God Knows
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series I, Cycle B
It's the sort of thing that yields high ratings on television and high volume of sales of supermarket tabloids. Relationships destroyed by unfaithful acts. You can see it on almost any given weekday afternoon on television. One person reveals that he or she has been unfaithful to the obvious delight of the studio audience. The more outrageous the love triangle the more the audience laughs and cheers. What a sad commentary that so many find such programs entertaining. What they teach our young people about relationships can be far more damaging.
Television and movies have made light of acts of infidelity, seemingly taking the sting out of it. Such movies are advertised as great love stories. In a recent Woman's Day magazine, the author laments the number of movies making adultery a source of slapstick humor, or romantic hilarity, or a heart tug. Then asks, "When we romanticize adultery or use it as a slapstick tool to provoke laughter -- as if the hurt and betrayal are inconsequential -- what kind of values are we teaching?"1 Unfortunately we have become numb to such movies and programs calling them entertainment.
Famous persons have been caught in sex scandals from the President and other elected officials to celebrities, and ordinary people. Apparently no one is exempt. As a result countless persons have been hurt.
We try our best to soften the impact, rationalize all sorts of excuses as if that will make it all right. We have become good at placing the blame on other persons, our spouse's lack of attention, our parents who did something to us while we were growing up, our overly demanding children, our flirtatious co-workers, our seductive neighbors, or whomever. We label it a boo-boo, a mistake, an error in judgment instead of calling it what it truly is -- a sin. While we might not want to call sin a sin, God certainly knows it is a sin. While it might seem like conquest or a game to some, we need to remember how much such acts hurt other persons especially children. Too many take lightly the fact that they have damaged their marriage often beyond repair as if it were of little consequence or somehow acceptable behavior.
Our lesson opens in the spring of the year when kings normally go off to battle. Instead of leading troops into battle, David remained content at the palace. His general was out fighting a battle while David secluded himself within the safe confines of his home. David used to lead by example. He used to be out in front, leading his troops into battle. But that was in the past. The thrill of victory did not thrill David as it once had. Besides all that David was older, in mid-life. Some suggest that the reason David did not go to battle was because he was experiencing a mid-life crisis.
David arose one day after his afternoon nap, after lunch, and decided to stroll on the rooftop of the palace. Perhaps in looking out over the city, he felt a sense of pride. He was, after all, responsible for uniting the northern and southern kingdoms, and establishing the new capital in Jerusalem, as well as the prosperity the people enjoyed. He took a deep breath as he looked out over his kingdom. Then it happened. He saw a beautiful woman bathing on a nearby rooftop. David inquired about this woman and a servant soon returned to tell him that the woman in question was "Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite."
It was not love that compelled David to act. That much needs to be made clear: it was lust. Messengers were sent to bring this lovely woman back to the palace. Mighty King David, who was at the height of his popularity, who thought he could do no wrong, committed adultery with Bathsheba. To make matters worse David showed no remorse whatsoever for what he did. Perhaps he thought his status and his power would shield him from anyone pointing the finger at him. Who would dare accuse the king of wrongdoing?
We do not know whether David thought about Bathsheba in the subsequent days and weeks or if she was a forgotten conquest. What we do know is that sometime later, Bathsheba sent word to David that she was with child. It was obvious to David that he was the father of the yet unborn child.
David launched a full-scale cover up. He devised a plan he thought would be foolproof. If Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, would come home for a visit and spend some time with his wife, then no one would suspect anything out of the ordinary. He sent a message to Joab on the battlefield, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." You have to feel sorry for Uriah as he reported to David without suspecting the real reason he was summoned to the palace. David quizzed him, asking how everything was going in battle, and how the men were doing. After giving his report, David instructed Uriah to "Go down to your house." The thoughtful king even sent a gift along with him. Problem solved -- at least that's what David was depending on.
