The Rest of the Story (Rewind)

Introduction

In the days since the deadly shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado that killed 12 and injured 58 others as of this writing, friends may be wondering if I plan on posting something about it.  Well, when I started this ministry, I didn't necessarily want my lessons to pander to the local events of the day. This seems to be the lowest common denominator for many Sunday sermons and I didn't want to capitalize on someone else's pain or manipulate people's emotions. Furthermore, this particular ministry has the added dimension of being read around the world including some countries where senseless and gratuitous violence is often a daily reality. Because I haven't specifically mentioned the many instances of awful violence around the world to this point, I don't want my readers in other parts of the world to think that I am less heartbroken by the pain they experience by only highlighting the horrendous event in Aurora, Colorado. However, in light of this incident of violence as well as the recent bus bombing in Bulgaria, the church bombings in Nigeria, the daily killings in Syria and the many senseless killings elsewhere in the world as well as a myriad of other heartbreaking losses from various causes, I wanted to repost a lesson from last year with a few additions.

“Do You Believe In God?”

 “She was 17 years old. He stood glaring at her, his weapon before her face. ‘Do you believe in God?’ She paused. It was a life-or-death question. ‘Yes, I believe in God.’ ‘Why?’ asked her executioner. But he never gave her the chance to respond. The teenage girl lay dead at his feet.”[1]

17-year old Rachel Scott lay dead at the feet of evil and hatred. And here’s a bit of cruel irony. Not a month before she was murdered, this is what she wrote in her personal journal; “I dare to believe that I can start a chain reaction through acts of kindness and compassion.” Instead, the story that was to be her life was over and we want (often demand) to know why. We find ourselves asking, “What about the rest of the story?” We want the rest of the story! Where do we go when we don’t know the rest of the story –when the world is crashing in on us? To whom can we turn? There was a man, a king really, named David who answers some of our questions in one of the Psalms that he wrote. It’s Psalm 11 and I’d like to take a look at it together to see if it contains some answers to the questions we cry out when life begins to break down. Take a minute to read through Psalm 11:

Psalm 11

¹ In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: "Flee like a bird to your mountain. ² For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. ³ When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" ⁴ The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them. ⁵ The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates. ⁶ On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. ⁷ For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.

Can I just be honest with you for a minute? I really struggle with this. I don’t mean that I don’t believe it or know it to be true. What I mean is that sometimes that truth doesn’t make it the 18” or so from my head to my heart. I don’t know if your faith ebbs and flows like mine, but some days I believe that God is the answer to all my questions and other days I don’t think anyone has the answers to my questions. I wonder if this may have been the case for David as well because in Psalm 13 David starts out saying, “How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” I don’t know but certainly on the day he wrote Psalm 11, he believed God was the answer to all his questions.

I’m not really convinced of the exact circumstances surrounding this Psalm. Some scholars believe it was written during the time when David was being hunted by a crazed king Saul. Others believe it was written while David was hiding and on the run from his murdering son, Absalom, who was bent on taking David’s throne by force. Regardless of the precise circumstances that precipitated the writing of this Psalm, these two events (and there were many others) demonstrate that David endured some very dark moments in his life. At times, these troubling times must have generated some serious life questions for David. Questions like, “Why me?” or “How long is this going to last?” or maybe even “God! Where are you?” Nevertheless, this Psalm shows us that David could still say, “In the midst of fear and trouble, God is still in control!” David is telling us that we can, “Trust God because He knows the rest of the story!”

Here’s how the verses break down in terms of their application. The first three verses introduce us to the difficulty in David’s life. Even though David experienced and endured some very difficult events, we don’t have to be hunted by a crazy king to be able to relate to him. For example, you might have a boss who is constantly riding you about your work. Or perhaps you have a teacher who unfairly criticizes your hard work. You might even be experiencing an illness either personally or through someone close to you that has dramatically impacted your life. Or maybe you are in the midst of a marriage that just isn’t what it used to be or what you hoped it would be. Regardless of your particular circumstances, you have the same response choices as David. Among other things, these verses teach us that we can respond to fear and trouble in one of two ways--we can either run from God or we can run to God. David is calling us to Trust God because He knows the rest of the story! Verses 4&5 tell us that God is not caught off guard but instead He sees all things. Nothing is or can be hidden from God. Think about this for a minute. Do you really think God is in heaven looking down on the struggles in your life wringing His hands saying, “Wow! I didn’t see that coming. I’m gonna need some time to figure out what to do with that.” Do you think that when we cry out to God that He says, “Gosh Joe, thanks for letting me know about that. I’ve been kind of busy over here with Sarah’s problems and I kind of lost track of what was going on in your life.” Instead, we can agree with David when we say that God is never surprised by the fear and trouble in our lives—we can Trust God because he knows the rest of the story! Finally, the last two verses close the loop by showing us that God will punish the unrighteous and reward the righteous. This is really the part that is most important to us, particularly because we don’t always experience immediate relief from our fear and trouble. In fact, relief often doesn’t come to us in this life but only in the life to come. In any event, we only have a perspective of the present and the past. So David shows us the big picture of how God works so that we can say, “Trust God because He knows the rest of the story!”

