Bed, Bath, and Bathsheba – AWKWARD

Automated transcript, lightly edited for readability. Scripture appears as spoken; the video is the authoritative teaching.

Do you ever find yourself searching for something bigger than you? For a community to be a part of? A place founded on truth and love? A place to worship the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Son of God? Welcome to Founded in Truth, where we're more than just a fellowship. We're a family, so welcome home. All right. Shabbat Shalom, everybody. We are so excited to come back together online. And guys, since we're only online, I want to try to be as interactive as we can, since this is our only venue: YouTube. And I know sometimes it feels a bit lonely when we're live streaming and you're just sitting there watching. But I want you to realize that the blessing that we have not only to be able to live stream, which is an amazing blessing, but also to have this chat room on YouTube. Utilize that. Say Shabbat Shalom right now to everybody. Let everyone know that you're there.

Shabbat Shalom

We have a huge family right now of like-minded believers that have come together to focus solely on the person of Yeshua and our lives in Him. It's just incredible. I've so enjoyed asking about awkward stories the last few weeks and going back and reading them in the comments. You guys do have some awkward stories, and I appreciate that. I'm not the only one, right? Tell you what, let's try this. How interactive can you be? If you guys are blessed today by God's holy Sabbath, his commandments, and being in a relationship with his Son, Yeshua, I want you to go ahead and type amen in the comments right now.

Let's give it a shot and see what happens. How many can we get that are actually excited to be together today? I also want to remind you: we had someone in the chat room last week, and we're trying to remind everyone. Sarah, thank you! Guys, that like button at the top of this live stream does a lot more than show your support. It actually tells the YouTube algorithm that maybe we should show this to more people. So if this ministry is a blessing to you, if these messages are a blessing to you, every like that we get helps others see this message and hear about the gospel of Yeshua. If you would, give it a little like.

That would be great. It has a huge impact. So when we're putting together the outline earlier this week, Paul makes a comment in his letter to Colossians. He speaks of yearning to meet people face-to-face, people he either can't anymore or hasn't yet met. And he says, "Oh, it's okay. I'm with you in spirit"—which is something we all like to say when we can't see each other. But he actually rejoiced in his sense of spiritual fellowship with one another.

Hearts Knit Together

I want to remind you that you have that today. Not only that, you have something even Paul didn't have. And I'll reinforce this: you have the chat room, which is pretty cool. I get a kick out of that. So I want to read this portion of Scripture located in Colossians 2 to kick off today, because I'm going to try my hardest to make an awkward start to this message. Colossians 2, verse 1: "For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face." Paul struggles here on behalf of his community. And you know, that's what that feeling inside of us is, right?

He struggles with not being able to meet the like-minded believers he knows and see them face-to-face. And he has this yearning for a deeper connection. Nonetheless, he says your hearts be encouraged here, being knit together in love. Picture a large scarf being knit together, and you are one of those yarn strings, threads, being pulled through with that giant needle. That's you. Even now, no matter where you are—North Pole, Alaska; hey, Faith, Australia; Netherlands; Kentucky—we are one. We are one.

The Kingdom Mystery

And the point of God pulling us together is to understand something: a mystery. Not just any mystery, but the mystery of the knowledge of God, the fullness of the knowledge of God. We can only understand this as a community, is Paul's assertion. And what is that mystery? Oh, it's Yeshua. That's the mystery behind the fullness of the knowledge of who God is.

Community, having our hearts knit together—that is how we are to comprehend God, with that assurance of understanding the knowledge of God. And when we come together face-to-face or in spirit, Christ is seen. Why would Paul make that assertion? Why does community present a sense of Messiah, of Yeshua? Well, because a community is a kingdom, and a kingdom has a king. And when a kingdom operates in love and graciousness and patience and kindness and mercy and generosity and justice, the king is seen and recognized. As a community, he's known by his kingdom. Paul says in Verses 3 and 6—so strong words. So Paul wants to send word to believers he can't see face-to-face, no matter what times they live in, that they remember who they are—not who the world tells them they are—and that they not be caught off guard by sly teachings filled with empty deceit.

