[0:00] Second Samuel chapter 12.
[0:11] Second Samuel chapter 12.!
[0:28] Samuel chapter 12. We're starting a new one today. A baby that was never named.
[0:41] A baby that was never named. No? I don't know where she is, but she'll be back. She and Angela.
[0:53] All right. So let's have a word of prayer, and then we'll begin. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this time together today, Lord, and I pray that you would be with us as we begin looking at this section about those with no names that have things that happen in our life or they themselves have had an influence on our Christian beliefs.
[1:15] And, Lord, I pray that you would just be with us as we look at this passage and consider it. Lord, as we look at David and his time when he and Bathsheba had a baby, that baby passed away and was never named.
[1:32] The Lord had an influence on David, had an influence on us. Lord, I pray that you would just help us to understand what happened there. Lord, just give us your grace today.
[1:44] Give us your understanding. Lord, help us to grow. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Whenever we sin, we need to remember that sin does not say the same size.
[2:01] Huh? What do you mean by that? When we sin, it grows. Because when we sin and we get away with it once, what happens?
[2:12] We start to sin more and more and more. And so the sin grows in proportion. It grows in its sinfulness, I guess is the best way to put it.
[2:27] So we need to be so very careful. See, normally growth is an indication of life. But sin, when it grows in our life, is an indication of death.
[2:40] We are dead to the things that God has for us. We're dead to the things that God wants us to do. James, you don't have to turn there. James chapter 1, verses 14 and 15.
[2:52] James 1, 14 and 15. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin.
[3:06] And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. So it's always growing, always growing. Nowhere in Scripture is that more clearly seen than in the life of David.
[3:21] You know, when we look at the life of David, you know, something that seemed like kind of an insignificant thing grew and grew and grew and became something that was totally against what God wanted for him.
[3:38] When we look at David, one of the things you usually think of is man after God's own heart. But even a man after God's own heart, when he gets sin into his life and allows it to take root and allows it to grow, is going to have some really terrible time.
[3:58] And the thing is, a lot of times we think it's just a little sin. You ever think that? It's just a little lie. It's just a little whatever.
[4:10] But I like the sentence I found. There is no such thing as a little sin because there is no such thing as a little God to sin against.
[4:26] There is no such thing as a little sin because there is no such thing as a little God to sin against. When we sin, we're sinning against a holy, almighty, everlasting God.
[4:40] So when we sin, we're going against what he has for us. We're going against what God wants for us. And so here in 2 Samuel, chapter 12, beginning at verse 15, we're going to find the result of the sin and then we're going to back up and look at how we got there.
[4:59] 2 Samuel 12, verse 15, it says this. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
[5:13] David therefore besought God for the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose and went to him to raise him up from the earth, but he would not.
[5:27] Neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead.
[5:40] For they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice. How will he then vex himself if we tell him that the child is dead?
[5:52] Then, but when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead?
[6:03] And they said, He is dead. Drop down to verse 22. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child may live?
[6:18] But now is he dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. And David comforted Bathsheba, his wife.
[6:29] Stop there. So here's David. Nathan has come and told him what's going to happen. Nathan the prophet says, Here's what's going to happen.
[6:40] The child's going to die. And David is beside himself. The fact that this child's going to die. You know, back at that time, in the Old Testament, circumcision for the baby boys on the eighth day after they were born.
[7:03] When they gave that ceremony of doing the circumcision things, that's when the parents would officially name the child. So eight days after he was born, he gets circumcised.
[7:17] When did it say the child died? On the seventh day. So he dies without a name. So this child, with no name, is going to teach us some things.
[7:29] And David, being a part of all this, is going to teach us some things. So here's this boy, born to David and Bathsheba. Dies on the seventh day.
[7:40] Never receives a name. David's supposed to be the man after God's own heart. How did he get in this situation? David's also known as the sweet psalmist of Israel.
[7:51] He wrote all those psalms and things. How did we get to this point? He'd killed the giant Goliath as a youth. He's been a great king all through the time since he took over reigning.
[8:05] But he has a sinful flesh. But he has not been listening to the Spirit of God that's speaking to him.
[8:19] Because I'm sure the Spirit of God was speaking to him all through this time. You know, when we allow sin to grow in our life, it becomes something monstrous.
[8:31] When we allow it to grow, it takes over. And it will hinder us and destroy us. Remember, we just finished up in Galatians chapter 5. And what does it say there in verse 16 and 17? This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
[8:46] David was not walking in the Spirit during this time. We'll look at that in a minute. Verse 17 of Galatians 5 says, For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And he's a contrary one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would.
