The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.
In Session 16 we follow up on what happens after David used his position as the king to take and commit adultery with a married women and covers it up by orchestrating his death. We talk about the guilt that he must have struggled with until God caused him to be confronted by a friend. In this session we talk about the way that God wants us to confront sin.
For our study we will be using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, by Charles R. Swindoll, and The Hand of God by Alistair Begg. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people. Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.
David was unaccountable, he was the king. Who was going to oppose him? The same thing happens to us when we feel that we can do whatever we want because of our position is a family or and organization.
So he used his position to first commit adultery then when he learned that Bathsheba was pregnant he used his authority to call her husband in front war so he could sleep with her and the pregnancy attributed to him. When Uriah wouldn't cooperate and go home David again used his authority to have him assigned to a place on the battlefield where he would be killed. It worked so now problem solved right?
David, the great man of God, committed a series of terrible sins that to terrible consequences. When he was about fifty years of age, he committed adultery. Then, rather than immediately face it and admit it, he covered it up with premeditated murder. For the better part of a year, he lived a life of hypocrisy and deception. His world became a world of guarded, miserable secrecy.
The only people that knew were David, Bathsheba, Joab the military leader and maybe a servant or two. But he forgot about God
2 Samuel 11:26-27 NIV When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
We need to remember that, like many sins, David’s were carried out secretly—at least for a while.The acts of David were done willfully. This was not a momentary mistake. He didn’t stumble into the sin. He willfully and knowingly walked into the sin with Bathsheba, orchestrated the death of her husband and deliberately lived a lie during the months that followed.
Maybe nobody else noticed, but God did. And He designed a strategy to bring David to his knees. God is awfully good at that. He doesn’t settle His accounts at the end of each month or, for that matter, each year. But when He does settle them, well,
Galatians 6:7-8 NIV Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
“God’s wheels grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.”
Most people think that Psalm 51 was written as a result of his sins around his adultery with Bathsheba
Psalms 51:1-17 NIV Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Psalm 32 may also have been written with the event in mind. Remember what I said last week about the guilt associated with unconfessed sin. The guilt will make you miserable. Let’s read some on Psalm 32.
Psalms 32:1-5 NIV Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
In his splendid book, Guilt and Grace, Paul Tournier, the brilliant Swiss writer, physician, and psychiatrist, talks about two kinds of guilt: true guilt and false guilt. False guilt, says Tournier, brought onton by the judgments and suggestions of man. True guilt comes from willfully and knowingly disobeying God.36 Obviously, David is enduring true guilt.
From my blog post "Leave the Guilt Baggage Behind"
Not all guilt is bad. As a matter of fact, there is some guilt that is good. In fact, my mom would argue that if guilt causes obedience, it should be considered a virtue!
Good guilt is actually godly sorrow which leads us back to the way of salvation. Someone once said that guilt is like a red warning light on the dashboard of a car. Those red lights on the dashboard are good things; they indicate that something needs to be fixed to prevent long-term expensive damage. The same is true with some of the guilt we feel. If we allow the guilt to speak to our hearts in a positive way and cause us to correct things in our lives that we know are not pleasing to God, then that’s a good thing. Dealing with an issue quickly prevents long-term, expensive damage in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones.
“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
As Christians, we are always called to turn away from sin and toward God to become more of what He wants us to be. If certain kinds of guilt cause this result, then it’s a good thing, like the red light on the dashboard of the car.
Bad guilt consumes us and separates us from God. Notice in 2 Corinthians 7:10 that there is another type of guilt called worldly sorrow. This verse says the result of worldly sorrow is spiritual death, which means being cut off from God. Worldly sorrow is what I call evil sorrow. It causes all sorts of terrible things in our lives. For instance, it causes us to:
Live in fear
Lose our joy
Hold onto the pain of our past
Be blocked from receiving future blessings.
God’s timing is absolutely incredible.
Some Old Testament scholars say that there was at least a twelve-month interval that passed before Nathan paid the visit. God waited until just the right time. He let the grinding wheels of sin do their full work and then He stepped in.
In confronting someone in his sin, the timing is as important as the wording. Simply to tighten your belt, grab your Bible and, at your convenience, confront a person who is in sin is unwise. Most importantly, you need to be sure that you’re sent by God.
Galatians 6:1 NIV Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
God called on a person that David knew and trusted. He sent Nathan.
Rather than just coming out and confronting David by saying David you have sinned by committing adultery and then conspiring to have the husband killed. You are going to hell. Remember David is the king and that is a big accusation.
So he told him a story.
2 Samuel 12:1-4 NIV The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
Obviously, David didn't connect the story with himself because he wanted to punish the man.
2 Samuel 12:5-6 NIV David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
Then Nathan lowers the boom or better said David walked right into it.
2 Samuel 12:7-9 NIV 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, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 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.
Busted!!!
Remember Nathan is a friend and we can take bad news or criticism better from someone that we know loves us. We may not like it but we take it better.
Proverbs 27:6 NIV Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
If you are delivering a message you say is from God make sure that it is.
2 Samuel 12:7-12 NIV 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, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 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. 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.’ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ”
Remember the last verse of chapter 11?
2 Samuel 11:27 NIV After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
Here come the consequences of David’s sins.
2 Samuel 12:10-12 NIV 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.’ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ”
2 Samuel 12:13 NIV Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” …
If God has called you to be His messenger, then do it skillfully and do it humbly. Do it right or don’t do it. If God calls you to be a confronter, confront. People still long for, hunger for the message of God. When you encounter an individual whohas willfully stepped onto the wrong path, face it with him. Call it what it is. Certainly At the right time and in the right way, but do it! Don’t hedge. Don’t try to redefine it. Don’t explain it away. Call it sin. And indoing so, remember that you, too, have sinned. So, stay humble and full of compassion . . . but speak the truth in love . . . yes speak the truth! A tremendous relief comes over the sinner when someone honestly says, “You have been wrong, face it. Do something about it.”
After Nathan confronted David and he confessed he received grace from God who said through Nathan that he wouldn't die because of his sin but there would be long lasting consequences. The first of which was the death of the child conceived in adultery, and there were others.
2 Samuel 12:11-12 NIV “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ”
I believe that a gush of relief swept across David as he thought, Finally, someone knows the truth and the secret is out. Finally, I have the assurance of God’s forgiveness.
TWO SERIOUS AREAS OF APPLICATION
Effective Confrontation
To be effective in confrontation we need to equip ourselves with four things. If not, we can do more damage than good.
First, absolute truth. Don’t go on hearsay. Get the facts. It may take time. You may have to investigate.
Out of love and concern you will do all that. You won’t investigate and spread the word all around; you’ll just check it out until you have the facts carefully recorded and correctly arranged. Without absolute truth, you’re shooting in the dark. Do not confront if you don’t have the truth.
Second, right timing. Many people are confronted at the wrong time and as a result are driven deeper into their wrong because thoughtless Christians went off in a hurry to do something in the spurt of emotion. Wait until you are confident that it’s God’s timing and do it privately.
Third, wise wording. The right words are crucial. If you don’t have your wording worked out, don’t go. Wait.
Proverbs 25:11-12 NIV Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given. Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.
Fourth, fearless courage. Don’t fear the loss of friendship. God honors the truth. After all, it is the truth—and only the truth—that sets people free. If the Lord is really in it, you’ll be one of the best friends this person ever had by telling him the truth. Be certain you’re confronting out of love. One who doesn’t love doesn’t confront—at least he doesn’t confront God’s way.
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The second has to do with genuine repentance.
There are four things in Psalm 51 that point to genuine repentance. We will talk about that next week.
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