Let me show you how this has worked in my own life. When my oldest daughter was just 6 years old, she slipped on the wet bathroom floor and broke her leg. When we took her to the hospital for treatment, we were shocked when x-rays revealed a tumor in her leg that caused her femur to weaken and break. Our lives crashed when we heard two words; “Pediatric oncology.” During the days and weeks that followed, we pursued less invasive treatment options to start with and I prayed desperately for healing. The alternative treatment was surgery and a long recovery. At the end of the initial treatment period, it was immediately determined that the less invasive treatment was unsuccessful and that the more invasive procedure was required. Honestly, I was disappointed with God. I knew He could heal her through the work of the doctors, but I didn’t want my daughter to have to go through the trauma of surgery. Ultimately, although the surgery was successful, I struggled with the nagging question of why God didn’t answer my prayer. About a year after the surgery, I was putting her to bed on some particular night and we talked about the previous Sunday’s message on being thankful. I asked her if there was anything she was particularly thankful for. She said she was thankful God was with her during her surgery because it brought them closer together. I saw no redeeming purpose in what she had to endure, yet God was using it to develop a deeper relationship with my daughter. I didn’t understand because of my limited perspective. So instead of questioning God, I should have Trusted God because He knew the rest of the story. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, I was fortunate to find out the rest of the story but not everyone is that fortunate. We witness and endure many tragic events without every knowing God’s purpose behind those events. In other words, we seldom find out the rest of the story. For example, after 9/11, lots of people had lots of questions. Questions like, “Why would God allow something like this to happen?” and “What good could possibly come from this?” Honestly, I’m not sure we’ll ever know the rest of the story behind the tragic events of that day during this life. But, sometime after the events of 9/11, the folks at The King’s College in New York in partnership with Priority Associates produced a little booklet titled, remembrance-fallen but not forgotten, with heroic stories and other words of encouragement for the people of New York and elsewhere whose lives were forever changed by the events of 9/11. A man named Darrell was one of the contributors to this piece. He wrote.

“Shortly after hearing the news of our nation’s multiple tragedies, I wrote this simple poem:

The pain, it seems will never end

The hurt is here to stay

The agony within my soul

Will never go away

It seems that it’s impossible

For me to ‘make it through’

(I know that feeling, precious friend, for I have been there too)

I won’t attempt to offer cures

That will not ease your pain

But I will say, the life you lost—

It was not lived in vain

It’s been dispersed in memories

That now reside in you

And in the months and years to come

They’ll help you make it through

Today you feel the dark despair

Today you mourn and cry

But from the seeds of memory

That life will multiply

The torment seems too much to bear

The whole world seems insane

But if their life reflects through you

They did not die in vain!

I’m so grateful that I chose to turn to my Heavenly Father for strength and comfort in my own personal loss. There I found the courage to forgive, the strength to ‘let go’ and the ability to see beyond the tragedy to a divine purpose that has slowly emerged with time.”[2]

            That beautiful piece was part of a chain reaction that has brought comfort and encouragement to thousands. You see, Darrell was uniquely qualified to write this piece because of the tremendous loss he experienced in his own life. Darrell lost someone very close to him. I’m sure you know her. Her life and especially her death inspired thousands and it inspired him to reach out to a hurting world with a message of hope and encouragement. We wondered at the beginning of this lesson about the rest of Rachel Scott’s story. Would you say that her death was really the end of the story of her life? Not if you knew that the author of the 9/11 poem was Darrell Scott—the father of Rachel Scott…Trust God because He knows the rest of the story!

Dr. Larry Crabb, gives voice to God’s heart when he writes,

“God says, never ignore your struggle with how I do things. Ask every question that rises in your heart as you live in this world. But prepare yourself to struggle even more with My response. You must stumble in confusion before you dance with joy.

I want you and all My people to know that nothing catches Me off guard—not even Adolf Hitler or Osama Bin Laden. Nothing has happened or ever will happen that I am not using for my purposes.

But what I allow seems to contradict my holy and pure character. I require you to live in the tension between the evil that prospers, whether in the church or in secular society, and My plan to restore the beauty of My character in this world.

Know this: those who live by faith will struggle in ways that those who live to make their lives work will never know. It is that struggle, to believe despite desperate pain and confusion that a good plan is unfolding, that will open your eyes to see Me more clearly. Is that what you want? Will you pay the price?

The price is this: you will tremble in agony as you live in a sinful, self-prioritizing world. You will learn to wait in emptiness and frustrated desire for My plan of love to reveal itself. With confidence in Me and hope in My plan, you will not only feel the pain of living in the valley but also see My glory from the mountaintop of faith.

Only those who struggle in confusion and wait in hope will be strengthened to struggle well and to wait with confidence.

Struggle well! Wait in hope!”[3]

            Laura Story wrote a beautiful song titled Blessings and there is a line in the song that is particularly important to me in light of the above narrative. The lyrics read: “What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is a revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy.” Our sorrow, disappointments, pain and brokenness say something very important—they say “I don’t understand, it’s not supposed to be this way, it can’t end this way!” And we’d be right. It’s because we weren’t made for a broken life or a broken world but this is precisely where humanity’s sin, our sin, has placed us. However, for all those who recognize and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, this life isn’t the whole story. Revelation tells us that one day “He will wipe away every tear from their [believers] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) I’ve included a video link below where you can listen to Laura Story’s beautiful song. While we are in the storm, it is difficult to consider the storm a “blessing.” Yet God has written a grand story and this life is not the end of the story. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection has made it possible to live forever in right relationship with God. Knowing this leads me to say, “Trust God not only because He knows the rest of the story but because he is the rest of the story!”

---

[1] dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs, Jesus Freaks, (Tulsa, OK: Albury Publishing, 1999), p. 17.

[2] Kings College and Priority Associates, remembrance-fallen but not forgotten, (New York, NY: King’s College and Priority Associtates, 2001), p. 7.

