DAVID’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Episode 5
How did the Lord approach David after David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle to cover for his affair with Bathsheba? He appealed to David’s sense of justice.
2 Sam. 12:1-6
“And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
Now, Nathan lowers the boom and tells David he just passed sentence on himself.
2 Sam. 12:7-12
“And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”
David had brought this curse upon himself. He sealed his fate about ever having peace during his lifetime. He also will remain celibate in his old age due to the fact his wives were had by someone else. Nathan then tells David that the child by Bathsheba will die. Later it is David own son, Absalom, that rebelled and supplanted David as king and then defiles his wives. David flees into hiding for a while but the Lord makes sure he has friends to help him get his kingdom back. We start to see David as just a man no different than any of us except that he tried his best to think like the Lord. You finally start to see God’s love when you really seek His mindset. God also shares His power over darkness and mishap with His ultimate reign over His creation. Nothing gets by God, He is always on top of matters.
Psalms 91:7
“A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.”
Our God can make these promises and keeps them. How do we make sure we are always like David seeking the Lord before all else. I think David’s key was to fix his heart, to always follow and serve the Lord. That means David decided one day to make all of tomorrow’s decisions on that day. From then on, he did not allow himself a choice to serve God or not. He called it fixing his heart. He won’t give himself the privilege of waking up one day and saying I am done with God. No, we can’t think like. That is why we can call ourselves already saved even though we are not yet immortal. We are prophesying our future. That is what God does when He calls the things that are not as though they were (Rom. 4:17).
Psa. 57:7
“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.”
Psa. 108:1
“A Song or Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.”
Psa. 112:7
“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”
A fixed heart is not the same as a clean heart. Sin can sidetrack us and fill our hearts with darkness. But if we have made the proper sacrifice and given ourselves completely to God we can call for Him to clean up our dirtied hearts. He is faithful to answer.
Psa. 51:10, 11
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.”
End of David’s Episodes