Good morning
I have two talks, that I am prepared to give today. Who would like to hear the one titled “Catholics and
Stories of the Bible”? And who would like to hear the soap opera titled, “Sex, lies, incest, violence, and
murder”? Just out of curiosity – how many of you think I am pretty lazy and both talks are the same?
We, as Catholics are terrible when it comes to reading the Bible. How many of you have a Bible
somewhere on a bookshelf with beautiful gold embossed edging on the side of the pages that never is
opened?
(Harry Potter required here). Holding up Harry Potter, how many of you have read this book? To those
with their hands held up, I will hand the book to someone and ask them to read the first two sentences
under the 1st post-it note. Then, hand the book to the next person and read the first 2 sentences under
the next post-it note. (repeat this 4-5 times). If this was the only way that you could read Harry Potter,
how many of you would have any idea what Harry Potter is about? Well, this is the way that Catholics
read the Bible, and just to make sure that we get it, after three years of reading a sentence here, and a
sentence over there, we repeat the cycle of everything we just did. Would you ever understand
anything about Harry Potter this way? Would you even care to read the book? Would JK Rowling be
rich if we read her books this way?
The next way to read the Bible is to start at the beginning and read through to the end. Has anyone ever
tried this? (Hand out the $100 bill if there are any takers here.)
OK – for the rest of you, you start with Genesis, and you have the creation of the earth, Noah, and the
flood, Moses, the 10 commandments – that’s not so bad, kind of interesting actually. Next is Exodus
and Moses leading the tribes out of Israel (What was the movie with Mariah Carey and Whitney
Houston singing “When you Believe?” The prince of Egypt - $100 moves). Not bad. Then we have
Leviticus. Stop reading right here. The Levites were lawyers. How many of you enjoy reading the fine
print of your cell phone contract, or your Apple iTunes / iPod agreements? That is the way that Leviticus
is written, and it’s all in fine print. Boring!
Let’s just pretend that you keep reading right through Leviticus. Eventually you get to 1st and 2nd Kings.
Now, what you have to know about these books is that basically there are two groups of tribes, one in
the North, and one in the South. Unfortunately, when reading about the tribes in the North, their only
frame of reference is regarding who is the King of the South. And when reading about the tribes of the
South, their only frame of reference is who the King is in the North. Are you confused yet?
Reading the Bible is difficult, and Catholics do not make it any easier. And yet, it is a treasure chest of
stories and advice to help you with your life.
I’m going to tell you a story today from the Bible about a rock hero. For the girls, this is Zac Efron, or
Chris Brown, and for the guys, this is Brett Favre, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer. One guy – he is all these
things. He is the Old Testament’s Golden Child, extremely good looking, extremely athletic, an
accomplished musician (he played the harp), and a brilliant poet. He is the original Alpha-male. He had
chariots, he had property, he had animals, he had slaves, he had wives, he had concubines – he had it
all. The people loved him. Do any of you have any idea who I’m talking about ($100 moves)?
The Bible’s first superstar is David. If you remember, he was the 8th and youngest son of Jessie – the
runt. He was out in the fields tending sheep when Samuel anointed him as the Spirit of the Lord came
down upon David. Saul (the current King), didn’t care much for David, and tried to kill him. However,
David continued to elude Saul, and his growing conquest’s made him more and more popular with the
people. Perhaps you remember when he slayed a certain giant with his slingshot – who remember’s the
giant’s name ($100 moves)? This win, resulted in a great win for Israel, and made Saul try to kill David
with even greater intensity and frequency as each attempt failed.
Because of this, David was in a really weird position of trying to destroy Saul’s enemies while trying to
flee from Saul, himself. However, David refused to lift his sword against Saul. Eventually Saul was killed
in battle, and the entire people rallied behind David and he was crowned King. During David’s time, the
kingdom of Israel grew.
Typically, the king and the troops would rest during the harsh winters, and in the spring, would go out
and conquer (pillage) new territory. Well, after many years of this, David really didn’t feel like sleeping
in tents on the ground with the troops. And this years conquests were really just a mop-up from the
previous year. The Bible says that Joab led the troops into battle while David remained at home this
particular spring - – he had spring fever. On one specific day, the Bible says that he arose in the
evening. Come on – how many of you would like to wake up in the evening and start your day? David
was goofing off. So, he gets out of bed at the crack of 6pm (or so), and he decides to take a stroll on the
roof. (That’s what I always do when I wake up at 6pm.) As he is walking around, he hears something.
He looks over the edge of the roof and ShaZAM!