[3] Larry Crabb, 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God that Invites you into His Story, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009), pp. 170-172.

With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility

Introduction

The title of this lesson might sound slightly familiar to some of you. Right now you're banging your head on your computer screen trying to figure out where you've heard it before. Relax! It's a take-off from one of my favorite movie lines. It was something Uncle Ben said to his nephew, Peter Parker (Spiderman), just before he dropped Peter at the "library." That was the lie Peter told because he didn't want Uncle Ben to find out that he had entered an organized fighting event so that he could win money to buy a car to impress a girl at school. Stupid right? I know! Like guys never do anything stupid when it comes to girls! Anyway, after the fight, which Peter (Spiderman) wins of course, the fight promoter cheats Peter out of his winnings.  As Peter is leaving, the promoter is robbed of the evening’s proceeds while Peter (Spiderman) does nothing even though he could easily have used his power to do the right thing and stopped the robbery. Instead, he simply steps aside after the thief steals the promoter’s money and runs away. Peter then leaves the fight venue to meet his Uncle Ben back at the "library" where this entire lie originated. However, before he could get there, the thief he failed to stop earlier arbitrarily ran up to Uncle Ben's car in an effort to get away, shot Uncle Ben and stole his car. By the time Peter (Spiderman) got to where Uncle Ben was supposed to pick him up, there was nothing he could do and his Uncle died in his arms. Not everyone has seen this movie so I've included the video clip of this line below. If you follow the trail of events backwards, you will see how each step, beginning with the desire to impress a girl led to the next step of an inappropriate use of power that was followed up by a lie that finally led to the death of someone completely innocent in the matter. Peter (Spiderman) had tremendous power, he had the physical strength to overcome any assailant, he was already a brilliant scientist and as Spiderman, he had the power to inspire others to do great things. However, he neglected the best advice anyone could have given him: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Lest you think this storyline is limited to Hollywood movies, there's a well known biblical story that mirrors, in some respects, the illustration from Spiderman. I'm taking today's lesson from 2 Samuel 11-12:1-14. The main characters are the very powerful King David, the beautiful and married Bathsheba, the faithful soldier and husband of Bathsheba, Uriah, the military leader and enabler Joab, and the wise prophet Nathan. Let's read the story before we begin.

2 Samuel 11-12:1-14

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, ³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. ⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” ⁶ So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. ⁷ When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. ⁸ Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ When David was told, “Uriah did not go home,” he asked him, “Haven’t you just come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?” ¹¹ Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” ¹² Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. ¹³ At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. ¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” ¹⁶ So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. ¹⁷ When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. ¹⁸ Joab sent David a full account of the battle. ¹⁹ He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, ²⁰ the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?

²¹ Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’” ²² The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. ²³ The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. ²⁴ Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” ²⁵ David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” ²⁶ When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. ²⁷ 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.

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. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ 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. ⁴ “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.”

⁵ David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” ⁷ 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. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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.’ ¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

Context

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time then you know what's coming next: Context! Let's place this text into its proper context. The story takes place in Spring (by coincidence) with part of the setting in Jerusalem and part of the setting taking place with Israel at war with the Ammonites at the capital city of Rabbah (modern day Amman).

Text Analysis

Chapter 11

V. 1 is an odd characterization as an event recurring annually not unlike a sporting event. However, it is important to remember that unlike the  battles we are familiar with as we watch a television program that has a specific starting and ending time, battles to capture major fortified cities during the Old Testament era could take years to complete. In essence, attacking forces would blockade the entrance and exit routes of the city and eventually starve the inhabitants into submission or to the point of being so week that attacking forces could eventually break through the fortified perimeter and conquer the city. The text literally reads "the return of the year." "'The return of the year,' wherever it occurs, is taken to mean springtime on the basis of the present passage, since military campaigning began after the onset of the dry season...But the reference here is not to the marching out of kings in general but of some specific kings...This can only refer to the coalition of Aramean kings summoned by the Ammonites in 10:6...Thus 'the return of the year' does not refer to the spring but rather to the coming around again of the time of year at which the Aramean kings marched to the aid of the Ammonites...This was, as a matter of fact, spring."[1]

Casual observers of this text believe that David's trouble began when "Kings go off to war...But David remained in Jerusalem." However, as explained above, this is not what the text is intending to convey. It was not unreasonable for David to remain in Jerusalem until the appropriate time in the battle when he could lead the final push to capture the city, which does in fact occur as recorded in the latter verses of chapter 12. Instead, David's trouble begins in earnest in v. 2. Here we see that David sees a woman bathing from his rooftop vantage point. The text doesn't describe her as just any woman but as " very beautiful." In v. 3 we see that he sends someone to find out about her. David learns that the woman's name is Bathsheba and that she is married to a man named Uriah. Uriah was a soldier. Actually, not just any soldier, Uriah was one of David's 30 elite fighters. In essence, Uriah was a Navy Seal before there were Navy Seals. Before we go any further, I'd like to take some time to tell you a little bit about David's position as king at this particular point in time.

David was in a position of great favor with God. He was blessed beyond measure. David is blessed with power as the anointed king of Israel. He is blessed with safety and security as he is delivered from the murdering rage of King Saul. He is blessed with riches as he is given all of Saul's wealth when God dethrones Saul. He is blessed with women as he takes over Saul's harem and can certainly choose from any and all available women to add to his own harem. It's hard to imagine something that David could possibly be lacking. However, such blessings come with a price. The price is: Responsibility! Responsibility not to abuse the power of being the king of God's chosen people; Responsibility to provide safety and security for those least capable of protecting themselves; Responsibility to use riches without oppressing those who are less fortunate; Responsibility not to use people, especially the weak and helpless, for personal satisfaction or gain. David had tremendous, unimaginable blessing. But With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility. V. 4 is the beginning of David's neglect of his great responsibility in every area of the blessings of his life.