Resisting the World's Narrative

Don't let human tradition—the perpetuated narratives of the world around you driven by the spirits of the world—sway you. None of that is according to Christ. Guys, we're here again at a time in our nation. Every four years, election time, it's clockwork. This newfound sense of division rises up within each one of us. Warfare between your neighbor and yourself, opposition and labeling—blanket labeling—of the people around you become second nature during this time. And maybe you're sitting at home right now and saying, "No, it doesn't happen for me. I don't operate differently during this time." And maybe that's true.

But I'd like to think I don't operate differently, and yet every four years I find myself drawn to it. I know a lot of other people are too. Just overnight, a switch happens, and all of a sudden, we're at war. We're on one side or another, or we're like a third side that's not quite as popular. You're red? You're blue? I hate you because you are red or you are blue. Now, we'll never say "I hate you," but is that not what we feel in our hearts? Is that not what drives or fuels the anger that we feel in opposition? It's me versus you now. All of a sudden, we know everything about someone because of the political party that they vote towards, or we assume they vote towards.

We don't even need to let them talk. We saw them post on Facebook some little post that fully characterizes their entire being. Now we already know everything we need to know about them. They are the enemy.

When Allegiances Clash

If they win, if they win, the whole country is going to fail. This is the year that that will be true. Sold. Hook, line, and sinker. You didn't feel this way a year ago. Not to this level. Not like this. This urgency, this anxiety, this stress, this fear. Today, there are people whose job it is to sell you something so that they can get you to vote for a certain person. People are paid to manipulate and market towards you to make sure that happens. And I'm not against voting. Oh my goodness, please vote. It is a grand opportunity in this country for you to be able to vote. But here's the thing about elections in this country: If Yeshua is Lord, then Caesar is not. What used to get Christians killed in ancient Rome were words like that. Words like that. These are the type of words that overthrew governments of the world.

Christ Remains King

And here we go, verses 9 and 10. Paul is boldly proclaiming that there's no one over Jesus. He's it. Everybody's under him. He is the head of all rule and authority. He is king. Vote. Good. Pray for the next president, whoever it is. Do your best to honor their authority in this country. But Philippians says that you're a citizen of heaven's kingdom, not of an earthly kingdom. Whoever gets elected, guess what? Christ is still king. Yeshua is still king. Mashiach is still his title, king. His kingdom ethic has not changed. His kingdom expansion has not been affected. His sovereignty is unaltered. And you know what the scary part of that reality is? Your vocation as an image bearer of Yeshua to the world has not changed just because of election season. Now is the time—just as it was when Paul wrote this letter—when the waters are being tested. Will you represent Yeshua or will you represent blue or will you represent red?

Who Will You Represent? One side says, "We hate you because you don't agree with us in our way." And the other side says, "We hate you because you don't agree with our way."

As followers of Yeshua, we're supposed to stick out in that conversation. I love you despite you disagreeing with me because I know you are more than a party. I can say that. We can say that because our King never leaves office. As followers of Yeshua, that's our mandate. And that's what Paul said: "Brothers and sisters, I am with you in spirit, and I struggle on your behalf that you will not be swayed from your focus on who your king is. That you will not be deceived through the spirits of the world to act like the world does, to act as if you do not belong to the kingdom of God first." Don't fall for the fear.

Don't use it as an excuse to forfeit being an image of God. The world is testing the integrity of our faithfulness as we speak. Don't take that lightly. Do you stick out in the conversation that's currently going on, or do you just blend in with everyone else, whatever color of the flag that would be or whatever party that would be? So this week, we're going to jump into a cringeworthy, awkward story of David. I know that was an awkward transition, wasn't it? That's good. Now, David is so interesting because you have this man who is known as being what? A man after God's own heart. And we just assume when we read that, oh, well, this guy is someone we are meant to emulate, like man after God's own heart, which is what we read in 1 Samuel 14.

It's a man after God's own heart, but it never says this is how everyone's supposed to be. This is the characteristics that you're supposed to be. It never really elaborates on it. It's mentioned again in the New Testament quickly. We read the story of David in 1 and 2 Samuel, where this quote is found, and we're like, oh, we read the story, and when we're done with the story, are we still like, wow, that is a man that we should emulate, his character? The answer is no. I see people say we need to be just like David in 1 and 2 Samuel. You haven't read it. No, not a great guy, not a great guy. Certainly not a mentor at all.

