In the spring of the year, the time when kings
go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all
2
It happened,
late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the
roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman
was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman.
It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the
Hittite.” 4 So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to
him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.)
Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent
and told David, “I am pregnant.”
6
So David sent
word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7
When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and
how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your
house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there
followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the
entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go
down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down
to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did
you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and
Israel and Judah Jerusalem
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab,
and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set
Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so
that he may be struck down and die.”
Year B
July 24-30
July 26, 2015
Title: King David
Cross~Wind
Going deeper
II Samuel 11:1-15
[II Samuel 11:1-12:15a is the story of the adultery
of David with Bathsheba. Scholars commonly attribute this material to the
so-called “Early Source” in the books of Samuel, an individual (most likely)
with first-hand knowledge of the events recounted. The work of this author, who
probably wrote during the reign of Solomon, makes up the bulk of Second Samuel.
Of all the flawed heroes of the Old Testament, David
is perhaps the most spectacularly flawed of all, given the amount of love and
veneration the text affords him. David's greatest failures are often the result
of inaction. If this story were not bad enough, however, later in the story David will stand passively by as his son Amnon rapes
his daughter Tamar (13:1-22) and is then murdered by Tamar’s brother Absalom,
another of David ’s sons (13:23-33).
He will exile Absalom instead of having him executed for fratricide (13:34-38)
and live to regret that decision when Absalom returns to court only to lead a
rebellion against David shortly
thereafter (14:1-19:8). He does not appear to care about the peacefulness of
his successor’s rise to the throne, apparently oblivious to the fact that two
of his sons, Adonijah and Solomon, are assuming they are next in line to
succeed him (1 Kings 1). The story of his relationship with Bathsheba also
begins with a reference to inaction on David's part. The story of David ’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba, and the
subsequent murder of her husband Uriah, is one of the Bible’s most famous and
compelling narratives. This gripping narrative marks the beginning of the story
of the domestic troubles that beset the house of King David ,
Israel’s most illustrious king. Of course, here is an important example of the
breaking of the Ten Commandments. David, the servant of the Lord, the anointed
of the Lord, breaks the 10th, 7th, and 6th
commandments in succession.] In the spring of the year, the
time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all
Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David
remained at Jerusalem. As
Barth points out, David is both the mightiest of warriors and a spectator in
the wars of the Lord.[1]
Although it is the "time when kings go out to battle," David remains
in Jerusalem while his nephew Joab (1 Chronicles 2:16) goes across the Jordan
to lead the siege of Rabbah. Throughout the story, David's activities with
Bathsheba are juxtaposed with Joab and Uriah's activities on the battlefield.
They are fighting during this "time of going out [to battle]" while
he is getting his first view of Bathsheba "late one afternoon."
2
It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was
walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a
woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to
inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam,
the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”[He was a foreign mercenary.] 4 So David sent messengers to
get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying
herself after her period.) [The way
the narrator tells the story, one could interpret that David forced himself on
her. One ought not to let David off the hook in any way. Thus, the suggestion
that Bathsheba seduced David, while a possible reading of the text, is not
likely. If she was bathing on the roof, that would have been normal. In terms
of the insight of the story regarding coveting and adultery, he saw her beauty,
which led to the action of inquiry and the action of sexual relations. Some
readers of this story suggest that Bathsheba was complicit in this. They
suggest she went up on the roof that day knowing David was watching, and
therefore engaged in some kind of seduction. The text does not suggest this.
Quite the opposite is true. David takes Bathsheba against her will. David sends
his servant "to get" her. The Hebrew word is actually better
translated "to take" her. Bathsheba, a woman married to a foreigner,
certainly did not have the power in that ancient culture to refuse the advances
of the king. Thus, David breaks the commandment against committing adultery and
that you shall not covet the wife of your neighbor.]
Then
she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent and
told David, “I am pregnant.” [When David is done with her, she returns to
her home, and that appears to be that. Until, that is, Bathsheba utters the
only three words she says in the entire story, "I am pregnant." Now,
David has a problem.]
6 So
David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to
David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people
fared, and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go
down to your house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house,
and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at
the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not
go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go
down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey.
Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The
ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of
my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and
to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will
not do such a thing.” [David
tries to cover it up by having her husband have sex with her, but he is a
military man and refuses to enjoy sex while his fellow soldiers are in battle.
Uriah - though a non-Israelite - knows the Israelite rules of holy warfare too
well to go home and sleep with his wife. Israelite soldiers were not allowed to
have sexual relations while on campaign. Such activity caused ritual impurity
inconsistent with waging holy war (Leviticus 15:18; Deuteronomy 23:10-11).
David apparently hopes that Uriah is not concerned with Israelite covenant law.