[9:03] And if we're going to avoid an ending like David's, if we're going to avoid something that's disastrous to our Christian life, then we have to start right off at the beginning.
[9:17] When sin starts to come in, we need to quash it right then. We need to make sure it doesn't get started. Because what happens if it gets started? Satan's right behind it like a snowball.
[9:28] And it's just a pushing and pushing and pushing, and it's getting bigger, bigger, bigger. As long as he has a foothold, he knows he's got us. And he's going to go after us. You know, if you've got sin in your life, maybe you don't have sin in your life, but you have sinful thoughts in your life.
[9:46] Are you taking care of those sinful thoughts that are coming in and making sure that they don't grow? So stop it before it does. In Acts chapter 8, you don't have to turn there, but in Acts chapter 8, verse 22.
[9:59] Acts 8, 22. One of the apostles, Peter or Paul. I don't remember which one now. Anyway, they're out.
[10:12] And there's a man named Simon who sees them and watches them and sees what they're doing and sees how the Holy Spirit works in their life and sees how they can heal people and change people by the testimony that they have.
[10:27] And so Simon decides, I want to have that. Now, Simon wants it not for the reason that Peter or Paul or the apostles did.
[10:38] He wants it because he thinks he can make money off of it. But he asked them, he said, what do I have to do in order to get that? What do I have to do in order to be able to do those things that you're doing? And they know his heart motive.
[10:52] He wants them to lay their hands on him. He's going to receive the Holy Spirit. He's going to be able to do things. And the apostles say in Acts 8, 22, repent, therefore, of thy wickedness and pray, God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
[11:11] See, there was a thought there that started. And it was going to lead to bad things. It was going to lead to evil things. It was going to lead to selfish things that he wanted to be able to do so that he could get the recognition, so that he could make money, so he could...
[11:27] David says, God's word says, stop them right there. And that thought comes into your mind. Be ready to stop it. So here's David. He's getting ready to bury a nameless baby.
[11:43] He wished he'd stopped that progression of sin a whole long time ago. So what do we do? Let's go back and take a look. So back up to chapter 11. You're in 2 Samuel there, 12. Go back to chapter 11.
[11:56] Look at verse 1. 2 Samuel 11, verse 1 says, First of all, just a slight disobedience.
[12:27] Just a slight disobedience. Just a little thing. It says, It's a time when kings go forth to battle, but David was still in Jerusalem. He should have been leading his people.
[12:40] He should have been out in front of his people. He should have been the king who is, Here's what we're going to do, and here's the way we're going to go. And instead, he turns those duties over to Joab instead of doing them himself.
[12:54] Why would he do that? Well, first of all, Do I have it up there? Oh, Angela's not there. Okay, so slight disobedience, that's number one.
[13:04] A, I deserved idleness. I deserved idleness. See, at this point, David's reigning as king.
[13:15] He has been victorious in battle 21 straight times. By the time this call takes place, he has been victorious 21 straight times. He's been proven in battle.
[13:28] He's been victorious in battle. He has taken care of leading Israel in everything that they have done. You know what? I'm going to sit back on this one.
[13:39] I'll send Joab. Joab's been my right-hand man. He knows everything to do. Let him take care of it. I'm just going to sit back and take it easy. God warns against idleness.
[13:51] He warns against being slothful. He warns against sitting back. Proverbs 15, 19. The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns, but the way of the righteous is made plain.
[14:04] Proverbs 15, 19. The way of the slothful man is a hedge of thorns. He says, you sit back as a slothful man. You don't think you're moving. You don't think you're doing anything. You don't think...
[14:14] But he says, it's like a hedge of thorns. Any slight movement you do, you're going to get stuck. Any slight movement you do, you're going to get scratched. Anything you do is going to bring some injury to you if you're just sitting back and waiting.
[14:27] He says, David would have been better off if he had gone out to battle. He would have been safer than he was staying back in Jerusalem because a slothful man is going to have some problems.
[14:41] There's a Spanish philosopher, and I always have to look at his name, Anamondo. Anamondo. Anamondo. He's a philosopher from Spain.
[14:53] Anyways, he tells a story about there was a Roman aqueduct that went through Segovia, Spain. It was built in A.D. 109.
[15:05] Okay? Just 60 years after Jesus was walking on this earth. A.D. 109. And for 1,800 years, into the 1900s, it carried cool water from the mountains down to the hot and thirsty city.
[15:21] 60 generations. Water has been flowing through this aqueduct and going down there. But in the 1900s, there came along some people and said, you know what?