Someone we can learn from, absolutely. Man, you have this wildly selfish man who cannot control his fits of rage at all. At one point, he goes and hangs out and makes an alliance with the Philistines, and then he forms a mercenary army that ends up helping Solomon take the throne from his other son in this very bloody account in the chapters in Kings. We have this David that is painted as this prideful bully in 1 and 2 Samuel, and he even uses his power and forces it onto another man's wife only to murder him in an effort to cover it up. And this is the David that is painted to us in 1 and 2 Samuel.

He's not pretty. He's not a pretty David.

Two Accounts of David

But then what's neat is if you've ever transitioned over to 1 and 2 Chronicles, you see something different. So 1 and 2 Chronicles was written after the Babylonian exile. And it's very interesting. Chapter 36, the ending of 2 Chronicles, mentions the King of Persia. It was written after the exile. And the thing about Chronicles is it recorded David's life a little bit differently than 1 and 2 Samuel did, if you've ever compared them. There's no murder of Uriah in Chronicles. There's no adulterous affair with Bathsheba in Chronicles. No, Chronicles cleans up David. It just makes him clean. It's nice.

This is a nice-looking king. This is a king we should emulate over here in Chronicles. And what's neat is Samuel portrays the type of David, the type of leadership that, if emulated, eventually lands you in exile in Babylon is the direction that it goes. And the idea of the two accounts of David are just that. That's what most scholars, Bible teachers believe. One tells the story of a David that leads Israel into exile. This is what the people absorbed from him. This is the type of leadership that gets you expelled from the land of God, from the garden, if you will. And the other was written after exile as a story of what kind of a king we actually need to emulate in order to go back, to get back to God.

This is what a king over God's kingdom looks like. It's almost messianic, if you will. And that's just kind of neat. Yeah. You remember a couple weeks ago, we were going through Psalms, and we did the message, The Savior on Psalms. And it's amazing when the biblical authors acknowledge a David that falls from the throne of God's ideal king, but also exalts a future type of Davidic king that truly establishes God's kingdom, and then at the end, hands it over to Yahweh. Pretty neat.

The Setup: David's Comfort

So turn with me to 2 Samuel 11, where we are going to look at not the polished-up David in Chronicles, but the—oh, the lovely David in Samuel. And verse 1 of 2 Samuel chapter 11 just gives away the entire setup of the following chapters. And we'll read it. Verse 1. But David stayed at home in Jerusalem, kicking back, chilling and relaxing. So here we have good old David from Samuel. In the spring of the year, when kings go to war, David sent Joab, he sent his servants, he sent all of Israel, but David remained in Jerusalem. So as the reader, you're supposed to cringe a little bit and go, wow. So David is willing to live at the expense of others.

That's where he's at in his life. That's completely a characteristic of the beast. That's kind of what the beast is described as in Daniel 7 and in Revelation. This kingdom of humans that devolves into becoming more like the serpent, the beast of the field, instead of a fully human being that images the God of the universe. David is living his life in comfort at the expense of his own people. Gee, I wonder what type of choices David is going to make next in the chapter, right?

Woman Bathing on the Roof

Verse 2. And it happened late one afternoon when David arose from his couch. I picture a lazy boy. He gets out of his lazy boy and he stretches and he's walking on the roof of the king's house. And he saw from the roof a woman bathing. And that woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman and said, Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? So David sent messengers and took her. So here we go, just like that. David is basking in his luxurious life, and he decides to entertain himself on the roof. So this is likely an entertainment area high above the ground.

You think of those cool summer nights or spring nights. It's a nice area to entertain. David was enjoying it all while all of Israel was fighting a war on his behalf. And from his roof, being the highest roof in the area, he sees a woman bathing. And instead of looking away, he observes her. She sure is pretty. Look at that. And I'm going to give a word of caution here before we go any further. Too many times in some pursuit to defend David in this chapter, we like to say things like, oh, well, if Bathsheba didn't want to be put in that position, she shouldn't have been out in public bathing. Or here's a classic: Bathsheba was obviously targeting the poor king, exploiting his flesh by making herself known.

