EVERYBODY NEEDS A NATHAN
2 Sam. 12:1-12:14
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A honeymoon couple made a long awaited trip to Washington, DC and stayed in the infamous Watergate Hotel, where secret tapes were recorded during the Nixon Presidency. Once in the room the concerned bride asked, "What if the place is still bugged?"
2. The groom said, "Honey, I doubt it after all these years but I’ll look around." He looked behind the drapes, behind the pictures, under the rug. Finally, he said, "Aha, I can’t believe it!" Under the rug was a disc with four screws. He got his Swiss army knife, unscrewed the screws, and threw the screws and the disc out the window.
3. The next morning, the hotel manager asked the newlyweds, "How was your room? How was the service? How was your stay at the Watergate Hotel?" The groom suspiciously asked, "Why are you asking me all of these questions?"
4. The hotel manager replies, "Well, the couple in the room under you complained that their chandelier fell on them."
B. TEXT & THESIS
1. Watergate is a story we all know well. It all started with a man. He wasn’t just any man, he was the most powerful man in the nation. He had arrived, but power is a dangerous thing; the person at the top often feels that they are not accountable to anyone – that he can do what he wants and nobody can stop him.
2. And that’s how Nixon’s rise to fame become a story of betrayal. Inevitably a cover up took place, but the truth always comes out in the end.
3. This morning we’re going to take a look at a man who followed a very similar course to Richard Nixon; King David.
4. TEXT: 11 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army…But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David…saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the…wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her…5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” 13 But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. 14 David wrote a letter to Joab…15 “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 12:1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. [Nathan] said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and…it was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare…. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel…8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms….And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” 2 SAM. 11:1-5,8, 13-15; 12:1-10, 13-14.
C. TITLE: “Everybody Needs a Nathan!”
I. THE FALL OF DAVID
A. ABSENT FROM DUTY
1. The evening began innocently. It was such a beautiful night the King decided to take a walk on the rooftop of his palace. Many years earlier as a young shepherd boy, David often spent nights gazing at the vast expanse of the universe above and writing songs of praise to God. But this night he saw a beautiful young woman bathing on her own rooftop, and he began to desire what was not lawfully his: one of his soldier’s wife.
2. And not just any soldier. Uriah was NOT a regular soldier, he was one of David’s “mighty men”, and undoubtedly a close friend of David. Uriah was one of the 30 greatest fighters in all Israel. Imagine the stir among the other 29 mighty men; their wives might be next! Evidently friendship and loyalties meant little to David.
B. CAUSE OF FAILURE?
1. How could David fall so far so fast? Coveting, theft, adultery, and murder! Obviously, he had been getting away from God for some time. Had David forgotten that God is the Living God and punishes the wicked?
2. The immediate cause of failure is found in 2 Samuel 11:1, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army….But David remained in Jerusalem.”
3. David should have been out with all the other kings in protecting their lands. The old proverb still holds, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”. If David had been busy for God, he’d never have gotten in trouble. The same is true for us!
C. THE COVER UP
1. David attempted to cover up his adulterous affair by sending Bathsheba back to her home that night. Nobody had to know about this incident. But she turned up pregnant.
2. When his efforts to get Uriah to sleep with her failed, he sent orders to his general to get Uriah killed in battle: MURDER.
3. At the end of chapter 11(2 Samuel), it seemed that this would end the repercussions for David. It appeared as though he had gotten away with his crimes. Yet, the final words of that Chapter make it clear that David’s troubles were far from over; “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord” (11:27b). We should never assume that just because we have not immediately been caught, that we are going to get away with sin.
II. DAVID’S FRIEND -- NATHAN
A. A GREAT INFLUENCE IN DAVID’S LIFE
1. Nathan and David were friends. One day as they were talking, David said, “You know, it’s not right that I have a nice house of cedar and God’s presence must stay in a tent”. Nathan encouraged David to entertain his dream of building God a house (2 Sam. 7:2).
2. Nathan later brought direction to David that God had heard him talking and was so touched by David’s concern for God’s welfare that God decided to reward David by giving Him the promise that God would establish the house of David forever (7:16).