Vv. 4-5 introduces us to the sins that start the ball rolling. David wants what is not his to have. David covets another man's wife when he sends a messenger to bring Bathsheba to him. The NIV says that "She came to him, and he slept with her." Well that doesn't seem so bad. I mean it's kind of like in the movies where the handsome king summons the beautiful maiden to his chamber for that romantic scene! Right? Actually, wrong! The english translation is really not very good in this respect in order to convey precisely what happened when David summoned Bathsheba to his palace. The Hebrew word that translates "He slept with her" is the same Hebrew word used in 2 Sam 13:14 to describe Amnon's rape of his sister Tamar. So, just to be clear, this was not a consensual encounter. David raped another man's wife and got her pregnant!

Vv. 6-25 records David's attempt at a shameless and despicable cover-up. It is often said that the cover-up is far worse than the original crime. In this case, it is difficult to say which is worse, the rape of Bathsheba or what follows. Enter Joab—the leader of David's army and willing accomplice to David's cover-up. David sends word to Joab to send home Uriah under the pretext of simply wanting an update on the status of the battle (as though Joab as the leader of the army wasn’t better equipped to give the King a military update). In any event, Uriah comes to David and gives him a report on the personnel and battle status. Thereafter, David sends Uriah home thinking that he would sleep with his wife after being away at war for probably quite some time. In this way, David was hoping to disguise the fact that he got another man’s wife pregnant and he could claim that Uriah got her pregnant and no one would know what David had done—except Bathsheba and she wasn’t about to tell anyone that the King had raped her! Just David’s luck, Uriah is a man who has something David seems to be lacking—honor! Uriah refuses to return to the comfort of his home and the arms of his wife while his country is at war. Instead, Uriah sleeps in the palace entryway along with all the other servants. Note as well something else that Uriah says: “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents…” One of the reason’s Uriah refuses to return to the comfort of his home is because the ark was being kept in a tent as the temple would not be built until the rule of Solomon. The point I’m trying to make is not that the ark was being kept in a tent but that those were the precise sentiments of David at the beginning of Chapter 7! David was indignant that he would reside in a beautiful palace while the ark was in a tent. “Uriah’s oath is almost a paraphrase of the oath attributed to David by the tradition reflected in Ps 132:3-5:

³ ‘I will not enter my house or go to my bed ⁴ I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, ⁵ till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.’

Now, however, David seems perfectly content to remain in his house, and he must be reminded by one of his own soldiers—one he has wronged—that it is not right to lie in one’s bed when the ark is in the field.”[2]

David orders Uriah to stay one more day before returning to the battle front. The evening before Uriah is to leave, David invites him to dinner at the palace where David gets him drunk in the hope that he would do drunk what he refused to do sober—go home and sleep with his wife. Certainly a soldier who has had too much to drink couldn’t possibly maintain his integrity—David should know, he couldn’t maintain his integrity sober. Unfortunately for David, Uriah was a man of integrity—drunk or sober so he slept at the entrance to the palace again.

After learning that Uriah again did not return to his home, David orders Uriah back to the battle front. However, David sends a letter with Uriah giving Joab specific instructions to place Uriah in a forward battle position and then leave him there without support. David is instructing Joab to hang Uriah out to dry! Uriah unknowingly delivers his own death sentence! Uriah returns to the battle front and delivers David’s letter to Joab. Joab does exactly as he is instructed by David. Joab orders Uriah’s team to the deadliest part of the battle then withdraws his team leaving him to fight all alone. Although Uriah was killed, he was not a casualty of war. Uriah was murdered by David and Joab! Their weapon of choice just happened to be the Ammonite fighters but that’s merely a technicality. Their premeditated and intentional actions and inactions killed Uriah. But before we go any farther, I’d like to say a few things about Joab.

I don’t want to venture too far off the path of our lesson but, from a different perspective, Joab is no different than David. He too has been blessed. He has been blessed with the King’s favor and considerable power along with many other blessings I’m sure. His blessings likewise required great responsibility. Ultimately, Joab, although he was a military warrior was nonetheless a coward! Joab had a duty—a responsibility to refuse to obey David’s instructions. Joab had a responsibility to be obedient to God’s instructions first and foremost, in this case God’s prohibition of murder, and thereafter David’s instructions only if they did not contravene God’s instructions. Refusing to follow David’s instructions may have cost Joab his life but sometimes doing the right thing is costly. Ironically, years later David instructed his son, Solomon, that he was to have Joab killed for Joab’s part in shedding innocent blood (1 Kings 2:5-6)! Unbelievable! You just can’t make this stuff up!

Getting back to the text, Joab sends word back to David giving him a casualty update including the death of Uriah. When David hears about the casualties sustained in battle, he is angry and critical of Joab’s battle strategy until he finds out that Uriah was among the casualties. Suddenly, David’s demeanor changes as he feigns sympathy for the casualties Joab’s men suffered rationalizing that such things are just naturally a part of war. With that, David must have thought that he had succeeded in sweeping this inconvenient mess under the rug. However, there is one last insult to be added to the memory of Uriah. Vv. 26-27 tie a nice little bow on this ugly package that includes, covetousness, adultery, deceit and murder, as David takes Bathsheba to be his wife after she has finished mourning the death of her husband. However, as always, God would have the final say in this matter.