What David did not count on was Uriah's deep sense of loyalty and duty. Uriah would not go home to visit his wife. Instead Uriah spent the night among the king's servants at the entrance of the palace. The next morning David was informed that Uriah did not go home, which totally frustrated David. Flabbergasted David called Uriah in a second time; "You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?" It is at this point that we discover Uriah's moral character and strong sense of duty. "The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths," he tells David, "and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field." No Uriah did not go home and would not go home under such circumstances. Uriah was a Hittite, not a native Israelite; he was from a proud race of mercenaries, now comprising an elite military unit. "As you live, and as your soul lives," Uriah tells David, "I will not do such a thing."
Uriah spent another day in Jerusalem. Meanwhile David had to devise another plan, but he was not about to give up. David would invite Uriah to have dinner with him that evening. David made sure to give Uriah just a little too much to drink. Certainly in his intoxicated state he would forget about his duty and go home to rest with his wife. However, once again Uriah did not go home, but slept among the king's servants.
The next morning, after hearing this news David became even more desperate. He tried his best to remedy the situation, but repeatedly failed. Now it was time for a more drastic solution. It was obvious that Uriah would not break his oath as a loyal soldier. Maybe the most tragic aspect of this entire episode was that Uriah unknowingly returned to the front carrying his own death warrant. In the letter to Joab, David 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." Joab carried out David's order and Uriah was killed in battle. Finally after much effort David thought he had taken care of the problem. What he had forgotten all the while he was scheming was that God knew what he had done and was not pleased. David had broken several of the Ten Commandments. He committed adultery, and in trying to cover up his sin he ordered the death of an innocent man. The king who thought he could do no wrong had sinned. This event would signal the beginning of the end for David. Life would never again be the same for him, either. There would be consequences for his action for many years to come.
While we might be intrigued by this story of David and Bathsheba, of sin and its consequences, we need to realize that we, you and I, are susceptible, on the right afternoon, after a good lunch, to great sin.
In 1987, Donna Rice rose to notoriety in a scandal with presidential hopeful Senator Gary Hart. Remember the famous picture of her sitting on Hart's lap that appeared in newspapers and magazines? Aboard Hart's yacht aptly named Monkey Business, they sailed to the Bahamas and did not return until the next day.
Donna and her sister grew up attending Sunday school and church. When she was in ninth grade a friend took her to a Cliff Barrows crusade where Donna knew she wanted a personal relationship with Jesus. During high school she enjoyed singing in the choir, participating in youth group, going on mission trips, and bringing friends to church so they, too, could experience the love of Christ.
Donna speaks very candidly about the subtle compromises she began to make as a Christian. While in college she began partying and dating young men who weren't Christians. Various decisions, she admits now, edged her toward a lifestyle that in her own words, "Wasn't God-honoring." After college she fell in love with a drug dealer. The relationship ended when he was sentenced to jail.
It was a New Year's Day party in 1987 when she met Senator Hart. She remembers he called her the following day, but she never suspected that he was married. Eventually one of her friends tipped off the media, which broke the scandal she was unprepared and ill-equipped to handle. "My life was falling apart," she admits, as the media camped out in front of where she was living, as well as her parents' home. As a result she soon lost her job.
It was during this period that one night she turned on the television and began watching the movie, Jesus of Nazareth. "Suddenly I was struck with how far off course I'd gotten," she says, "and I knew I couldn't continue with my current lifestyle." With the support of family and friends, Donna recommitted her life to Jesus Christ.
Recently Donna Rice Hughes is back in the spotlight as a leading national spokesperson in the fight against pornography and for making the Internet a safe place. Donna is now in her mid-forties and is former Director of Marketing and Communications at Enough Is Enough!, a non-profit organization dedicated to stopping illegal pornography, assisting victims, and making the Internet safe for children. She currently serves on the advisory board for Get Net Wise, an industry initiative to keep the Web safe for families. She's also written a book, Kids Online: Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace, which offers practical tips to parents in the hope of preventing easily accessible pornography from being available to children.2
Sin arises when we try to base our lives on false notions and lies. It's easy to succumb to sin and it's hard to acknowledge it, but we can get our lives back on course with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ.