He is mistaken. Even when David presents Uriah with gifts and later tries to
get him so drunk he will forget himself, Uriah the Hittite behaves himself like
a virtuous Israelite soldier. In the end, Uriah, the foreigner, keeps himself
holier according to Israelite law than does the Israelite king, but it is
eventually that very holiness that gets him killed.] 12
Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also,
and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On
the next day, 13 David invited him to eat and drink in his presence
and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the
servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning David wrote a
letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter
he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw
back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.” [He also becomes complicit in the killing of
her husband, Uriah, thereby breaking yet another commandment. David then
develops a plan that will result in the death of Uriah. Uriah returns to the
battlefield, unwittingly serving as the bearer of his own death warrant. Here
again, the theme of action and inaction returns in that David effectively
murders Uriah without having to lift a finger of his own to accomplish it. He
murders Uriah, using Joab as his executioner, and sacrificing other innocent
soldiers in the process (11:14-24). When Joab complains that more of his men
than Uriah died making sure Uriah would be killed in battle, David even
cynically tells Joab not to worry about it because "the sword devours now
one and now another" (11:25). The reader knows, however, that all of this
loss of life is not simply a case of "collateral damage." It is
purely and directly David's own doing.]
Of course, the story continues with
his death, the marriage of David and Bathsheba, and an important encounter with
a prophet. We will discuss that next week.
Thus, the story of David holds an
ambiguous and puzzling place in the massive history of Israel that we read in
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, a story that connects the time of the
Patriarchs and Moses on the one hand with the exile on the other hand. That
history shows the disobedience of Israel, and especially its kings, as they
broke their covenant with God. The height of that covenant was the Ten
Commandments. The kings broke the commandments. The power of the story of David
is that the most successful king militarily and politically, the king who
sought direction from God, also dramatically broke covenant with God and with
Israel.
Introduction
Blondie and Dagwood are watching television. Dagwood
remarks, "Boy, there sure is a lot of nudity on TV lately!"
"I'll say," replies Blondie. They continue to stare at the TV, eyes
wide open. Says Dagwood, "Darnedest tire commercial I've ever seen."[2]
Sometimes, preachers need to address some of the
matters that have become part of the cultural air. Today, many matters
regarding our sexuality have become such.
I have been thinking of how many people, including
Christians, are getting themselves into a mess when it comes to sexuality. Americans value their freedom. Many look upon
Christianity as imposing a law and thereby restricting freedom. Yet, among the
greatest challenges we face is that our freedom of choice will lead to a
self-made prison. You see, sexuality is not just about sex. Sexuality is about
character, virtue, and the family. We make a mess when we start undermining such
important aspects of our lives.
Much of the sexuality debate in this country has
revolved around gay sex. However, the larger sexual revolution matter involves
heterosexuality, and it is to this matter that our text directs us.
James 1:13-15
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;14 but each one
is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.15
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full–grown, gives birth to death.
The
apostle James has his own take on how we are snared in sin. The temptation to
sin does not come from God (James 1:13); temptation comes from our own desires
(1:14); temptation drags you away and entices you (1:14); the desire then
conceives, give birth to sin, and sin when fully developed gives birth to death
(1:14-15). Death is the grandchild of desire.
As I have shared the story of King David, I have shared it
as a story of influence and power. Today, we might call it an abuse of power. Make
no mistake about it; this is not a Nicholas Sparks romance novel. This is not
about sparks flying or instant chemistry. No, this is about a man of privilege
taking advantage -- because he can.
Here is an example of a modern abuse
of power regarding sex.
$1,877,442,835. This is the amount
of money, almost $2 billion, that was paid by the Catholic church between 1950
and 2008 to settle with victims of abuse, including treatment for victims and
attorney fees. The actual amount is probably more. According to some reports,
"Catholic priests who have been accused of sexual abuse number between
5,700 and 10,000, but because of restrictive statutes of limitations, only a
few hundred have been tried, convicted and sentenced for their crimes."
We have another danger to our virtue, character, and family.
In our society, we use the word "adult" in odd ways. We take
a store where X-rated videos and magazines are sold and we call it an
"adult" store. We have Web sites where people are shown breaking the
commandment regarding adultery in multiple ways, and we say those are
"adult" sites. Well, yes, we do not want children there, but if they
do find their way to such a store or site, we would not want to tell children
that what they are seeing is mature behavior or the way grown-ups should relate
to others. The seventh commandment tells us not to break the rules of being an
adult.
A woman whose husband said she committed
adultery by writing steamy computer messages sued him for defamation and
invasion of privacy. The husband has already filed for divorce. Diane Goydan
also claims extreme cruelty in the couple's deteriorating eight-year marriage,
and says John Goydan violated state wiretap laws by retrieving her e-mail. He described
her exchanges with a North Carolina man whose online name was "The
Weasel" as "romantic" and "daydreams." Mrs. Goydan did
not commit adultery because she never had sex with "The Weasel."