He sees a women bathing, and the women was very beautiful in appearance AND SHE WAS NAKED. The
setting on a late afternoon in Jerusalem some 3,000 years ago. A beautiful young woman bathes on the
roof under the last rays of dusk, watched by the lustful eyes of a hidden admirer. Perhaps she looks like
a Rembrandt nude—all dark shadows and pale flesh. Or perhaps she appears more like a Rubens,
partially swathed in dark fabric and tended by her servants. Anyway, we have a peeping David on the
loose.
David goes back into his room, and inquires about the young lass. He learns that her name is Bathsheba,
and she was the:
-
beautiful grand-daughter of Ahitophel, who was a political counselor of David
daughter of Eliam, a member of the elite warrior group called The Thirty
wife of Uriah, the Hitite, also one of The Thirty and a high-ranking professional soldier.
So, she was married, and her husband and father were both part of his elite guard, the Thirty. (Think
Navy Seals and Secret Service all wrapped up into one – they were the best of the best to protect King
David.) They were champions, known for the proven heroism and bravery.
So, what did David do? The troops were all away at war. David sent a message to Bathsheba, and she
came to him and he lay with her. I can see the headlines now – King in sex romp with naked women.
Is this the end of story – no way! What do you think happens next – actually, it’s rather inevitable?
($100 moves). A short time later, Bathsheba sends word to David that she is “with child”. She tells
David to do something as her husband is away at war and people will know. Talk about an OMG
moment. You know the commandments - Adultery is punishable by death (death by stoning, actually)
for both parties. What is David to do? Do you think he turned himself over to the mercy of the court?
Of course not, this is David, God’s chosen one, he can do whatever he wants to do. (but it better be
something really brilliant, so he doesn’t get caught.)
What do you think King David does ($100 moves)?
David sent for Uriah, who left the fighting and came back to Jerusalem. He went straight to the palace.
What do you want of me, Uriah asks the king. Give me a report of what's happening at the battlefield,
said David. When finished, David told Uriah to go and visit his wife. David wanted Uriah to take some
R&R, spend some time with his wife, and when his wife begins to show that she is pregnant, no one will
be the wiser. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Some things haven’t changed much over time – have any of you ever heard of gossip? Do you think that
gossip existed in David’s castle? You bet it did. Uriah, comes home, hears some things that he doesn’t
like, and being the honorable warrior that he is, because his duty is to the king, he would not break the
rules of active service and he sleeps with the troops. He doesn’t take advantage of time home with
Bathsheba.
The next day, David tried again. He got Uriah drunk, urging him to go to his wife. But still the wretched
man would not go down into the city and visit his home.
Darn it, now what is David to do? David is pissed (oops, I think the Bible uses the word enraged – my
bad). David knew that he had sinned, but again, he says, “I’m the king, I can do as I please. It was really
Bathsheba’s fault, anyway.” Girls – let this be a lesson to you.
David is desperate. He wrote a letter to his most trusted general, Joab, at the front. He asked Joab to
have Uriah killed in battle. Then, who do you think David makes deliver the letter. Right, Uriah is
delivering his own death sentence to Joab. David gives the letter to Uriah, tells him to return with it to
the front. David rationalizes this by saying, “Who am I hurting? Some men have to die in battle, why not
Uriah?” Is David despicable or what – making Uriah deliver his own death sentence?
Uriah took the letter, gave it to the general, and was treacherously killed. The Bible says Bathsheba
'wailed' for her dead husband for a reasonable amount of time, as well she might. Then King David sent
for her, took her into the royal harem, and married her.
OK – let’s do a quick review here. We have murder, we have adultery, we have lies, we have failure to
honor the mother and father, and those are just the commandments – we have arrogance, abuse of
power, sin of prosperity, etc.. We pretty much have the antithesis of the commandments all rolled up
into one story, right here…
David is torn up inside – he is wretched and a real pain to be around. He does write some of the most
beautiful psalms during this time (32, 38 and 51). But, overall, the kingdom of David is not a fun place
to be.
Then one day God sent the prophet Nathan to David with a very interesting story. “There were two men
in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. But the
poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nourished, and it grew up
together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
and was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, and the rich man, unwilling to
take from his own flock or his own herd, took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man
who had come to him”. When David heard the story he was furious at the rich man’s selfish insensitivity
and insisted that he deserved to die.
It was with fear and trembling that Nathan uttered his next words. Other men had lost their heads for
saying less than this to kings, but he was bound to deliver the message of God to the king. He pointed
his convicting finger at David and said, “You are the man!” Then he delivered God’s personal message to
David: “It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. I also
gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of
Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!
Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the
Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the
sons of Ammon”. The consequences of your sin will be far-reaching and long-lasting.
First, the sword would never depart from his house. The people in the palace knew what was going on.