The text does not say any of that. It just says David was on a roof and was able to see a woman bathing. And the thing is, we sometimes want to begin pointing fingers at Bathsheba starting right now in this part of the story. But the chapter does not start talking about how Bathsheba desired to be taken advantage of. Or Bathsheba didn't love her husband anymore. Or Bathsheba liked to bathe so everyone can see. There's no hint that this story has anything to do with Bathsheba or wrongdoing on her part. The chapter starts out spotlighting who? David as the person that lives selfishly at the expense and the cost of others and the things that they have in their life.

So let's not jump to conclusions about Bathsheba's motives because the author of this book has no interest to explore those. They do, however, seem focused on examining David.

Power and Possession

So David sees her. He stops. He formulates this idea about how she looks. She's pretty. So what does he do? Hey, who is this lady? He begins to involve the palace staff into his pursuit. Oh, that's Bathsheba, you know, the wife of Uriah. You know Uriah, your boy, your man, one of your own mighty men. You're pretty good friends. Fought beside you, that whole thing. Who's fighting a war with you right now, out there while you're here? Yeah, that's his wife. Verse 4. So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. You see the scene? Can you see the scene unfolding here?

Palace officials, maybe even guards, I don't know, the word there is melechim, it's messengers, could also be translated the envoy. So the king's envoy shows up at her house. Everyone has uniforms on. You're coming with us. They took her, and she came to him, and David slept with her. And there's no doubt in my mind this is what we would call today power rape, where a man or woman uses their authority and power against their victim. David here is not seduced by Bathsheba. He's seduced by his own power. That's the setup in verse 1. David is seduced by his own power here, and he forces that upon Bathsheba.

The Deafening Silence

Next verse. Then she returned back to her home. Such empty words. No, no, and David really loved her. No, and David gave her breakfast. No, nothing. No, he slept with her, and then she's gone. Back to her house. Go away. The author gives no extra details of how she may have felt, how she handled the situation. She just went back to her house. Verse 5. The woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant. A while later, David's basking on his rooftop again, and he gets a letter, and it says, I'm pregnant. That's it. It's so deafening, the lack of detail. And David thinks instantly, how am I going to fix this? I've taken too much now. I might be noticed. I wonder if I can get Uriah to come back home and sleep with Bathsheba, poof, he'll think it's his kid and all this goes away.

When We Make the Same Choice

Man, how many times in our lives have we lost focus on who God is and what our calling is in his kingdom? We slack off. We really don't care. Oh, there's already someone doing that work in the kingdom. I don't have to. I can just... And I'll just enjoy life all while keeping the title of being after God's own heart. How many times have we set ourselves up for a Bathsheba moment in our lives? That sin that will destroy someone else's life is totally and completely justifiable to get me what I want in life. Why? Because I rule my own life, not God. That's the attitude of a beast throughout scripture.

That's why that metaphor is used so many times. That's the heart of it. Until you're exposed. And because you lead a life of selfglorification and self-seeking pursuits, you're willing to take even more from those around you so you can cover it up. Verse 6, David sends word to Joab, send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing. Hey, Uriah, how's that war going that you're fighting for me? Then David said to Uriah, hey, why don't you go down to your house and wash your feet? So to an ancient audience, this puts David in just an even worse light now.

It's just shame upon shame in this chapter. The phrase here, go wash your feet, so it's interesting. Feet tends to be a euphemism for sex or sexual organs in the Old Testament. Judges 3.24, he must be covering his feet in the restroom. It's a euphemism. We also see this language used in the story of Ruth and Boaz. What David's saying here is David's telling Uriah, he's like, hey, go home and be with your wife. Wash your feet, as the author puts it. And the reason why David chooses to use this phrase instead of elaborating, why not say, okay, go home to Bathsheba, go home to be with your wife? He can totally say that.

