This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

A battle with the Ammonites simmers in the
background of one of the Bible’s most infamous stories:

David’s abuse of Bathsheba
and the murder of her husband.

Placing David’s most shameful moment among stories
of bravery heightens the dishonor and
cowardice of David’s actions.

A year into the conflict with the Ammonites, David
sends Joab, his general, to finish the job without him.

Rather than going with his men
to actively protect his kingdom,

David passively stays put and abuses his position.

In his leisure, he lusts after the
wife of a decorated soldier Uriah,

takes her into his palace, sleeps
with her, and gets her pregnant.

Hoping to hide the scandal, he
brings Uriah home from battle early

and tries to manipulate him
into sleeping with his wife.

It’s early enough in the pregnancy that
Uriah will never know the child isn’t his.

But Uriah refuses.

It would be wrong to enjoy his own
home and wife while his men are at war.

Even when David gets Uriah intoxicated, a
drunk Uriah is more honorable than a sober David.

So, David decides to kill Uriah.

With Joab’s help they jeopardize their campaign
against the Ammonites to kill one of their own.

Callously, David believes his men’s lives
are necessary costs to protect his reputation.

With Uriah dead, David adds Bathsheba
to his harem and hides the scandal.

But not from God.

God sends his prophet
Nathan to confront David.

But first, Nathan lets
David condemn himself.

Nathan tells a story that provokes
David to demand the death penalty.

But when Nathan points out that David is the man
he’s sentencing, David repents, and God forgives him.

But the rest of David’s reign will
be poisoned by these events.

David and Bathsheba’s son
will die, and David’s leadership

will continue to be marked
by passivity and abuse.

That’s why the story ends when David once again
sends Joab to fight the Ammonites, without him.

Like before, David stays at home and is only roused
from his passivity to take something that’s not his.

David takes credit for Joab’s victory, and
crowns himself with another king’s gold.

[music]

Ultimately, power belongs to the Lord and
David is most powerful when he submits to God.

But David has now
disregarded God’s authority.

In the book of Deuteronomy God commands
Israel’s kings not to take multiple wives

or collect much gold, not to mention
conspire against and murder their citizens.

David has forgotten who’s in charge.

He’s elevated his own
reputation above God’s decrees

and is taking advantage of
his citizens to satisfy his lusts.

David misused the power God gave
him and he’s humbled for it.

The book of Samuel warns us the people
who misuse the power God gives them

will be exposed for the
weak, abusive people they are.

If you believe it’s acceptable to reject God’s
commands, especially if you’re in a position of authority,

you will be humbled by the
God who does not tolerate abuse.

There will be a reckoning for anyone who
mistreats those they’re supposed to protect.

While David does repent, and in many ways is
Israel’s best king, Jesus is a better King than David.

Jesus never forgot who was in charge.

He knew his authority
was a delegated one.

He did not use his power to abuse
or kill, but to heal and raise the dead.

He did not elevate his own reputation above
God’s decrees but was humiliated on the cross.

Jesus leveraged his power for our
forgiveness, not his own self-protection.

And Jesus promises that he will use
his kingly authority to serve us forever.

Like David, you can choose to disregard Jesus’
power to your own humiliation.

Or like Jesus, you can humble yourself
before the King of the Universe and be exalted.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to
see the God who opposes the proud.

And may you see Jesus as the
one who gives grace to the humble.