Mid-Advent 2
2
Sam 11:1-27
12/11/13
It reads like the script for an
episode of a prime time television show like Revenge or Scandal. A rich and powerful man looks out of his
window and sees a beautiful woman bathing. The woman is the wife of an employee
in his organization. But the man isn’t
going to let that stop him. She is hot
and he wants her. So he uses his
position and connections to seduce her, and have sex with her.
But then, something happens that he
does not expect. He receives a
message from the woman that says: “I’m pregnant.” So then, he begins to scheme
- setting in motion various plans by which he can arrange a sexual union
between the employee and the woman that will conceal what he has done. When that fails, he arranges for a tragic
“accident” in which the employee is killed.
And so, after the expected time of mourning has passed for the woman, he
takes her as his own wife.
Of course, it’s not a story line
from some television show. Instead, it’s
an account in the Bible of the events that involved King David. Now let’s be honest – there is a lot of wild
stuff in the Bible – especially in the Old Testament. God’s Word doesn’t pull any punches when it
describes the ways that sin has impacted human lives and relationships. The plan that Lot’s daughters carried out in
relation to their father in Genesis chapter 19 is not exactly PG-13 reading.
But this is not just some guy in
biblical history. If the pagan Moabites
and Ammonites that surrounded Israel had their origin in an incestuous
relationship, what’s the big deal? After all, they are the Moabites and
Ammonites. What else do you expect?
Instead, this is king David. This is
the one to whom God made the promise that the Messiah would descend from
him. And it’s not just that these
terrible and sinful events involve David.
They also involve Bathsheba, the woman who became David’s wife and gave
birth to Solomon. They involve the couple through whom the line of the Davidic
kings was continued – in fact the first of the kings in Israel’s history
who descended from David.
That’s the truth that is included in
the statement, “and David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah” which
we find in the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. As I mentioned in the sermon last week, you
don’t expect to find women listed in a biblical genealogy – a genealogy
produced in the setting of first century Judaism. And then this one is doubly strange. First, we have a woman – a mother –
mentioned. And then second, we don’t
even learn her name. She is referred
to as “the wife of Uriah.”
In two ways, the reference to
Bathsheba stands out. It’s
unexpected. And Matthew has included it
in this way for that very reason. It is meant to catch our attention and teach us
about the one announced in the first verse of the Gospel: “Jesus the Christ:
the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Matthew is describing the line of
descendants by which God kept his promise to Abraham and David. He is describing the One who is the Christ –
the One who is Israel’s Messiah and the savior of the whole world. And he
alerts us to the fact that sins of adultery and murder were included in this
descent.
During Advent we are preparing to
celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We
are preparing for Christmas. The time
leading up to Christmas is a joyous and wonderful time. The recent bad weather cancelled school and
almost all activities, and so many of us have had some unexpected free time for
enjoying Christmas preparations. We enjoy the decorating, the baking, the gift
buying and the Christmas music. The
lights on the houses are beautiful, especially when there is freshly fallen
snow on the ground.
The trappings of Christmas are so
enjoyable, that it is easy to forget that Christmas exists because of one
thing: sin. This beautiful and wonderful
time of the year exists because of the ugly, the painful and the horrible. It exists because sin exits.
Sin is what we find in the genealogy
of Jesus Christ. It is found in the phrase: “and David was the father of
Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” In the
next chapter of 2 Samuel we hear about how the prophet Nathan was sent to David
in order to confront the king about his sin.
He told a parable about the terrible behavior of a man that sucked David
into indignation against the sin, and then Nathan dropped the hammer: “You are
the man!” And when it was done, David could say nothing other than, “I have
sinned against the Lord.”
In the aftermath of Nathan’s visit,
the king went on to write Psalm 51. There he said, “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!”
David asked God to forgive him. He confessed, “For I know my transgressions, and
my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is
evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in
your judgment.”
These are our words too. When we
pause to reflect upon the role that God and his Means of Grace actually play in
our life, we see our sin. When we consider the words that we use in talking
about others, we see our sin. When we
take note of the lust that dwells in our heart and that we so often indulge in
our minds, we see our sin.
In the midst of our preparation for
Christmas, the inclusion of the wife of Uriah – Bathsheba - in the genealogy of
Jesus assures us that Christmas exists because of sin – your sin. It is because of your sin that the Son of God
was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. It is because of your
sin that he went to the cross.
Jesus said of his ministry, “The Son
of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many.” Jesus Christ was nailed to
the cross in order to receive God’s wrath against sin. He received the wrath of
God against David and Bathsheba’s sin. He received the wrath of God against your
sin. And by doing this – by dying on the cross and then rising from the
dead – he has won forgiveness for all of their sins and all of your sins.
He has given you the peace of knowing that your sin cannot separate you from
God. It cannot keep you dead. It cannot prevent you from enjoying eternal
life with the risen Lord – the Lord who descended from David, the father of
Solomon by the wife of Uriah.
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