The Corruption of Power - Sermon for Pentecost 10B (2 Samuell 11-12)
King David was a man after God’s own heart; a man whom God made great. Many of us have embraced the story of the shepherd king who plays the harp and writes songs of praise to God. When Jesus came upon the scene centuries later, people hailed him as the Son of David and Messiah as they welcomed him into Jerusalem. This David we have embraced seems to have been a really nice guy, but there is more to David’s story that is rather unsettling. While David successfully united the tribes of Israel after the death of King Saul, established a new capital at Jerusalem, and built a very nice house for himself, having reached the heights of power corruption caught hold of him. As Lord Acton famously stated: “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
The author of 2 Samuel wasn’t afraid to spill the beans about the dark side of David’s personality. Apparently, David could be ruthless and worse. One of the examples of David’s darker side comes in chapter 11. When it came time for the kings to head out to battle, David stayed home and relaxed in his new palace. One day David went out on the roof of his palace and looked around at the city below. When he spied a beautiful woman taking a bath, he had his assistants bring her to him so he could take her to his bed. This woman whom David desired was named Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of the officers in David’s army. Since you don’t say no to the king, Bathsheba didn’t have a choice when David essentially forced himself on her. As for Uriah, he was off doing what David was supposed to be doing. Things got more complicated when Bathsheba became pregnant. Since she had been performing the rite of purification after menstruation after Uriah went off to battle, David was the father. So, he decided to cover up his deed by calling Uriah to return home, hoping Uriah would spend the night with his wife. Then when the baby was born everyone would think it was his child.
Unfortunately for David, Uriah was an honorable man who took his duties seriously. So, he chose to sleep on the front porch of the palace rather than his own bed. When David couldn’t entice Uriah to go home to his wife, he devised a plan to have Uriah killed in battle. After word came that Uriah was dead and Bathsheba had time to mourn the death of her husband, David took her his wife and she bore him a son. But, this thing David did displeased God (2 Sam. 11).
Human beings who accumulate great power have a tendency to believe they’re not accountable to anyone, not even the law. So, they can do whatever they please and no one can stop them. They can be quite brazen about their ability to do as they please, while others, seeking to project an image of uprightness, try to cover up their misdeeds. That’s what we have here with David.
Now, there’s a tendency, fostered by Hollywood, to portray the story of David and Bathsheba as a romance. But, there’s nothing romantic about David’s abuse of power that possibly involved the rape of Bathsheba along with the cover up that ended in the murder of Uriah.
David thought he had gotten away with his misdeeds, but God was displeased with what David had done. So, God sent the prophet Nathan, who was David’s spiritual advisor, to confront him with God’s displeasure at David’s misdeeds. Nathan uses a parable that essentially sets a trap for David.
Nathan tells a story involving two men, one who is rich and the other poor. One has many flocks and herds while the other man only has one beloved ewe lamb. This lamb was part of the family. The poor man treated the lamb like a daughter and invited the lamb to share in the family’s meager meals. Then, when a traveler comes to visit the rich man, instead of taking one of the lambs from his many flocks of sheep, the rich man takes the beloved lamb of his poor neighbor and serves it to the traveler. This story so outraged David that he declared: “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” (2 Sam. 12:5-6).
After Nathan got David’s attention, he delivered the punch line: “Thou art the man.” Yes, David is the one who decided he was above the law and could do as he pleased. He took Bathsheba from Uriah, slept with her, and when she got pregnant, had Uriah killed to cover up the pregnancy. Nathan lets David know that consequences will follow his actions that will affect his family, including Bathsheba’s baby. I will admit that I’m uncomfortable with how the author portrays God taking the life of the child, but, according to Nathan, justice will be served.
During my early teens, our nation was scandalized when the President of the United States resigned before he could be impeached and evicted from office. While his successor pardoned him, his corrupt actions included authorizing members of his staff to engage in dirty tricks in pursuit of his reelection and then a failed coverup when things began to unravel. This President thought he was above the law, but discovered that no one is truly above the law. Whatever good he did while President, and he did some good things, would always be tainted by his sins. Like David, that President would reap what he had sown.
We like to think we’re good people, or at least appear to be good people. Being a pastor, I have an image to uphold. Hopefully, despite my faults, I’ve lived up to that image during my years of ministry. Unfortunately, numerous scandals have plagued the clergy in recent years, which has tarnished our collective reputations. Pastors are no longer counted among the most trustworthy professionals. The truth is, it’s easy to fall from grace when we allow power to corrupt us.
Nathan was a truth teller, whose God-ordained job was holding David accountable to God’s ideals for the monarchy. Sometimes leaders appoint people to such positions because they know their advisors will tell them what they want to hear. A good name for them is “Court Preachers.” That’s not how Nathan viewed his calling. He didn’t care about his position at David’s court, so he told David what God wanted David to hear not what David wanted to hear.
David did repent, hoping to forestall the judgment Nathan pronounced, but he and his family still suffered the consequences of his actions. David may not have died because of these actions and his line of succession continued for several centuries, but his household was struck by many great troubles and tragedies. David’s son, Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, which led her brother, Absalom to take revenge by killing Amnon. Later on Absalom rebelled against David, driving David out of Jerusalem, before dying at the hands of David’s general Joab. As for Bathsheba’s baby, he died in infancy. So a reign that began with high hopes ended in tragedy and disgrace.
The stories we read in 2 Samuel invite us to reflect on the ways power can corrupt those who hold it. Nathan reminded David and us as well that we must make ourselves accountable to others, especially to God. That is true in the larger world and in the church. David Fitch writes:
The church is the church only when it lives “under” the power of God. When the church lives this way, it is the church on the right side of power, not the “power over” of the world but the power of God, put “to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (Eph. 1:20-21). It is this God we are called to serve. [Reckoning with Power, p. 184].
While Nathan’s message to David is quite strong, it’s not all bad news. One of the most poignant Psalms is inspired by this encounter. Whether David wrote it or not, Psalm 51 reflects his contrition after Nathan’s visit. David cries out to God:
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. (Ps. 51:1-2).
Then a few verses later he prays:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
(Ps. 51:10-12).
David heard Nathan’s message loud and clear: “You’re the man.” He repents and receives forgiveness, even if he has to live with the consequences of his actions. The Psalm suggests that David’s greatest fear was that God might turn away from him. Instead, God was gracious with him. Therefore, He could take comfort in the joy of God’s offer of salvation. The same is true for us, but we must always remember to remain accountable to God in all things, for in that accountability there is hope for a better future.
Comments