I don’t know about you but this story up to this point always shocks me. But if we were really honest with ourselves, we’d have to admit that we’re really not so different from David. Think about it, there are times that we are very conscious of our actions because we are keenly aware that nothing, absolutely nothing, can be hidden from God. However, there are other times, darker times, when we behave as though God is deaf and blind. Why we do this is probably different for everyone; we think we can outsmart God, or we think God somehow won’t notice, or we forget that God notices everything, or we simply don’t care that God notices. Whatever the specific reason for this dichotomy between our belief at one moment that God is aware of everything and our actions the next moment that seem to say that God is irrelevant, the general reason for what can only be described as a kind of spiritual schizophrenia is the never-ending battle between the already/not-yet aspect of our salvation. We are already saved yet we are also in the process of working out our salvation (Phil 2:12-13). This is true for everyone, including King David. Therefore, because we are a work in progress, God does not give up on any of us. Instead, God brings people and/or circumstances into our lives in order to reorient us back toward a more holistic relationship with him. For David, that process began when the prophet Nathan entered his life.

Chapter 12

In vv. 1-4 Nathan tells David a parable about a rich man that steals the only beloved lamb of a poor man in order to feed a visiting traveler instead of preparing one from his own sheep or cattle which were many. The way that Nathan describes it, the animals belonging to the rich man were for the purpose of physical sustenance while the lamb belonging to the poor man was really a family pet. The rich man stole the poor man’s family pet, killed it and ate it! Let that sink in for just a bit before you rush ahead in the text. In vv. 5-6 David is rightly furious with the rich man as described by Nathan as anyone with a modicum of decency would be. David judges the rich man’s guilt and passes sentence on him. Note the irony: Uriah, in the previous chapter, unknowingly delivers his own death sentence ordered by David and now David unknowingly sentences himself. David’s sentence of restitution is consistent with that prescribed in Exodus 22:1. However, I want you to remember the fourfold restitution and we’ll come back to it later in the lesson.

When David’s righteous indignation seemed to reach its climax, Nathan drops the bomb on him in v. 7 and reveals that the rich man in the story was none other than David himself! Nathan, speaking for God in vv. 7-8, reminds David of the many blessings he enjoyed from God—power, security, riches, and women. God gave him everything and would have given him more. But With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility and David neglected that responsibility when he raped another man’s wife and murdered her husband. Nathan reveals in vv. 9-10 that God was fully aware David’s rape of Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. This time judgment is rendered by the one and only righteous Judge in vv. 11-14. God’s sentence is that; 1) the sword would never leave the household of David (2 Sam 13:26-30; 18:14; 15; 1 Kings 2:23-25; 2) there would be strife from within David’s own family (2 Sam 15:13); 3) David’s wives would be taken and raped in broad daylight (2 Sam 16:20-23); and 4) David’s child would die (2 Sam 12:18). I previously asked you remember the fourfold restitution principal. Well I’d like to circle back to that here. David’s child would not be the last child to die in David’s family. His child would in fact be the first of 4 children to die. “In the Talmud the fourfold compensation was related directly to David’s case: His punishment was the death of four children, viz. the first child of Bathsheba, Tamar, Aminon and Abishalom.”[3] Some might think that even though God’s judgment of David was appropriate, the punishment seemed excessively harsh. However, when we say that With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility, it necessarily requires that with great blessings the negative consequences for failing to accept the responsibility that accrues to those blessings are equally great. Yet God does not abandon David and David does not abandon God. Instead, David confesses his sins, repents and asks for forgiveness. In return, God pours his mercy on David, as he does on all of us when we do the same thing, and forgives David and restores the relationship. This pattern is consistent throughout scripture: Confession—Repentance—Forgiveness (See previous post—Label: Pastoral Care; Title: Tough Love; Date: 5/16/12). However, it is very important to remember that forgiveness of sin is not synonymous with forgiveness of consequences. And David suffered every last one of the consequences of his sins.

Application

Although few, if any, of us can claim that we have committed rape or murder let alone both, we are hardly different from David. Most of us, if we think about it, have been tremendously blessed by God. Most of us (although I know not all of us) live free of persecution. Most of us live in relative safety and comfort. Most of us have adequate and sometimes more than adequate financial resources. And most of us have access to fulfilling relationship—sexual and/or otherwise. In short, we have received great blessings. But what is the purpose of those blessings? Are we blessed for our own benefit? I believe we are, but only in part. God blesses us because he loves us. Although God loves everyone, he does not bless everyone the same way. This is clearly by design as we were intended to live in community with one another so that our unique blessings could also be a blessing to others. When we have been blessed with great power, we have a responsibility to use that power to care for those who are weak and stand up for those who are oppressed. “No matter how much power we hold, we too can fall. We must learn from David to guard our relationships carefully and to use power in ways that are never tyrannical and despotic.”[4] When we have been blessed with safety and security, we have a responsibility to advance the safety and security of those most vulnerable in our society. When we have been blessed with riches, we have a responsibility to resist the urge to keep our riches only for ourselves but instead we must use our riches to care for those who are least able to care for themselves. This is not a matter of wealth distribution. I’m not talking about caring for those who will not care for themselves. I’m talking about those who cannot care for themselves. Finally, we have all been blessed with the ability to be in relationship with one another. Granted, some are better at it than others. Nevertheless, we all have a responsibility not to exploit anyone for any reason but especially not for our own personal satisfaction. I’d like to extend this line of thinking in two other areas as well. As believers, we have been blessed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore we have a responsibility to be faithful to his commands and tell others about him. As unbelievers, you have been blessed by God’s common grace as the sun rises and falls the same on everyone, as the rain is just as wet when it falls on believers and unbelievers. Similarly, unbelievers have been blessed with the opportunity to accept God’s free gift of salvation and have a responsibility to consider the offer with all sincerity. Many of us float through life assuming that the blessings of our lives are only for our own personal enjoyment and satisfaction. However, that attitude ultimately leads to manipulation and exploitation of people for selfish gain. David had to learn a hard lesson and we would do well to learn from David’s mistake in order to avoid making the same mistake ourselves. We must learn that With Great Blessing Comes Great Responsibility.

