You are the man!

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13

Human history is littered with powerful people behaving badly. We don’t have to look through history very hard to see brutality and selfishness in the lives of monarchs, and even popes (like the Borgias). That’s why the saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely”[1] seems to get circulated so often. I personally prefer the way Dallas Willard said it when he said, “power exposes corruption” (paraphrase). The more powerful you are the more likely it will be that the corruption within you will be exposed to the world and negatively influence the people around you.

When a person has their every whim answered- 
When they are on the top of the totem pole with no one to answer to- 
When they are surrounded by people that affirm them in their every thought- 
When the people around them are willing to look the other way when they are acting immoral- 
When they have more money than they can spend, and can afford an army of lawyers to scare off the law…. 
Well, a person like that is in danger of indulging in their corruption.

According to allegations, the movie producer Harvey Weinstein lived that kind of existence. He had the power to end the career of an actress, or drain her bank account in a legal battle that would end up being her word against his with little evidence for a judge to work with. (After all, some would say, maybe she’s just trying to boost her career through a false accusation that would be advertised in the news and on talk shows.) The #metoo movement has exposed numerous powerful, and previously untouchable, people to the spotlight of accusation.



In our Old Testament reading today from 2 Samuel we see a pretty dark episode in King David’s life. David seems to be feeling untouchable. He is freely indulging in his desires. Last week we read about David “taking” Bathsheba. The Bible doesn’t really say anything about how willing Bathsheba was, but the language of the story seems to suggest that Bathsheba’s willingness didn’t seem to be of interest to David.

When Bathsheba’s pregnancy threatens to expose David’s actions, he attempts to hide the pregnancy by calling Uriah back from the battle and having him spend the night with his wife. But, Uriah is an honourable soldier and is unwilling to go home when he knows his fellow soldiers are roughing it sleeping on the battlefront. Uriah's honour highlights David's dishonour.

Uriah is a reflection of who David used to be as a younger man. But now, David is a king who doesn’t have to prove himself in battle. He stays home with the pleasures of his palace while his men are out fighting his battles. When Uriah’s honour won’t let him go home to Bathsheba, David has to find another way to hide his dishonor. David slides down the slippery slope into murdering Uriah, by purposely making him vulnerable on the battlefield. … It is a dark, dark moment for David.

David has made himself above the law. He’s king, after all. The rules that apply to other people don’t apply to him. That’s probably not something powerful people tell themselves on a conscious level, but in some way they probably do tell themselves something like that. As pastor Eugene Peterson said, 

“David didn’t feel like a sinner when he sent for Bathsheba; he felt like a lover- and what can be better than that? David didn’t feel like a sinner when he sent for Uriah; he felt like a king- and what can be better than that?”

 David deluded himself into seeing passion and power rather than plain old sin.

None of this has escaped God’s attention. David may think that he has gotten away scot-free, but God has seen everything. So, God sends the prophet Nathan to David. 

Nathan is in a dangerous position. The whole reason David has been able to delude himself about his sin is because he is drunk on power. He has the power to end the lives of those who threatened to expose his sin. And here comes Nathan about to expose his sin. Nathan can’t confront him directly with his sin. Brilliantly, Nathan tells the king a story about a rich man with many sheep and a poor man with one pet lamb that he treats like a daughter. The rich man takes the poor man’s lamb and kills it.

David Burns with anger. He said to Nathan, 

“As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

 It’s amazing how easily we can judge the actions of another person when we are outside and looking in on the situation. This is exactly Jesus’ teaching when it comes to pointing out the sins of others in Matthew 7:3 when he says, 
“Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”
 David sees the sin easily when it comes to someone else and has no trouble judging it in the harshest terms. … Nathan has successfully made David pronounce judgement on himself. And Nathan gives the punchline, 

“You are the man!” 

Once David realizes that God has seen everything, David is suddenly able to see himself clearly. David is not at the top of the totem pole, because God is at the top. David can’t pay off the law, because he can’t manipulate God with money. He can’t murder his way out of this because he can’t murder God who will ultimately hold him accountable. There is no escape from what he has done. The only real reply is, “I have sinned against the Lord”.

This is why I think it is actually very helpful for a powerful leader to have a genuine faith in God who will ultimately hold them accountable. When they are tempted to think they are above the law they are invited into confession rather than denial. In worship they are reminded that there is a law-giver who will ultimately hold them accountable. Without Nathan, without God, David could have gone on, drunk on his power and treating people as objects.

Belief in God, who will hold you accountable, has sometimes been seen as an obstacle to the will for some. For some who would rather not conform to the morality of the God of Jesus Christ, some have decided to not believe in that God. (I seem to remember Os Guinness quoted one of the Huxley brothers (I think) saying that they found atheism provided less restriction for them in terms of their sexual exploration. The implication was that 'truth' wasn't entirely at issue, rather, the freedom from certain moral restraints was what made atheism attractive in that particular quote.) In reply to the atheist Richard Dawkins’ statement that "religion is a fairy tale for those afraid of the dark” the Christian John Lennox said, “Atheism is a fairy tale for those who are afraid on the light”- Meaning that atheism can be a way to avoid the responsibility that God places on us. If there is no God some believe that we have no ultimate moral restrictions. (By no means am I suggesting that ALL atheists are immoral, but for some this can be a strong motivation to become an atheist.) 

We are quick to judge David. In this story he represents everything we dislike about the rich and powerful. He uses people like objects. He casually uses a woman like a doll and then sends her away. He uses an honourable man’s life as if he is a chess piece in a game. He represents those who evade justice because of their power and wealth. … We are quick to judge David because most of us don’t know the temptations of the powerful.

The power of this story is that just as Nathan told a story to David to have him pronounce judgement on himself, so our judgement on David becomes our judgement on ourselves. ... His sin is different than ours, but surely we don’t claim to be without sin. His sin functions just as ours does. We want our will to be done rather than God’s. We want to be to God over our lives, even for a moment. We want God to not exist for a moment so we can be free from the moral code. We excuse our behavior saying, “I was just having a bad day”. 

I hope none of us are guilty of David’s crimes, but we do turn away from God at times in our own way. Perhaps we gossip, or maybe we are slothful when it comes to prayer. Maybe we are impatient with children or neighbours. Perhaps we are hopeless about God’s activity in the world. Maybe we carry a refusal to forgive someone from our past. Maybe we doubt God’s forgiveness for a past sin. … It is easy to judge David. But Nathan’s words are for us too- 
“You are the man” 
“You are the woman”.
 The Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann says, “These chapters describe more than we want to know about David and more than we can bear to understand about ourselves”.

The point is not that we wallow in our sins. The point is that we see ourselves honestly. The point is that we are aware of our weaknesses and the damage we are capable of producing. Psalm 51 is described as being connected to David after he is confronted by God through Nathan. It starts, 

“Have mercy on me, O God, According to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”

 The point is not to wallow in being a sinner, but to seek forgiveness and healing. That is what God wants to offer us. God does not want us to be in a state of denial, God wants the disease exposed and diagnosed so the cure can be applied.

God does not want us to lead a life that is obsessed with sin (wallowing or denying).He wants us to address it honestly so it can be healed by Christ. What he really wants is for us to be obsessed with Christ and his kingdom. That is where the fullness of life is to be found. 

Amen.

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[1] Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men…”