[15:32] That is a spectacular piece of architecture. That is a spectacular feat that the Romans did. We should make that into like a museum piece for our kids to come and see and do things with, you know, and be able to understand just how good the Romans were and the things that they built.
[15:50] And so, they put in modern piping and things to bring the water down to the city and shut the aqueduct off and they just kind of let it sit there and rest.
[16:04] Had a reverent rest. People would come, ooh, look at that. That was phenomenal. I think it would have been better looking to see the water going through it. But okay. You know. But they're looking at the architecture and stuff.
[16:16] But, as the sun beat down on it without the water running through it, the mortar began to crack and crumble. The bricks and stones began to sag and threatened to fall.
[16:30] See, the ages of service could not destroy it. But the idleness began to disintegrate it.
[16:41] See, we as Christians, we need to remember God has something for us to do. And it may not always be the same thing all of our lives. But he always has something for us to do. He has a plan.
[16:52] For us. And he wants us to be busy. When we start just sitting back and taking it easy, he says, look, there's going to be problems. There's going to be things that are going to happen.
[17:03] And you need to be aware. Don't be taking a break from the spiritual things of God. Now, you may not do the same thing all your life, but don't take a break from God.
[17:14] Be working for him continually. Because if you don't, you start to slack off and you start to go the wrong way, then, let her be, the devil's been given an invitation to get into your life.
[17:29] Is there? The devil's been given an invitation to get in there. See, when we choose to relax and David stayed home from battle, he let his guard down, he wasn't really thinking about the things that God had.
[17:42] He didn't have his antenna up, you know, where he was looking around and making sure everything was the way it was supposed to be. And the moment we let our guard down, Satan's going to come in and attack.
[17:58] And so, here's this time when David does that and what happens? Well, Proverbs 16, 18. Proverbs 16, 18 says, Pride goeth before destruction and a Holy Spirit before fall.
[18:14] David's like, I've won all these battles, I've done all this, Joab's been there, he's followed me, he knows what to do, we don't have to worry about this, they got it. He had pride.
[18:25] There's no, there's no doubt about it we're going to win. There's no doubt about it that, you know, we're going to get this victory. Don't have to worry about it. Remember the old saying, idleness is the devil's workshop?
[18:39] Yep. I know this is the devil's workshop and here we are and we need to be busy with our families, busy with our church, busy with our work, busy doing things so that temptation is not as strong.
[18:54] When we just sit back and let our minds wander, David's, David, the devil is throwing things in there and he's trying to get us to go certain directions.
[19:06] 1 Corinthians 15, 55 says this, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
[19:22] Always abounding in the work of the Lord. Always keep going and doing the things that God has called you to do. The problem is, David gets lawful.
[19:35] David sat back and as he did that and let his mind wander and let his mind go in different directions, he scorned the discernment that God had given to him.
[19:47] Scorned discernment, that's number two. Scorned discernment. David up to this point has already written Psalms. David up to this point, he's already played his harp for Saul.
[20:01] David up to this point has already killed a lion, a bear, and Goliath. He knows what God can do. He knows how God has worked in his life.
[20:13] He knows how God has led him. But here, he chooses to ignore what God wanted him to do.
[20:24] Proverbs 14, 15. Proverbs 14, 15. The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
[20:35] See, a prudent man, one who's following God, one who's looking at what's going on, one who's keeping in touch with God, says he looks well to his going. David was not.
[20:46] David was taking a break. David was doing his own thing. Proverbs 27, 12. Proverbs 27, 12 says, A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.
[21:03] The prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself. He's looking. He's discerning. He's seeing what's coming up and he's seeing what direction he needs to go.
[21:13] He says, If I go this way, this is going to happen. If I go this way, this is going to happen. You ever do that and stop and look at the ramifications? See, a lot of people don't do that. Sometimes presented to him, oh, that sounds good.
[21:26] Yes, it does sound good, but what are the ramifications if I go this way? What's going to be the next step and the next step? If I go this way, what's going to be the next step and the next step? See, we don't take time to think about those things.
[21:40] We were talking Wednesday night kind of about that. You know, that we need to stop and we need to look at what's coming. So, so exactly what do we need to do?
[21:52] Well, first of all, we need to take a look at a look. Letter A. A look. Next one, Dana.
[22:06] A look. There it is. A look. Notice 2 Samuel 11, verse 2. Verse 2 says, And it came to pass in the evening tide that David arose off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
[22:29] Ah. David says, It's a nice night out. I think I'll go up in my roof and get some fresh air. Spend some time up there. And he does and he gets up there and he looks over and he sees Bathsheba.
[22:44] And it says, She was very beautiful to look upon. If Satan can get us to look, he's on his way to getting us defeated.