They could count the months, and they realized that Uriah was not at home when the baby was
conceived. It had to be David’s child. Then they thought about Uriah’s death, and the whole thing was
much too coincidental. David’s son Absalom knew it. And when Absalom killed his half-brother Amnon
for raping his sister, he justified his actions by thinking, “Dad did it. Why can’t I?” Captain Joab knew it.
He was the one who carried out David’s sinister command sending Uriah into battle. And he probably
used it to excuse himself when he murdered Absalom (he took 3 spears and thrust them into Absalom’s
chest) and later Absalom’s captain, Amasa. The sword never did depart from David’s house.
The second consequence of David’s sin was that the Lord would raise up evil against him out of his own
house – his own family. You think your family has problems. You want to talk about a soap opera:
David’s son Amnon rape’s his half-sisterTamar, Absalom, David’s other son, murders Amnon, Absalom’s
eventual rebellion against David. There was certainly evil in David’s house.
Third, David’s wives would be taken before his eyes and given to someone else who would be with them
in broad daylight. David took another man’s wife secretly; now his own wives would be taken publicly.
During Absalom’s rebellion, his followers pitched a tent on the palace roof, and Absalom had relations
with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel, fulfilling this prediction.
Fourth, the child born of David’s union with Bathsheba would die. That baby would give the enemies of
God cause to rally against God, so God graciously took the child home to Himself.
All hell is breaking loose in the house of David.
That brings us finally to the happy certainty of forgiveness. Nathan’s exposure of David’s sin and his
powerful exposition of God’s righteousness brings David to his knees, acknowledging his sin: “I have
sinned against the Lord,” he cried. These were the words God wanted to hear. David’s spirit was broken;
his heart was contrite. And as a result, he heard the sweetest, most beautiful, most reassuring and
encouraging words known to man: “The Lord also has taken away your sin”. As David put it in the
Psalms, “I acknowledged my sin to Thee, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord’; and thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin”.
David and Bathsheba go on to live a happy life. Bathsheba seems to have assumed the most prominent
place among David’s wives. There is no record that he ever took another wife after her. As an indication
of God’s forgiveness, he gave them another son whom they named Solomon, which means “peace.”
And God assured David that Solomon, son of Bathsheba, would reign in his place and build the Temple.
As added evidence of God’s grace, Bathsheba was chosen to be one of the four women referred to in
the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, if you think the story is over, that Solomon rises to the throne without any problems, you would
be wrong. Once again, there is sex, and lies, and murder involved, but you will have to read that story
on your own. And likewise, there are many stories of sex and murder in the bible: Shechem “saw, took,
and lay with” Dinah, the daughter of Jacob in Genesis 34:2. Judah “saw, took, and went in to” the
Canaanite woman he made his wife in Genesis 38:2-3. Achan “saw, coveted, and took” the forbidden
spoils of war in Joshua 7:21. Samson did virtually the same in Judges 14. Let us not forget that a similar
sequence occurred at the first sin when Eve “saw, desired, and took” the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3.
This Bible is called the Living Bible. I’ve been reading it for many years now, and I can read the same
verse each year. Each year it means something entirely new and different to me. And, it is usually
exactly what I need to hear at that particular stage in my life. There are many things for you to gain
from reading the Bible too - I encourage you to be open to it’s messages. How and to whom do I move
the $100 one last time and tell the story of the $100?
Review questions for small group
1. Why do you think this story is in the Bible? This story contains every possible failure that people
can do, and still they say they live a life of God.
2. Why is David still the chosen one, when this is all said and done?
3. Why do you think David is called a man after God’s own heart in view of his dreadful sin?
4. Sins of commission (David’s adultery) are often born out of sins of omission (failure to go to war
with the troops). What do you think about this? Does this still have relevance today?
5. What areas of responsibility might you be avoiding that could have a spiritually detrimental
effect in the future?
6. How can you help each other avoid temptations relating to the opposite sex?
7. For ladies: Is your dress consistent with God’s standards or do you merely dress as the world
dictates? Did Bathsheba know that she was being watched?
8. What is the meaning of modesty? How should you apply it to your life?
9. Can you think of times when you have been especially irritable with others because of your own
burden of guilt?
10. Did some of your own past sins come to your mind as you heard this, sins that you have been
trying to ignore? Why not confess them to God, claim the forgiveness he promised, then put
them out of your mind once and for all?
11. What are the most interesting moments in the story? Why do these particular moments appeal
to you?
12. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they want? If you were in
the story, which person would you want to be friends with? Which person would you want to
avoid?
13. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell you about the narrator's
image of God? Do you agree with this image?
14. Bruce has chosen to tell some things and leave other things out. What has been left out of the
story that you would like to know?
15. Could this story happen today? Are the characteristics and actions of the people in the story
still present in the world? How is the story relevant to modern life, especially your own?