"My client is devastated by the allegation of adultery, which I believe is
without basis in law or fact. Her husband described dozens of sexually explicit
exchanges that he discovered on her computer. He accused her of extreme
cruelty, and of course, two children are involved. Of course, the wife said the
marriage failed because he became distant and removed from her, which may have
led to her going online.[3]
Recently, someone hacked the web site Ashley
Madison, designed to help married people have affairs.
More Americans than you might think are
practicing what is commonly known as polygamy, but what adherents prefer to
call "polyamory": loving more than one person simultaneously and -
this is crucial - openly. No one has taken a survey on polyamory, but as with
many fringe movements, it has grown on the Web. "Ten years ago, there were
maybe three support groups for polies," says Brett Hill, who helps run a
magazine (circulation 10,000), a Web site (1,000 hits a month) and two annual
conferences for an organization called Loving More. Today there are perhaps 250
polyamory support groups, mostly on the Internet, but some that meet for
potluck suppers. Sure, most of them are in such expected precincts as Boston
and Los Angeles, but there are also outposts like KanPoly, where polyamorous
residents of Kansas can meet others like themselves and even download a
"poly pride flag."[4]
Of course, as Pastor Bill Perkins put it, “If you think you
can’t fall into sexual sin, then you’re godlier than David, stronger than
Samson and wiser than Solomon.”[5]
Our culture has not come up with anything new.
Here is a reminder that such concerns are not new.
I want Christian wives to be
jealous wives. I say this with all emphasis. I order it. I command it. Your
bishop commands it. And Christ commands it through
me. Yes, I say this and command it to you. Do not suffer it if your husbands
make themselves guilty of unchastity. Appeal against them to the church. In all
other things be subject to your husbands, but where this matter is concerned,
defend your cause.[6]
Application
Are we in danger of going down with David?
David, the former shepherd, is now
King David. He could have used his power to influence people toward liberation
and healing. Instead, he sends his people into a battle he does not deem
important to attend himself. He uses Bathsheba for his pleasure and sends her
away when he is through. Eventually, he uses his commanders to put Uriah in a
vulnerable position that not only gets Uriah killed, but other soldiers as well
(11:24).
Hollywood may romanticize the
affair of David and Bathsheba, but it is actually the story of one who has
allowed his status to affect his judgment. David has lost sight of the value of
other people. He sees other people as means to his ends. He has come to view
people as objects, and disposable ones at that.
His behavior is deplorable on so
many levels.
Fifty shades of David, you might
say.
You may think reading the story of
David, because you are not king. Yet, if we reflect upon it, the story of David
reads our culture – and it may well read us. You have influence upon others.
You can also abuse the influence or power you have. To use another Old
Testament image, we are moving toward the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The problem with conventional sins is that we think they are manageable. After all, he was lazy (slothful) and did not go to battle with his soldiers. He coveted (lusted) the wife of his neighbor. He displays the arrogance and pride of power over others. If we think of the manageable, the danger is present that they become out of control, leading to damage, destruction and even death.
Skipping toward God, instead of Gomorrah, is the way we need to go. Any other direction is bound to be deadly.
The problem with conventional sins is that we think they are manageable. After all, he was lazy (slothful) and did not go to battle with his soldiers. He coveted (lusted) the wife of his neighbor. He displays the arrogance and pride of power over others. If we think of the manageable, the danger is present that they become out of control, leading to damage, destruction and even death.
Skipping toward God, instead of Gomorrah, is the way we need to go. Any other direction is bound to be deadly.
Conclusion
How do we deal with the mess?
Here is one story. Vlad was the
illegitimate son of a slave and Prince Sviatoslav. He overthrew his half
brother to take over the Russian throne at the age of 43. He was at the tope of
his career. He unified western Russia. His subjects happily overlooked his
drinking, five wives, and 800 concubines. He just could get enough of women. That
is, until 988, when Vlad saw the legendary beauty of Anna, sister of Byzantine
Emperor Basil II. Her father would not allow the marriage unless he converted
to Christianity. Now, I realize that we might think he would fake it. Well, he
underwent the needed instruction, and was faithful to Anna until his death in
1015. He lived an exemplary life so much so that the Orthodox Church made him a
saint.[7]
King David's behavior in II Samuel
11:1-15 was destructive -- on many levels.
I am convinced that many people are going down this path of view virtue
as confinement or a prison. Virtue limits our freedom, and we Americans cherish
our freedom. I am also convinced that the New Testament is quite right to teach
us that sin is our real prison from which we need liberation. Reflect again on
the pain and hurt caused in engaging in the sins listed here. It sounds fun and
freeing, at one level. Yet, we should learn from the experience of David by
using whatever influence we have to lift people up, to heal them rather than
hurt them.
No comments:
Post a Comment