[22:55] If he can get us to look, he's on his way to taking us off the path that we should be on. I've told you this before. I've mentioned it before, but the very first opera I ever saw when we went to Bob Jones, they did an opera every year.
[23:09] So we had to, that was part of our cultural education, part of being in college and stuff. The first one I saw was called Mephistopheles. And it's the story of Faust.
[23:21] You know, the devil's over there trying to get this guy to turn from God and go to, and follow him and everything. and in this opera, the way they did it, it was kind of cool because Faust would be praying and the devil was over here and he's over there and he's got this high-pitched whistle he's doing.
[23:44] You know, some guy that they got to do the actor could do the, you know, the whew, type things. And he was doing that and he'd whistle and whistle and whistle trying to get his attention off the prayer that he was doing.
[23:56] And finally, he cannot get him to stop praying. And the way they did the opera, they showed him going down inside the stage and flames coming up around.
[24:09] So it was, I'd never seen an opera in my life but that was cool. It was like, whoa, okay. So, Satan's always trying to get us to look. Take our eyes off of God and look to what he has for us.
[24:23] If he can get us to look, he's defeated us. He's taking us in the wrong direction. And we go the wrong direction, we go to the wrong place, it leads to sin, it leads to death. Let me give you examples.
[24:36] Genesis chapter 3, verse 6. Genesis 3, 6. And when the woman saw the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant unto the eyes.
[24:48] The woman saw that it was good for food and it was pleasant unto the eyes. Satan got Eve to look at something else. God had said this, God had told him this, God had told Adam and Adam had told Eve and here's what you're supposed to do but she takes her eyes off of what God said and puts them on the tree and she saw that it was good for food and pleasant the eyes.
[25:16] In Joshua, chapter 7, verse 21, Joshua 7, 21. Remember Achan? Achan who caused the defeat of Israel at Ai?
[25:29] What's that? Joshua 7, 21 says this, When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, 200 shekels of silver, wedge of gold of 50 shekels, then I coveted them.
[25:46] That's Achan speaking. When I saw those things. How often does the devil try to get our attention off of God and onto material things?
[25:58] Oh, if I only had this car, only if I had that house, only if I had you name it, whatever. Oh, if I could just have those things. Judges, chapter 14, verse 1.
[26:12] Judges 14, 1, And Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. And you remember that story? He went to his parents and said, get her for me.
[26:26] You know, he saw. How often do we take our eyes off of God? Why is my favorite verse looking unto Jesus? Because when we take our eyes off of God, the devil can lead us in a whole lot of trouble.
[26:40] when I take my eyes off of God and put him on these things, you know what happens next? There's a lust that comes.
[26:51] A lust. The moment David saw her, he should have just turned away and went back downstairs. But he didn't. You know, it's interesting, we were talking, somebody was talking about Job.
[27:08] See, see, Job back there. Okay. Job chapter 31, verse 1. I made a covenant with mine eyes. Why then should I look upon a maid?
[27:19] He says, I've made a covenant with my eyes and how I'm going to handle things, what I'm going to do. Psalm 119, 37. Psalm 119, 37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity and quicken thou me in thy way.
[27:36] Turn my eyes away from beholding vanity. vanity. In Webster's 1920, no, not 19, 1828 dictionary, one of the first ones he ever wrote.
[27:50] Here's how he defined vanity. Empty pleasure, vain pursuit, idle show, unsubstantial enjoyment.
[28:01] He says, look, here's vanity. Here's what vanity is all about. And he mentions pleasure, pursuit, show, enjoyment, all things that we want for ourselves.
[28:13] Oh, I'd so much enjoy to have this and so much I would have, so much pleasure I'd get out of this and all these things. But did you notice the adjectives? Empty, vain, idle, unsubstantial.
[28:26] He says, they're empty. He says, when I go after vanity, he said, they're empty. When I go after vanity, he said, there's nothing to show for it. There's no substance to it.
[28:37] There's nothing there. Verse 3, there in chapter 11, it says this, and David sent and inquired after the woman, and one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
[28:56] Okay, stop right there. David, warning sign, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.
[29:08] David, stop. Think about what you're doing. Use some of that discernment we've been talking about. She's the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Who's Uriah too?
[29:18] Something about that. Uriah is one of David's mighty men. He's going against his own man, one of those who's been there to help him and to save him at different times.
[29:31] And he's about to go against him. And there's the third thing. A look, a lust, and next week I'll tell you what the third thing is.
[29:43] Because it's about time to be done and I'm not sure I have time to finish it right now. So, that's our word for it. Do you have any father? Thank you.