Third Sunday in Pentecost

2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14

What is Your Facial Expression?

2 Samuel 11:26-12:10When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die."

As a camp councilor, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with children during the summer. I have worked with various age groups from the very young up to the high school age. Whatever the age might be the reactions were always the same. They would always show the same face when they were happy and that was a smile. When they were sad they would show a sad face. When we caught them doing something bad, one can see it on their face that they were very guilty. This almost reminds me of a parent catching their child with their hand in the cookie jar. Therefore, whatever the reason might be, the reaction is always the same. A guilty look becomes them and they do not what to do.

However, children are not the only ones that can show emotions through their faces. Adults show happiness, sadness, joy, and even the guilty feeling. Adults too find themselves with their hands in the cookie jar. Except some adults, do not show a guilty expression and make some excuse or blame other people. That it was not true. Which brings us to our Old Testament reading for today.

The Old Testament reading introduces to the us that Uriah had died and that his wife (who was Bathsheba) married David. A son was born to them. Yet, the story does not end there for our reading tells us that Nathan visited David. For the Lord sent Nathan to speak to David. Nathan was a prophet of the Lord. The Lord was sending Nathan to tell David that he had sinned against the Lord. But wait how was this possible, how could David sinned against the Lord? Was not this the man, who saved Israel from Goliath? Was it not David, who brought back the Ark to Jerusalem? How could a man like this sin against the Lord?

What exactly happened that a man who respected God so much, would sin? What sin could be so bad that the Lord had to send Nathan to David? Well let us use this time to go back in time to a time before Nathan arrives and a time where Uriah was still alive. This is a time where Bathsheba was not pregnant. At this time we find ourselves in 2 Samuel 11 and we are still in Jerusalem. The author introduces us to Bathsheba. David and his kingdom were still growing. His army was winning every war with the help of the Lord. He was growing powerful and he had everything. Well almost everything except Bathsheba and when he saw her taking a bath from his palace that is when he wanted her most. He had everything and yet he was not satisfied with it until he had Bathsheba to himself.

Well the only problem with that was that Bathsheba was married. She was married to Uriah the Hittite. At that moment when David saw her, he made it top priority to be with her. From 2 Samuel 11:4: "So David sent a messenger and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from the her uncleanness) Then she returned to her house." By this account, David took a married woman and lay with her. As any slippery slope happens, once something goes down that slope they slide hard. After the incident, Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s son. However, the story does not end there. After David finds out about his child, David takes desperate measures in hiding his sin.

David was not dumb and knew what he did was wrong. Numerous times he tried to make it look like Uriah got Bathsheba pregnant but it did not work. David’s final plan was to have him killed in battle. He tells Joab, leader of his armies to have Uriah placed in the front lines. Thus, Ammonites killed Uriah because he was on the front lines of the army. This brings us back to the present in our Old Testament reading. Uriah has died and Bathsheba has become the wife of David. During that time, a son was born and everybody thought it was David and Bathsheba’s son.

Well of course, they fooled everyone but they did not fool God. That was the reason why God sent Nathan; he was to deliver a message to David concerning his sin. Among the people of Jerusalem and David, they knew of Nathan. As Samuel was a well-known prophet, Nathan took that role. Of course Nathan, does not just come out with it and say what David did. He tells him a parable. Most people would not understand the parable but David understood it very well. This parable was about a rich man and a poor man. In this parable, the rich man stole the poor man’s lamb. After hearing the parable about the rich man and the poor man, David wanted the rich man punished for his crimes not knowing that Nathan was talking about him. That David was the rich man who took the lamb. The Lamb represented Bathsheba and the poor man represented Uriah.

What was David’s facial expression when he pronouncing judgment right before Nathan told him who actually did the crime? The expression on David’s face might be one who thinks that he was right in giving out justice. Well that expression changed when Nathan told him who the rich man was really. When David heard that it was him, it was as if someone caught with him with his hand in the cookie jar. His facial expressions must have changed from a man who thought he was in charge to an expression of pure guilt. David is not alone in this. We too have that same guilt and the same sin that David had. Just like you and I, he knew at once that he was a sinner and he confessed his sins to God.

We have a compassionate God who will forgive us if we go to Him with our sins. God was ready to forgive David and that He forgave him when He heard David. God forgave David but that did not mean punishment would go away. David himself said that the rich man should receive punishment for his crimes and God punished David for his sin by taking his son who was innocent. For sin brings death as written James 1:15 "Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." Sin equals death and there is no need to explain it anymore.

Does that mean that God will punish us for every sin that we commit? He did punish man. He punished His Son, Jesus, who was True Man and True God on the way to the cross and on the cross itself. Jesus an innocent man and without sin took all our iniquities and our punishment that we deserved upon Him. That punishment led to His death on the cross, which we deserved. Instead, Jesus took it upon himself because of the love He had for His people. Once Christ died on the cross, God had to fulfill a promise He made. That anybody who believes in His son receives forgiveness. Believe in God’s grace and forgiveness would be waiting for you.

How does that work? A great illustration for us to see is that in the book of Zechariah. In the book of Zechariah, Joshua a High Priest in Judea was standing for his trial. There was the angel of the Lord and Satan. Here Satan was trying to accuse Joshua and condemning him for his sins. Whatever the case might be, it does not matter because Lord says this "Take off his filthy clothes, then he said to Joshua, See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you." There is no better illustration then the one we read in Zechariah. God took our sins away and there are no questions asked. We are clothed again in righteousness by Christ.

David was a firm believer of that and of God’s compassion and grace. He truly believed that God would forgive him. When Nathan said, "You are the Man" he automatically got on his knees and said, "I have sinned against the Lord" As a God who is compassionate, he put away David’s sin.

Everything David wrote in this Psalm is true. There seem to be nothing more we can ask from God then what is said in this Psalm. When we sin, we can always go to God for forgiveness. Just by saying "have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions." In that moment, God forgives us, no questions asked. No other idol or false god can promise you that. David not only asked for forgiveness but asked God to never take away the Holy Spirit from him. The same goes for us. Instead of taking away the Holy Sprit, God gives us His spirit constantly. When we feel depressed, sad, lonely, etc that is when the Holy Spirit touches us the most. David tells us what God’s Spirit does for us. It gives us joy in knowing our salvation through Christ and it upholds us and nourishes us. Therefore, when one of us has a sad face or even a guilty one, God will send to you the Holy Spirit to let you know that it is ok. That He forgives you because of His son’s death on the cross. Not only that but that the Holy Spirit opens our mouths so that we can sing aloud to the Lord. This works out greatly for this church because we love to sing hymns with more then four verses. Whatever the expression might be the Holy Spirit does all these things now and forever. In Jesus Name.