wants to be free of it
Sight of sin, Sorrow for sin, Confession of sin, Shame for sin, Hatred for sin – And, lastly, we see David’s desire to turn from sin – Verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
When you really start to look at Psalm 51, you discover that David was on to something important – He knew that his need for repentance, forgiveness, and holiness was not superficial, but deep and internal – He knew that, in order to truly be healed and redeemed and restored from sin, it was going to take more than going to Tabernacle and offering a sacrifice (verses 16-17)
David sensed that he needed a new kind of heart and a new kind of spirit – A heart and a spirit that only God could give him – He needed a better kind of sacrifice and a better kind of system, wherein God could actually get inside of him and deal with sin in heart
So, here’s where David’s life leaves us – David’s life leaves us looking not only for a righteous and obedient king who will live in covenant obedience to God and usher in an era of God’s blessing for God’s people – But also a new kind of sacrifice and a new kind of system that will allow God to give his people cleanness in their hearts and rightness in their spirits
In all these things, David’s life points us to Jesus
Roughly 1,000 years after David’s life, Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise to King David once and for all – Jesus was born in the line of David (Matt. 1:1-17) – He went about announcing and demonstrating that Kingdom of God had come to earth – He was enthroned as King of that Kingdom through His humiliation on cross unto death, His resurrection from grave unto life, and His ascension to Heaven where He reigns forevermore as King of Universe
Jesus is the perfectly righteous and obedient King who fulfilled God’s Law and has brought blessing to all nations of earth through New Covenant established by His blood – Good News of Gospel is that people from every tribe, tongue, and nation can be forgiven of their sin, incorporated into God’s people, and receive the blessing of eternal life by turning from sin and trusting in Christ – These are the tenets of New Covenant, a covenant that brings all previous covenants to fulfillment
And a covenant, we should note, that answers David’s desperate prayer in Psalm 51 a new kind of way – You see, not only did Jesus come to fulfill David’s covenant, but also to answer David’s prayer – According to New Covenant, when we turn from our sin and trust in Christ, God gives us a new kind of heart and a new kind of spirit – A warm, obedient heart to replace a cold, calloused heart – And His powerful Holy Spirit, to regenerate and restore our dead, darkened spirit – New Covenant brings with it a whole new kind of system, wherein God actually gets inside of us and begins to clean us up from the inside out
How do we enter into this New Covenant relationship with God? – And how do we go on walking in it? – It’s through The Wisdom of a Repentant Heart
Repentance is where Christian life begins – All who would enter into Christ’s Kingdom must repent of their sinful rebellion against God, turn from it decisively, and have faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice to make them right with God – Repentance is where Christian life begins – This is true
But it is also true that repentance is where Christian life matures – Repentance is not a one-time affair – Justification, regeneration, new birth by Spirit…those are one-time events in a Christian’s life – But not repentance
Repentance is a crucial part of a Christian’s continual growth and maturity – Much of Christian life is spent getting back on track – As Holy Spirit reveals thoughts, attitudes, and actions that are opposed to God’s Word, He provides a continual means of spiritual growth and renewal: it is repentance – Yes, your sinful choices may have lasting consequences, but guilt before God does not have to be lasting
Watson writes, “It is not falling into water that drowns, but lying in it. It is not falling into sin that damns, but lying in it without repentance.”[7] – Whatever sin you are tangled up in this morning, don’t keep lying in it – God has given you a way of standing up
And standing up through confession and repentance in an ongoing way is what it looks like to be a person after God’s heart – David was not perfect – He sinned, grievously – What made David a man after God’s heart was not that he was perfect, it was that, when he messed up, he repented, trusting by faith in God’s character and God’s promises
God has given us a promise in Christ: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) – So, let’s do that now
Moment to Be Still / Reflect / Confess
Pastoral Prayer of Confession
Father, forgive us, your children, when we reject your authority and disobey your commands
Forgive us, as brothers and sisters in Christ, when we envy one another – Or judge one another – Or show partiality to one another – Or gossip about one another – Or selfishly refuse to serve one another
Forgive us, your kingdom of priests, when we let salt of our Gospel witness lose its saltiness – When we hide candle of Gospel hope under a basket for fear of another’s opinions
Forgive us, your holy people, when our lives reflect the sexual brokenness that is pervasive in world
Forgive us, as husbands, when we fail to sacrificially lead and love our wives and families in the Lord
Forgive us, as wives, when we fail to support and submit to our husbands in the Lord
Forgive us, as parents, when, in our attempts to raise our children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, we exasperate them instead
Forgive us, as children, when we do not honor our parents
Forgive us, as employees, when we do not work in such a way as to honor you and make our bosses job a joy
Forgive us, as students, when we are slothful and squander opportunities you’ve given us to subdue knowledge and skill for your glory
Thank you, Jesus, that you have paid penalty of our sin – past, present, and future – Thank you, that our merit before God is based not on our righteousness, but yours – Thank you that we are secure in your love, even when we sin – Thank you, that you are faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness – Cleanse us now – And go one cleansing us in all days that come as we live to keep getting back on track through The Wisdom of a Repentant Heart
Amen
[1] As recalled from a private conversation with John Hawkins, founder of Leadership Edge, circa 2013.
[2] Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 Samuel–2 Kings (Revised Edition), ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 429.
[3] Adapted from: David Talley, The Story of the Old Testament, Reclaimed Publishing, 2013, pg. 168.
[4] Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance, Puritan Paperbacks, (Versa Press Inc.: Peoria, IL), 2016, pg. 18.
[5] Ibid., 31.
[6] Ibid., 39.
[7] Ibid., 62.