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[1] P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., The Anchor Bible—II Samuel, (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1984), pp. 284-285.

[2] Ibid., pp. 286-287.

[3][3] Ibid., p. 299.

[4] Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel, The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2003), p. 545.

A Truly Sovereign God

Introduction

The debate over God’s divine providence is by no means a recent phenomenon. In fact, the issue was debated long before the time of James Arminius (1560-1609) or John Calvin (1509-1564). Great theologians such as Origen (185-254 AD), Augustine (354-430 AD) and others have similarly wrestled with this matter of God’s divine providence. In God’s Lesser Glory, author Bruce Ware analyzes and compares the deficiencies of open theism’s position on divine providence, which is loosely associated with Arminianism, with his own position on divine providence, which is aligned closely with traditional Calvinism. In The God Who Risks, author John Sanders does essentially the opposite. Citing instead his preference to the position of open theism or “relational theism” as he calls it, over against Ware’s theology of divine providence. Sadly, the books read like a “my God’s better than your God” exposé on the theology of divine providence. To begin with, let’s look at the basic arguments and the most compelling major points made by each author.

God’s Lesser Glory

Ware makes his argument from the position that God has exhaustive divine foreknowledge and governs the affairs of all his creation according to such knowledge. More specifically, “God’s omniscience encompasses comprehensive knowledge of the past, present and future.”[1] The future-knowledge aspect of this position is probably the most compelling of the many cogent positions of Ware’s argument. It is from this position that he can logically make his other important arguments. One such argument is God’s perfect wisdom. Ware contends that because God has exhaustive knowledge of the future, his actions and judgments are always according to his perfect will. Consequently, God’s promises can always be trusted because he knows the end from the beginning.

Additionally, Ware claims that his model makes it possible to look to God for divine guidance to live the Christian life. Because of exhaustive future knowledge, we can have confidence that God has a perfect plan for his creation. Ware writes, “If we wonder whether God knows for sure what he is doing, and if we doubt that his will and ways are always best, why should we trust him instead of simply following our own instincts, thoughts, and desires in charting our future?”[2]

Finally, Ware asserts that there is great comfort in knowing that God is in complete control of everything under his model of divine providence. Nothing can take God by surprise because he knows all future events. Nowhere is this aspect more important than when facing the tragic twists and turns that life can often take and which can often produce pain and suffering. With respect to this, Ware writes, “The message of the Bible is that suffering has meaning, God is in control over it and over all else, and so life can be lived by faith in the infinitely wise and powerful God.”[3]

The God Who Risks

Sanders argues for his model of divine providence from the position that God has exhaustive knowledge of the past and the present but not of the future. Instead, the future is open to both God and man and God has given man freedom to cooperate with him to bring about his perfect will. Naturally, by partnering, in a sense, with fallible humans, God risks not always getting what he wants. However, this model, according to Sanders, creates the only environment where there can be a true give-and-take relationship between Creator and his creatures. For example, with respect to Mary and Joseph and their role in the incarnation, Sanders writes, “God places his trust in them [Mary and Joseph], giving his consent to the risks involved. The incarnation does not come about through sheer overwhelming power but through the vulnerability of being genuinely dependent on some Jewish peasants.”[4] Consequently, Sanders prefers to use the title “Relational Theism” for his position as opposed to “Open Theism” as it is more commonly understood. This relationship aspect is also one of Sanders’ most compelling arguments for his position.

In addition, Sanders’ argues that this position is the only one that can truly support a healthy and dynamic life of prayer. Sanders makes the point that God genuinely seeks our prayers and input when he writes, “God considers others as having something significant to say. Because God desires a genuine relationship, he is open to his creatures, especially through prayer.”[5]

Finally, Sanders contends that his model is the only reasonable way to explain pain and suffering associated with what he calls gratuitous evil. According to Sanders, because the future is yet unknown to both God and man, some terrible things happen (i.e. murder, rape, etc.) that are unexpected and have no purpose. To explain his position Sanders writes, “When a two-month-old contracts a painful, incurable bone cancer that means suffering and death, it is pointless evil. The Holocaust is pointless evil.  The rape and dismemberment of a young girl is pointless evil…God does not have a specific purpose in mind for these occurrences.”[6] Consequently, according to Sanders, God can become a comforting partner in our pain and suffering as opposed to being its perceived source even if that source is considered a secondary cause. Having outlined the basic argument and compelling major points for each position, we can now evaluate some of the most significant similarities and differences between Ware, Sanders and my own position.

Comparative Analysis

An important theme that is shared by both authors is that God is omniscient and is therefore supremely capable of governing the affairs of his creation. Additionally, both authors acknowledge God’s transcendence and his immanence. God is not just some far-off, disinterested Being but instead, while certain aspects of God’s character are beyond our grasp, he is a God who draws near and is genuinely interested in a relationship with his creation. Finally, both authors agree that God is sovereign over his creation. These areas of commonality are necessarily general because within each of these areas of understanding, each author diverges in a pattern that supports their understanding of the character of God and how he deals with his creation.

