THE HULK & GUILT
BIBLICAL STUDY: DAVID & NATHAN
TOPIC: SEX & OTHER STUFF
RECAP: Go over the information that was taught last week when David made the decision to sin with Uriah the Hitite’s wife name Bathsheba.
INTRO: Who like the Incredible Hulk? I do. I don’t like the modern version, I like the old TV version where David Banner always tells people “don’t make me angry, you won’t like me when I’m angry.” Though this superhero could assign himself with a lesson on anger, if you watch his character closely, we notice something. And that is whenever he comes to, he usually feels guilty for the things he has done.
TRANSITION: Last week we left off the saga of David right after he committed murder to cover up his own sin. Let’s turn back there for today.
BIBLE VERSE: 2 Samuel 11: 26- 2 Samuel 12:13
11:26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for him. 11:27 When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace. She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the LORD.
12:1 So the LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to David, Nathan said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 12:2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 12:3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. It used to eat his food, drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. It was just like a daughter to him.
12:4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler who had come to visit him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to visit him.”
12:5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 12:6 Because he committed this cold-hearted crime, he must pay for the lamb four times over!”
12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I chose you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul. 12:8 I gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your arms. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well! 12:9 Why have you shown contempt for the word of the LORD by doing evil in my sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife as your own! You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 12:10 So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!’ 12:11 This is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on you from inside your own household! Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion. He will have sexual relations with your wives in broad daylight! 12:12 Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’”
12:13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD!”
I. THE END (BUT SIN NEVER ENDS)
BIBLE VERSES: Proverbs 6:27-29
Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife: no one who touches her will go unpunished.
BATHSHEBA: Open ended question: Why take Bathsheba into his house? Answers vary.
A. Maybe he was afraid she would talk?
B. Maybe he wanted to be seen as a hero in the eyes of society (taking in pregnant lady)?
C. Maybe his lust for her was still present?
D. Maybe he felt sorry for her and didn’t want her to be a widow?
E. Maybe he wanted the child to grow up well?
Regardless, he thinks the event is over. He thinks that no one knows about his sin.
THERE REALLY IS NO END: People who commit drastic sins early in life (adultery, murder, rape, etc), if NOT found guilty, tend to carry that along with them and develop psychological problems later in life. Though much depression, bipolar, etc is arguably inheritable or even developed. A lot of in my opinion is caused by sin that has not been repented of—not been found out.
II. CALLED OUT
SNEAK CHEESE: I have a confession, growing up I made a major mistake, sort of I suppose. I had this love…cheese. And we always had cheese in our house. Sometimes, I would sneak into the refrigerator, grab a knife, and slice small incremental slices of cheese off some of that great Colby-jack. I wouldn’t even bother with a cracker, just eat it all by itself.
But, I would be found out, and I couldn’t ever figure out how! After all, I was the only kid still in the house and I would leave the knife out. Wow, I know this sounds ridiculous. Some kids get caught with their hands in the “cookie jar,” I got caught with my knife in the cheese. Busted.
LOOK HOW DAVID GETS BUSTED: VERSES 12:1-5
A. Watch the approach Nathan takes—it’s not you’re horrible, you’re sick, you’re evil—which all would have been a fine way to do it (but it would not rehabilitate it, it would not fix David’s heart).
B. Another question…How did Nathan know? (this is where you entertain some possible answers, and many are good, but is it possible the Lord just told Nathan or showed it to him in a dream).
BIBLE VERSE: Hebrews 4:13:
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
CSI: BLOOD: Ever watch CSI? I do. I love the show. Now, what happens when a murder is committed, and the floor is cleaned up, and the police suspect that the occupants of the house committed a crime. They spray that magical potion/something on the floor, turn the lights on, and the blood stains pop right up.
Why? Because there really is no way to cover up all the evidence.
DOES DAVID JUSTIFY? After figuring out that people know of his sin, does he…
A. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
B. “Hey, I’m the king I can do what I want.”
C. “Nathan, one time two years ago, you…(and bring up a past sin from long ago)”
D. “Bathsheba could have said no.”
NO. He openly & honestly admits “I have sinned against the LORD.”
III. THE PUNISHMENTS
WHAT DID DAVID SAY THIS MAN DESERVES?
2 Samuel 12:5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!”
“DESERVES TO DIE” TRANSLATED:
Actually could mean:
The man doing this is deserving of death,
He deserves to die, OR
This man is as good as dead.
THE PUNISHMENT FOR DAVID’S ADULTERY & MURDER:
1. Sword will never depart from your house (2 Sam 12:10).
2. Going to bring calamity on you (2 Sam 12:11)
3. Take your wives and give them to one close to you (2 Sam 12:11)
4. It will be done in broad daylight (2 Sam 12:12)
5. Your son is going to die (2 Sam 12:14)
IV. REPENTENCE
FORGIVENESS: In "The Christian Leader," Don Ratzlaff retells a story Vernon Grounds came across in Ernest Gordon’s Miracle on the River Kwai. The Scottish soldiers, forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had degenerated to barbarous behavior, but one afternoon something happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot . . . It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Then, finally, one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death. When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first check point. The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others! . . . The incident had a profound effect. . . The men began to treat each other like brothers. When the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons, lined up in front of their captors (and instead of attacking their captors) insisted: "No more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness." Sacrificial love has transforming power.
ODD THING: PUNISHMENTS GIVEN WHILE DAVID WAS FORGIVEN!
2 Samuel 12:13b: Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.”
Why then, if David is forgiven, does he still receive the punishment?
THE END:
12:15 Then Nathan went to his home. The LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and the child became very ill. 12:16 Then David prayed to God for the child and fasted. He would even go and spend the night lying on the ground. 12:17 The elders of his house stood over him and tried to lift him from the ground, but he was unwilling, and refused to eat food with them.
12:18 On the seventh day the child died.
CLOSE: Two Parts From the Heart:
1.Talk about the absolute dangers that impact the life of those sexually not pure, remember Proverbs 6.
2. If one has already failed, you don’t have to fail again. God through Christ offers forgiveness, seek the Lord.
NAME: __________________
THE HULK & HIS GUILT
TOPIC SERIES: _________________________
INTRO:
BIBLE VERSES: 2 Samuel 11: 26- 2 Samuel 12:13
1 .____________________________ (But Sin Never Ends)
BIBLE VERSES: Proverbs 6:27-29
Can a man scoop __________________________ into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot ____________________________ without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife: no one who touches her will go ________________________________.
Why Take Bathsheba Into His House?
2. ____________________________
Personal Story of Being Sneaky:
The Bust:
Hebrews 4:13
Did David Justify His Sins? YES NO I DUNNO
3. _____________________________
What did David say the man deserves? ______________________________
THE PUNISHMENT FOR DAVID’S ADULTERY & MURDER:
A. ____________________ will never depart from your house (2 Sam 12:10).
B. Going to bring ________________________ on you (2 Sam 12:11)
C. Take your wives and _______________________ to one close to you (2 Sam 12:11)
D. It will be done in broad _________________________ (2 Sam 12:12)
E. Your son is going to _________________________ (2 Sam 12:14)
4. ______________________________
Example: Miracle on the River Kwai
What Finally Happened in the End?