____________
1. Barbara Bartocci, Woman's Day, November 1, 1997.
2. "Enough Is Enough: Donna Rice Hughes," Ramona Cramer Tucker, Today's Christian Woman, September/October 1996.
Television and movies have made light of acts of infidelity, seemingly taking the sting out of it. Such movies are advertised as great love stories. In a recent Woman's Day magazine, the author laments the number of movies making adultery a source of slapstick humor, or romantic hilarity, or a heart tug. Then asks, "When we romanticize adultery or use it as a slapstick tool to provoke laughter -- as if the hurt and betrayal are inconsequential -- what kind of values are we teaching?"1 Unfortunately we have become numb to such movies and programs calling them entertainment.
Famous persons have been caught in sex scandals from the President and other elected officials to celebrities, and ordinary people. Apparently no one is exempt. As a result countless persons have been hurt.
We try our best to soften the impact, rationalize all sorts of excuses as if that will make it all right. We have become good at placing the blame on other persons, our spouse's lack of attention, our parents who did something to us while we were growing up, our overly demanding children, our flirtatious co-workers, our seductive neighbors, or whomever. We label it a boo-boo, a mistake, an error in judgment instead of calling it what it truly is -- a sin. While we might not want to call sin a sin, God certainly knows it is a sin. While it might seem like conquest or a game to some, we need to remember how much such acts hurt other persons especially children. Too many take lightly the fact that they have damaged their marriage often beyond repair as if it were of little consequence or somehow acceptable behavior.
Our lesson opens in the spring of the year when kings normally go off to battle. Instead of leading troops into battle, David remained content at the palace. His general was out fighting a battle while David secluded himself within the safe confines of his home. David used to lead by example. He used to be out in front, leading his troops into battle. But that was in the past. The thrill of victory did not thrill David as it once had. Besides all that David was older, in mid-life. Some suggest that the reason David did not go to battle was because he was experiencing a mid-life crisis.
David arose one day after his afternoon nap, after lunch, and decided to stroll on the rooftop of the palace. Perhaps in looking out over the city, he felt a sense of pride. He was, after all, responsible for uniting the northern and southern kingdoms, and establishing the new capital in Jerusalem, as well as the prosperity the people enjoyed. He took a deep breath as he looked out over his kingdom. Then it happened. He saw a beautiful woman bathing on a nearby rooftop. David inquired about this woman and a servant soon returned to tell him that the woman in question was "Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite."
It was not love that compelled David to act. That much needs to be made clear: it was lust. Messengers were sent to bring this lovely woman back to the palace. Mighty King David, who was at the height of his popularity, who thought he could do no wrong, committed adultery with Bathsheba. To make matters worse David showed no remorse whatsoever for what he did. Perhaps he thought his status and his power would shield him from anyone pointing the finger at him. Who would dare accuse the king of wrongdoing?
We do not know whether David thought about Bathsheba in the subsequent days and weeks or if she was a forgotten conquest. What we do know is that sometime later, Bathsheba sent word to David that she was with child. It was obvious to David that he was the father of the yet unborn child.
David launched a full-scale cover up. He devised a plan he thought would be foolproof. If Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, would come home for a visit and spend some time with his wife, then no one would suspect anything out of the ordinary. He sent a message to Joab on the battlefield, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." You have to feel sorry for Uriah as he reported to David without suspecting the real reason he was summoned to the palace. David quizzed him, asking how everything was going in battle, and how the men were doing. After giving his report, David instructed Uriah to "Go down to your house." The thoughtful king even sent a gift along with him. Problem solved -- at least that's what David was depending on.
What David did not count on was Uriah's deep sense of loyalty and duty. Uriah would not go home to visit his wife. Instead Uriah spent the night among the king's servants at the entrance of the palace. The next morning David was informed that Uriah did not go home, which totally frustrated David. Flabbergasted David called Uriah in a second time; "You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?" It is at this point that we discover Uriah's moral character and strong sense of duty. "The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths," he tells David, "and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field." No Uriah did not go home and would not go home under such circumstances. Uriah was a Hittite, not a native Israelite; he was from a proud race of mercenaries, now comprising an elite military unit. "As you live, and as your soul lives," Uriah tells David, "I will not do such a thing."