Well, the Torah in Deuteronomy 23 requires active soldiers to remain abstinent from their wives during this time. So David here is, I believe, just attempting to be subtle. He's using the law to his advantage. Uriah, wink, wink. I can't tell you to go home and be with Bathsheba, but I can tell you to go home and wash your feet. Relax. It's just another way that David is trying to exploit people.

Uriah's Unexpected Loyalty

And what happens? Does Uriah go home? No, he doesn't go home. He sleeps at the door of the king's house. So David asked Uriah, why don't you go home to be with your wife? This is getting serious. Every day, no, you need to go home. He knew what was up. As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing. So Uriah knows he can't go home and wash his feet. And he knows that's exactly what David's talking about here. The very ark and Israel and Judah are at war right now, David. And what's interesting is note how the author is compelled to identify both the southern and the northern kingdoms here. You ever notice that throughout 1 Samuel? It's just interesting to see the fingerprints of the editors here who may have compiled this section of the scriptures or this book around the time of the split. But here is Uriah, the Israelite. Uriah the Israelite, right? No, Uriah the Hittite, Canaanite lineage, pagan heritage.

This is not his people. But yet, David, I cannot go home because the ark and Israel and Judah are out fighting this war, so I will remain loyal to them. Uriah the Hittite is more loyal to Israel than David the Judite. Again, what's the chapter about? David's lack of loyalty to anyone but himself. So David gets Uriah drunk and tries to get him to go home then. He won't go. So David writes a letter to Joab telling him, hey, I'm going to send Uriah back to you and I need you to throw him at the front lines. And when the battle gets heated, just pull back and let him get killed for me. And guess what? It happens. Uriah dies in battle because of the word of David. David intentionally gets Uriah killed to cover up his sin. And here we go. Easy fix. We'll kill him. Intentionally. This is not justice. It's not righteousness. But this is David.

God Takes Notice

Now, for the first time since the pregnancy in the chapter, since she announces the pregnancy to David, Bathsheba is mentioned again. And if you notice in the story, she's always in the shadows of the story, in the background. If it was being filmed, it's as if David is in the forefront of the picture, and every once in a while we get a glimpse over his shoulder at this woman in the background. Verse 26, "...and when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband." So she's devastated. Her husband is dead because of this entire thing with David. Can you imagine her emotions?

That's all we can do. This should have never happened. Could she have done anything differently? Maybe she should have stood up to the king. And the reality is none of this is her fault. I don't believe it, not at all. None of this is her fault. Story a bit awkward yet? It's about to be. Don't worry. God has taken notice of David's selfishness, self-seeking pursuits in his life. And the next chapter opens with God sending a man by the name of Nathan to David, this prophet. And God tells Nathan to confront David, confront King David about this entire thing. And the issue that Nathan has to overcome is that David knows what he did was wrong.

I mean, just look at the acrobatics he performed to try and skirt responsibility for it. Remember, David knows what he did was wrong, but he still thinks he's a good king. He still thinks he's okay. Still a pretty good guy. Remember, a couple weeks ago, we spoke about how most of the time when we fall into awkward moments, it's when we realize that the person that we thought we looked like to the world isn't actually the person that the world sees, right? And that moment when we realize that is usually pretty awkward. So here we are. The world sees David for who he is, except David doesn't see himself for who he is.

He sees a really good king. Pretty smart, actually. And now it's Nathan's job as the prophet to expose it.

Nathan's Parable

And Nathan arrives, and he says, what's up, David? And he begins to tell David a story. And the story is important because of how the biblical authors utilize an inverted empathy to blow this situation up in David's face. It's genius. So Nathan tells a story. And he says that there are two men in a certain city, and one of them is really rich, and one of them is poor. And the rich man had many flocks and cattle and sheep and herd all over the countryside. But the poor man, he had nothing. He had nothing except for one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he had brought it up, and it grew up with his family, and he brought it in.

The kids loved it, and the kids got to name it. And it was a part of the family because it was so exclusively his. And this man could not afford to buy a lot of sheep, but he could afford to pour his heart into this one. And Nathan goes on to say the lamb even came up and ate from the table. And this man, poor man, he's drinking from his cup. He lowers his cup down to the lamb to let it drink from his own cup. Picks him up and it falls asleep in his arm every night. I mean, it's a beautiful story. It says it was like a daughter to him. So a traveler comes into town and goes to the rich man's house, and the rich man wants to serve a banquet to this traveler.