With respect to God’s omniscience, I agree with Ware when he asserts, “God’s omniscience encompasses comprehensive knowledge of the past, present and future.”[7] As a consequence, God is fully trustworthy when it comes to fulfilling his promises. Sanders, on the other hand, understands omniscience differently when he writes, “Omniscience may be defined as knowing all there is to know such that God’s knowledge is coextensive with reality.”[8] This understanding necessarily excludes knowledge of the future since the future has not yet been realized. However, this understanding seriously undermines God’s ability to be faithful to his promises. Much, if not all, of the Christian life depends on the fulfillment of God’s promises. Some examples are:  God’s promise of the forgiveness of sins for those who believe in Christ and God’s promise of an eternal life with him, without pain, suffering or death for those who believe in Christ. Christian faith and hope sit firmly on the foundation of these and the rest of God’s promises. Faith and hope cannot help but be shaken if God were somehow not certain of all future events. For example, I seldom use the words “I promise” because they necessarily connote that I know the future and am certain that I can fulfill my promise. Obviously, this is not the case because I am limited in my knowledge of future events that may preclude me from keeping my promise. Consequently, if I fail to keep a promise, that would make me a liar. Similarly, if God failed to keep his promise, it would make him a liar. However, because God does not lie (1 Sam. 15:29) he must have exhaustive knowledge of all future events in order to faithfully keep the promises he makes.

With respect to God’s transcendence and immanence, Ware describes God’s immanence within the boundaries of his divine plan for his creation. This does not necessarily preclude a personal relationship with God but establishes a divine blueprint for that relationship. In Sanders’ model, God’s immanence is so elevated that God and his creation appear to be virtually equal. For example, Sanders writes, “Human faith and action make a difference to God in the fulfillment of his plans. In choosing to depend on human beings for some things, God takes the risk of being either delighted or disappointed in what transpires.”[9] He goes on to affirm with respect to prayer that, “Prayer has to do with that which brings the human and the divine factors into the fullest possible power-sharing effectiveness.”[10] Sanders assumes that Ware’s model of God’s divine plan overshadows God’s immanence in favor of his transcendence. This plan, or blueprint as it is often referred to in more pejorative terms, is often used to demonstrate that we are not free creatures but puppets on a string and God as the glorified puppeteer. Consequently, critics claim, the dynamic of a true relationship does not exist because God has already planned everything out for us. However, one must wonder, does that then mean that Jesus was not free but merely a puppet when he said he only did what pleased the Father (Jn. 8:29)? Certainly not! Ware writes, “True freedom, according to Jesus, is living life his way.”[11] What critics, including Sanders, fail to mention about God’s blueprint for our lives is that we don’t have a complete and detailed copy. Therefore the dynamics of our relationship with God is manifest in our attempt to ascertain God’s will generally and his will for our lives more specifically. This is especially important given the fact that we are called to follow Christ and his ways. We are called to be obedient to his teachings on how we should live. It only seems logical that if we are instructed to follow someone into territory that is unfamiliar to us (the future) that we should follow not just someone with a map but the Mapmaker himself!

Both authors agree that God is sovereign over his creation. However, their divergence on this matter stems from the type of sovereignty God employs—either general or specific sovereignty. Sanders claims that God employs general sovereignty over his creation thereby keeping intact human freedom of choice. In describing God’s general sovereignty Sanders writes, “…general sovereignty denies that each and every event has a specific divine intention. God may intensify his ongoing activity to bring about some particular event, but God’s normal way of operating is to allow the creatures significant freedom and, consequently, not to control everything.”[12] However, the problem with this position is immediately obvious when later Sanders writes, “General sovereignty allows for things to happen that are not part of God’s plan for our lives; it allows for pointless evil.”[13] Is this a God that we can put our faith in? A God who sympathetically stands by us but is nevertheless helpless to do anything because some events fall outside the scope of his sovereignty. This seems highly untenable for a God who created the entire universe! Somehow it seems like an attempt to give God a convenient alibi for someone in the midst of a crisis, but is it a true reflection of God’s character and sovereignty? I don’t believe it is. Instead, Ware’s position of specific sovereignty seems far more consistent with God’s overall character and behavior. When Jesus sends out the disciples as recorded in Matthew 10, he warns them of the persecution, suffering and possible death that awaits them. However, he reassures them of God’s control in all things when he says to them, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Matt. 10:28-31).” Sanders asserts that this text is not even talking about God’s sovereignty but that it is Jesus’ way of encouraging them that, “They are not to doubt God’s concern for them, even in the midst of such horrible experiences.”[14] Frankly, that’s a sad commentary on Sanders’ part. Certainly, Sanders’ understanding is part of the intent of this text but that’s not the whole story. Donald A. Hagner in his commentary on Matthew writes: “Two illustrations of the unrestricted attention of God to even the smallest things of life are now provided: the death of a sparrow and the very number of hairs on one’s head. The implication is not only that these things do not escape the notice of, ‘your Father,’ a term of intimacy and endearment, but that they too fall within the scope of his sovereign power and care.”[15] In short, what good is it to trust a God that is concerned about me but not in control? Instead these verses seem analogous to a kind of “spectrum text” as described by Ware as showing that while we may endure hardships, persecution and even death in this world, both big problems and small problems, life and death are all within God’s control. How else can the words of Jesus “Yet not one of them [sparrows] will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father (emphasis added)” be interpreted? God, by his specific sovereignty, uses events in our lives, even if they are tragic, to accomplish his perfect will. All events in our lives have profound meaning and purpose in the economy of God