3. Nathan predicted that none of David’s current 6 sons would be heir to the throne, but a son yet to be born (7:13). Nathan later foretold that Solomon was God’s choice as Next king (2 Sam. 12:25; 1 Chron. 3:5).
4. Nathan sidetracked Adonijah’s attempt to take the throne, and assured Solomon’s accession to the throne (1 Kings 1:8).
5. Nathan also assisted David in planning the Musical ordinances of the temple(2 Chron. 29:25).
6. Without a doubt, Nathan was the greatest directing force in David’s life, and helped keep him on the throne.
B. THE INCIDENT WITH BATHSHEBA
1. There is no indication that David showed any signs of turning from his sin on his own. Probably a year had passed since David had committed his crimes. He had taken Bathsheba as his wife and carried out the charade that their newborn son arrived as the result of a legitimate marriage relationship. David had deceived everyone, including himself, into believing that everything was on the “up and up” between his new wife and himself. It was essential that Nathan confront the king with his sin because his conscience was seared. The only hope for David’s reconciliation with God was confrontation by an 3rd party.
2. 2 Samuel 12 is the account of one of those painful moments for Nathan. Nathan had heard the voice of God calling him to confront the sins of the king. He had a choice to make: either ignoring God and risk losing God’s favor, or listen to God and face an uncertain reaction from a guilty king.
3. First, obeying God was not easy because confronting the king was risky. Nathan had no guarantees that David would accept what he had to say. Would David’s anger flare up? Would he have Nathan murdered to continue his cover up scheme? Or, would he listen and repent? Nathan had no way of knowing what the king’s reaction would be.
4. And that’s a fact that we still face today. Often times God asks us to take risks in order to be obedient to Him. This is especially true when God tells us to confront others who are in a cycle of unrepentant sin. American Christians tend to believe that it is never our business to actively confront others with their sin. But God is calling many of you to be Nathans.
5.When Nathan confronted David, he did not water-down the enormity of what David had done in the sight of God. He conveyed the crimes of David in crimson colors. Nathan presented God’s view of David’s recklessness by means of a parable with a nasty hook. Nathan was able to help David see his own wrongdoing by showing that he would not have tolerated such actions from anyone else.
6. When Nathan had finished his story, according to the custom of ancient kings, David quickly passed judgment upon the actions of the rich man. V. 5 states, ‘David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”’
7. As soon as David had pronounced his judgment against this man, Nathan pointed his finger at David and declared, “You are the man!” Like a shot between the eyes, David discovers that he was not able to hide the truth from God.
8. I’ve been in services from time to time where there is a person giving “words of knowledge”, revelations from God about different people in the service. At times, I’ve found myself praying they wouldn’t get one about me! Everybody likes getting a word from the Lord, because they assume it’s going to be positive. But what if it wasn’t? What if God revealed this morning the secret sins of every one of us.
What would He put up on the screen about you?
C. DAVID’S RESPONSE & GOD’S
1. To David’s credit, David didn’t try to pass the blame or dodge his responsibility; i.e -- DIDN’T BLAME BATHSHEBA, “She shouldn’t have been taking her bath outside! It’s all her fault!” He said, “I have sinned!” “I’m guilty”. Acceptance of our sins is the first step toward restored fellowship with God.
2. We see in this passage the real heart of God. In His boundless love, God is always reaching out to those who have faltered and failed and sinned. He is always longing for reconciliation and offering redemption.
3. This is the story of the cross. The God of love demonstrated in that horrific act both His utter contempt for sin and His limitless love for a fallen world. The God who cannot tolerate sin became sin for us, as Paul tells us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
4. “One may wonder, perhaps, why David was not punished with death as he had so sternly advocated for the guilty man (warranted: Ex. 21:12; Lev. 20:10). The answer surely lies in the genuine and contrite repentance which David expressed, not only in the presence of Nathan but more fully in Psalm 51.
D. CONSEQUENCES
1. The sin that David committed had its consequences, even though God had forgiven him. He told David that disruption and rebellion would occur within his own family, his wives would assaulted be by one close to him, there would be public humiliation and dishonor, and the death of the child born to him.