He wants to honor the traveler. So he looks out at his field, and he sees all of his lambs and sheep and cattle, but he doesn't want to take any of his. And he looks over, and he sees this one little lamb at this poor man's house. So he walks over, he grabs it, and he kills it to serve to his guest. Man, David being drawn into the story that Nathan is telling here, he becomes so angry. He's like, See, what Nathan has done here is use David's ability to empathize against him. He's drawn him into the story, and David has felt the pain and anguish of the poor man crying out, watching his children cry over this lamb.

Empathy is an amazing thing, and David freaks. It says in 2 Samuel 12, 5, "...then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die," and he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity.

You Are the Man

So you guys know what's about to happen. Nathan is telling a story about David to David. So here's the awkward moment where David is all riled up, right? He's so angry, ready to seek justice and righteousness and do his duty as the king to find this man. He deserves to die. And Nathan looks at him and he says, "David, you are the man." Imagine when Nathan looks at him. You are the man. Imagine being the guard in the hallway. You are the man. Nathan explains, David, God anointed you king over Israel, rescued you from Saul, gave you your master's house and all of his wives. Lots of wealth. He also gave you all of Israel and Judah.

Again, you are the rich man in the story and you chose to destroy a family. And it was this moment that David, the weight of everything that he didn't realize he was becoming falls in on him. The weight of what the entire chapter describes overwhelms him. He now gets the chance to look in the mirror and see what the world sees, and he repents. He writes about this in Psalm 51, "I have sinned against the Lord." This is the moment where he comes to terms with that.

The Truth About Bathsheba

I also want to reinforce a point about Bathsheba. Again, please do not fall for the narrative that too many times gets spouted by men from the pulpit that this was all Bathsheba's fault. This was David's fault. The entire chapter is about the things that David does that is self-seeking, and he takes from other people things that don't belong to him. Matt, how can you say the biblical authors don't blame Bathsheba? Just a little bit. Well, A, the text never gives any foothold for such an accusation, but B, look how Matthew in the New Testament honors Bathsheba in his lineage account of Yeshua in Matthew chapter 1.

You guys know there's only a few women that are listed. We mentioned the other week, Tamar is the first woman that is mentioned. Not Sarah, not Rebecca, not Rachel, they're not mentioned. Matthew did not feel compelled to include them in the lineage of Yeshua. No, but he says this: In Matthew chapter 1, David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife. Not David's wife, but David married her. She became David's wife. Yeah, but Matthew wants to point out something. Yeah, it was Uriah's wife. This was Uriah's wife. He intentionally honors Bathsheba, not as David's wife. That's incredible, just to see those little fingerprints of the authors.

The Antidote to Contempt

One of the recommended reading sources for this message, for this series, is in the description below. It's called Cringeworthy by author Melissa Dahl, and she writes about our interactions involving empathy, just like Nathan set up for David. Ever been around someone and someone has an embarrassing moment and you feel embarrassed for them? And it typically sparks compassion, but sometimes, depending on the situation, it can spark contempt. And when I say contempt, contempt is like looking down on someone else. How many of you have ever been in that situation where you saw someone get called out that maybe you didn't really like, and you either gave them compassion or kindness or contempt? You can do both of those.

Dahl goes on to say that the antidote to contempt is actually compassion or kindness or mercy. And it's that sense of kinship that is generated when a total stranger, someone who looks like they're not from your side of town, maybe a different race, maybe a different religion, maybe a different political stance. It's what happens when you break down that wall of self-perceived judgments, and you actually talk to them in the line while you're waiting to get your candy bar at the gas station. Hey, what's up? Good to meet you. Kindness is the antidote for so much division, especially condemnation.

Looking for a Reason to Burn

On the other hand, sometimes we can't wait for someone to be called out just so we can light our torch and join the burn party and burn them alive. We do this a lot. We're in election season, so political candidates. How many of us are waiting on Trump to say something or get called out for something so that we have justification to fuel our contempt? How many? Yeah, look at that. He is a horrible person. Yeah, look at that. Or how many of us are waiting for Biden to stutter during an advertisement or a campaign speech just so that we can go, see, see, look, he can't even talk. He can't be president.