            Although it is not the intent of this lesson, some of you might be wondering how God’s sovereignty affects our salvation. Without going into significant detail, there are two positions that correspond with our lesson: The Calvinist position and the Arminian position. Generally speaking, Calvinists subscribe to the theology that God elects/chooses in advance those that will be saved. Arminians subscribe to the theology that everyone has the opportunity to be saved based on their freedom to choose for themselves whether to accept God’s free gift of salvation, although not everyone will be saved because not everyone will accept that gift. There is sound biblical support for both views although there is substantially more support for the latter view as opposed to the former. Many have argued that the two views are usually at odds with one another. I find that to be wholly unnecessary. While I’m not one to be wishy-washy on biblical matters, I’d like to postulate the possibility that there is a middle path that respects both theological positions. If we assume, rightly so I believe, that God’s will is always accomplished, then is it unreasonable to believe that both positions are possible? For the most part, God allows people the freedom to choose the gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ. However, in order for God’s will to be accomplished at all times, God specifically elects/chooses some to be saved. In this way, the biblical witness of both theological positions is preserved. Regardless of which position you choose, the only position that I believe is unbiblical is any position that advances the idea that God is somehow not in complete control of every possible outcome. There is no biblical support for that view.

Application

Pain and suffering can often distort our understanding of God. For example, we may assume that if God is fully in control of all events because he is fully aware of all past, present and future then God should be able to protect us from pain and suffering. The short answer is that God can protect us from pain and suffering but the correct answer is that God uses pain and suffering in our lives to bring about his perfect will.

Let me offer an example from my own life. When my oldest daughter was seven years old, she slipped and fell on the wet bathroom floor and broke her leg. X-rays revealed that she had a bone tumor in her leg that weakened the bone. Her doctor said that she would require surgery to remove the tumor and repair the bone. I agreed to the surgery that was prescribed but during the intervening weeks I prayed fervently that God would heal her so she would not have to go through the painful surgery and recovery. After four weeks, x-rays revealed that her condition had not changed and she would, in fact, have to go through with the surgery. The surgery was successful but I struggled (actually I was angry) for months thereafter wondering why God did not answer my prayers and protect my daughter from the painful surgery and recovery. Unfortunately, most people do not get answers to their “why” questions, but I did. About a year after the surgery, I was talking to my daughter about the things we are thankful for and I asked her if there was anything that she was particularly thankful for. She said that she was thankful that God was with her when she went through her surgery. Her words pierced my heart. Her faith grew out of that experience. Yet I could only see that in retrospect whereas God saw it in advance. As a result, he accomplished his perfect will, in both of us, through her pain and suffering. This is precisely what Ware acknowledges with his model. Sanders, on the other hand, could only affirm with this model that while God sympathetically stands by us during such times, he is nevertheless simply a bystander reacting to events that may or may not be part of his plan.

Both Ware and Sanders are clearly passionate about their view of God and his providence. While I don’t doubt Sanders’ sincerity, I find his model severely deficient and inconsistent with the overall understanding of God in scripture as a whole. However, I must confess that I am one of those identified by Sanders as waffling at times between believing that God is fully in control when my circumstances are agreeable and at times denying that he is in control of everything when I encounter struggles in my life. However, that comes from sheer ignorance of who God is and an unwillingness at times to accept that his will is perfect. What I have learned is that my relationship with God is not a relationship of convenience or comfort as is often the case between peers but one of honor and worship as between Creator and created. This has a profound influence on my ministry as well. My vocation often places me in peoples’ lives during times of change, trouble and stress. I have often talked with these people about the comfort of a relationship with a God that has everything under control even when it seems that everything is out of control. In a world that tries to pull us in every direction, people are desperately looking for an anchor—for something that won’t change. A God who does not change and who knows the beginning from the end can provide such an anchor. A God that is immutable (unchanging), wholly sovereign and in complete control of all things necessarily implies unity because all things are held together by him (Col 1:17) and fall under his sovereign control. And because God’s will does not change and is going in a specific direction, it is our obligation to seek that will not only individually but corporately as well. This is what has created the unity of the Church throughout the ages as J. I. Packer writes in his book Knowing God, “Thus it appears that the truth on which we must dwell in order to dispel this feeling that there is an unabridgeable gulf between the position of men in Bible times and our own, is the truth of God’s immutability.”[16] While having a relationship with a God that is more like an equal might sound romantic to some, I rather prefer to a God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and who knows my life from beginning to end and has everything under control. I prefer A Truly Sovereign God!

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[1] Bruce A. Ware, God’s Lesser Glory, (Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, 2000), p. 99.

[2] Ware, God’s Lesser Glory, p. 177.

[3] Ibid., p. 216.

[4] John Sanders, The God Who Risks, (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1998), p. 93.

[5] Ibid., p. 53.

[6] Ibid., p. 262.

[7] Ware, God’s Lesser Glory, p. 99.

[8] Sanders, The God Who Risks, p. 194.

[9] Ibid., p. 53.

[10] Ibid., p. 54.

[11] Ware, God’s Lesser Glory, p. 186.

[12] Sanders, The God Who Risks, p. 214.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Sanders, The God Who Risks, p. 112.

[15] Donald A. Hagner, Word Biblical Commentary, (Word Books, Dallas, TX, 1993), p. 286.

[16] J. I. Packer, Knowing God, (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1973), p. 68.