Uriah spent another day in Jerusalem. Meanwhile David had to devise another plan, but he was not about to give up. David would invite Uriah to have dinner with him that evening. David made sure to give Uriah just a little too much to drink. Certainly in his intoxicated state he would forget about his duty and go home to rest with his wife. However, once again Uriah did not go home, but slept among the king's servants.
The next morning, after hearing this news David became even more desperate. He tried his best to remedy the situation, but repeatedly failed. Now it was time for a more drastic solution. It was obvious that Uriah would not break his oath as a loyal soldier. Maybe the most tragic aspect of this entire episode was that Uriah unknowingly returned to the front carrying his own death warrant. In the letter to Joab, David 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." Joab carried out David's order and Uriah was killed in battle. Finally after much effort David thought he had taken care of the problem. What he had forgotten all the while he was scheming was that God knew what he had done and was not pleased. David had broken several of the Ten Commandments. He committed adultery, and in trying to cover up his sin he ordered the death of an innocent man. The king who thought he could do no wrong had sinned. This event would signal the beginning of the end for David. Life would never again be the same for him, either. There would be consequences for his action for many years to come.
While we might be intrigued by this story of David and Bathsheba, of sin and its consequences, we need to realize that we, you and I, are susceptible, on the right afternoon, after a good lunch, to great sin.
In 1987, Donna Rice rose to notoriety in a scandal with presidential hopeful Senator Gary Hart. Remember the famous picture of her sitting on Hart's lap that appeared in newspapers and magazines? Aboard Hart's yacht aptly named Monkey Business, they sailed to the Bahamas and did not return until the next day.
Donna and her sister grew up attending Sunday school and church. When she was in ninth grade a friend took her to a Cliff Barrows crusade where Donna knew she wanted a personal relationship with Jesus. During high school she enjoyed singing in the choir, participating in youth group, going on mission trips, and bringing friends to church so they, too, could experience the love of Christ.
Donna speaks very candidly about the subtle compromises she began to make as a Christian. While in college she began partying and dating young men who weren't Christians. Various decisions, she admits now, edged her toward a lifestyle that in her own words, "Wasn't God-honoring." After college she fell in love with a drug dealer. The relationship ended when he was sentenced to jail.
It was a New Year's Day party in 1987 when she met Senator Hart. She remembers he called her the following day, but she never suspected that he was married. Eventually one of her friends tipped off the media, which broke the scandal she was unprepared and ill-equipped to handle. "My life was falling apart," she admits, as the media camped out in front of where she was living, as well as her parents' home. As a result she soon lost her job.
It was during this period that one night she turned on the television and began watching the movie, Jesus of Nazareth. "Suddenly I was struck with how far off course I'd gotten," she says, "and I knew I couldn't continue with my current lifestyle." With the support of family and friends, Donna recommitted her life to Jesus Christ.
Recently Donna Rice Hughes is back in the spotlight as a leading national spokesperson in the fight against pornography and for making the Internet a safe place. Donna is now in her mid-forties and is former Director of Marketing and Communications at Enough Is Enough!, a non-profit organization dedicated to stopping illegal pornography, assisting victims, and making the Internet safe for children. She currently serves on the advisory board for Get Net Wise, an industry initiative to keep the Web safe for families. She's also written a book, Kids Online: Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace, which offers practical tips to parents in the hope of preventing easily accessible pornography from being available to children.2
Sin arises when we try to base our lives on false notions and lies. It's easy to succumb to sin and it's hard to acknowledge it, but we can get our lives back on course with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ.
____________
1. Barbara Bartocci, Woman's Day, November 1, 1997.
2. "Enough Is Enough: Donna Rice Hughes," Ramona Cramer Tucker, Today's Christian Woman, September/October 1996.