Why would anyone vote for them? Only fools. We love to be justified in our contempt. We love to look for reasons. Ever been on social media arguing about something? Yeah, you're lying if you say no. What happens if the person that you're arguing with messes up? And maybe he says a fact, or maybe he's rushing to somehow defend his point in something, and he rushes, and he posts the wrong fact about something, or he makes a grammar error, and your nails just come out. Right? Yo, you're wrong. Look at you, you fool. I've had my fair share. I think we all have. We love that opportunity. It gives us a sense of power and entitlement that is just a farce in reality, but all the same, trolls, in our opinion, deserve contempt. They deserve to be highlighted in their own embarrassment, in their cringeworthy moment, and we want all of the world to see.

We Have Another Choice

But the thing is, the thing is, as much as I struggle with that, and I'm sure many of you do as well, we have another choice. We can respond with compassion and kindness. We can actually choose to join others in their awkward moments when all the world is looking. We can show them that they are not alone and that they're safe, that maybe there isn't a battle actually going on. Maybe we don't need to argue and be angry. Maybe we can just talk about nicer things. And that wall is broken down with kindness.

During this time where everybody is looking for a reason to show contempt towards other people, be the person who gives the antidote. Try. Be the person who gives compassion and kindness first. That is how we show the world we don't play by their rules. The world wants to be able to say something that triggers you and rile you all up for their agenda. Don't play the game. Don't play the game. Kindness is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Are you showing it? Do people think of that word when they see you? The other choice is to be deceived by the world's philosophy, showing contempt, and showing the world that that's how you feel like you're in control of things.

A Gradual Fade

See, David's Bathsheba moment didn't happen overnight. He didn't find himself so early reaching for the fruit of this lustful moment all of a sudden. No, it was a gradual fade over time. That's what the chapter is illustrating. It was the lifestyle he chose. So when we see others that find themselves in awkward moments, you have a choice. You have a choice to show kindness or to look down on them. Showing kindness is how we show the world that we're part of another kingdom.

Awkward Moments as Opportunities

So I don't know where you're at today, but I hope the story of David at least causes you to selfreflect in a way that is uncomfortable. Are you a beast that lives at the expense of others? For your own gain, whatever that may be? Or are you someone that stands apart from the world? Are you someone who, instead of imaging a beast, images the Son of the living God? Look for awkward moments in your life. And if they happen to be in your life, look at it as an opportunity to grow, as we discussed last week. Sometimes the most awkward moments are the moments where we can evolve into a stronger believer, into a more faithful believer, into someone that has a stronger grasp on what it means to emulate the justice and righteousness of Yeshua.

Those awkward moments are when exposures happen deep within our heart to the world, and we can either take advantage of them, like David ended up doing, and repenting and attempting to move on, or repent. Or we can try to take everybody else out so that the world doesn't see us and who we really are. Maybe you see it in someone else's life. Show kindness. It's an antidote for shame, and it's an antidote for contempt.

Which Will You Show? Which will you show during this season of seemingly violent warfare in our country? Alvina Malcano, our Father, our King, Father, we thank you for this time together. We thank you eternally for your holy Sabbath, this blessing that you've given to us, that we may find rest in it. But not only that, that we would be able to emulate the rest that is only found in your son, Yeshua. That your spirit that you have given to us, the same spirit that raised Yeshua from the dead would be able to raise us to life, a new life, a new creation that the world would notice, that would stick out, that would emulate your kingdom always and forever.

There are things in our hearts today, Father, that need to be exposed. I ask Yeshua that you would expose them and that you would give us the courage to leap on the opportunity to grow from it. We thank you. In the name of Yeshua, we pray. Amen. Shalom. I'm Matthew Vanderels, and I hope you enjoyed this message. Founded in Truth exists to build a community that bears the image of God and lives the redeemed life only Yeshua gives. If this message impacted you or if this ministry has been a blessing to you, we invite you to take part in making sure the message of Yeshua and the truth of God's word continues to reach others.

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