2. David’s own judgment of the rich man paying four times for his sin came back on David.
III. THE CHURCH NEEDS NATHANS
A. CHARACTERISTICS OF A NATHAN
1. Characteristics of a Nathan
Loves us/ Concern Is a friend
Prays for us Is wise
Spoken to by God Risks friendship for welfare
Candid/ Honest Bold to obey
2. Nathans tell you when you have broccoli between your teeth, or when your breath smells bad, or your mascara has run, or when your zipper is down. Nathans cover for you, take up for you, fight for you if necessary; he/ she has your back. Nathans confront you when you’re making a bad decision. Nathans offer godly advice; speak of God’s great dreams for you. Nathans inspire you to attempt great things for God.
3. Nathans see the true condition of society and its destructive effects upon people. Nathans are like Jeremiah the prophet, who said he would not speak again for the Lord, but God’s word within him was like a burning fire in him, so that he could not hold it in. As a result, they are known to cry out in public, to confront people in private; the only thing they cannot do is ignore sin.
B. EVERYBODY NEEDS A NATHAN
1. NATHAN SCRIPTURES: Proverbs 27:5,6,9
(5) “Better is open rebuke than hidden love”.
(6) “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful”.
(9) “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel”.
2. The church is in need of Nathans. All of us need a friend in whom we can confide, who’s completely honest with us, so we can have a relationship which brings us into accountability. Then if you need a rebuke or word of correction, your Nathan is there to give it.
3. Would you consider praying about God giving you a Nathan relationship? There are individual Nathans in this church, or you could join a small group on Sunday nights or Tuesday nights.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: “Sweeping Closer to Home!”
1. A man needed a specific plumbing connection. The only full-service store was 30 miles away. Water was spraying into the basement.
2. There was an old fix-it shop in his town, but it was disorganized, with big boxes full of random plumbing parts. Due to time constraints, the man went to the local messy store.
3. He walked into the dimly lit, “Fred’s Fix-It Shop” shop many times over the years. “Fred, I need a 1/2” 90º elbow. It needs to be cast, not plastic. I’ve got a pretty bad leak. Do you think you’ve got what I need in that old box?” Fred grabbed the box and began sifting through it.
3. While waiting for Fred, the man looked around the grimy shop. There were boxes of old screws. Electrical parts were in bins covered with dust. An old display of bug repellents long out of season stood in the middle.
4. The man mused out loud, “You know, Fred? This place could really use some organization. Who knows what you’ve all got here? What you need is a good healthy clean-out.”
5. Fred stopped rooting, looked him square in the eye, "humphed", and pointed to an old sign hanging on the wall.
6. “See that sign? That’s the motto I live by; don’t be too quick to criticize my friend.” The sign had a picture of a broom followed by, “The person who always sweeps before his neighbor’s door has never seriously examined his own doorstep.”
7. The man was suddenly reminded that his basement looked like Fred’s store. And there was his tool shed in the back yard. Fred was right, if he was going to sweep, he needed to start closer to home.
8. How easy it is to bring the spotlight to bear on others faults and how difficult it is to allow even a small flashlight to shine upon our own. The fact is, if we are ever going to be of any real help to our neighbor in changing his life, we really need to start with our own first.
9. The problem is that the longer we wait to bring change into our lives, the more insensitive we become to our own faults and bad habits. Perhaps it is our doorstep that needs some sweeping today--not theirs.
B. ALTAR CALL
1. The rich man in the parable David condemned, was a reflection of himself. Do we need to “sweep a little closer to home”?
2. Have we been allowing a sin in our lives so long that we no longer feel any conviction? Have we convinced ourselves that our sin is “O K” with God? Is there something we’ve COVERED UP? ***IT’S TIME TO COME CLEAN WITH GOD, BEFORE HE HAS TO SEND JUDGMENT.
3. God is calling us to repent. I want to open these altars and ask you all to come down and meet with God. Unconfessed sin blocks the channel of God’s blessings. There’s no telling what might happen in your life if you get right with God.
