Unspoken (22 page)

SEEK GOD’S WORD FOR TRUTH

Read the following passage:

Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. But you have given the enemies of the Lord great opportunity to despise and blaspheme him, so your child will die.”

After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord made Bathsheba’s baby deathly ill. David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. The leaders of the nation pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused. Then on the seventh day the baby died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He was so broken up about the baby being sick,” they said. “What will he do to himself when we tell him the child is dead?”

But when David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the baby dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied. Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and ate. His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the baby was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the baby is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”

David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”

2 S
AMUEL
12:13-23

What does God do with David’s sin? And what is the good news about David’s life?

What shocking news does Nathan give David?

What does David do and for how long?

How does David react when the child dies?

Where does he go and what extraordinary thing does he do?

David’s advisers were baffled by his actions. What comfort and hope motivated David?

FIND GOD’S WAYS FOR YOU

Read the following verse:

If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

1 J
OHN
1:9

From this Scripture, what is God’s promise? What is the condition of that promise?

Have you experienced forgiveness? How do you know you’ve been forgiven? How willing are you to forgive others?

Read the following passage:

The Lord is merciful and gracious; he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he understands how weak we are; he knows we are only dust.

P
SALM
103:8-14

List everything you learn in this Scripture about how God deals with you and sin.

STOP AND PONDER

Read the following passage:

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.

R
OMANS
8:1-2

Who owns you?

SEEK GOD’S WORD FOR TRUTH

Read the following passage:

Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child and sent word through Nathan the prophet that his name should be Jedidiah—“beloved of the Lord”—because the Lord loved him.

2 S
AMUEL
12:24-25

David confessed to God. David waited on God. David worshiped God. David believed God for the future. These steps lead to a restored relationship with God. What does David now do concerning Bathsheba?

What did God do for Bathsheba?

Who named the baby Solomon?

What message did God send to Bathsheba through Nathan the prophet?

God sent Nathan to confront David regarding his sin. What was the purpose of Nathan’s visit to Bathsheba?

From the above passage, what evidence do you find that Bathsheba also experienced a restored relationship with God?

FIND GOD’S WAYS FOR YOU

What does
restoration
mean to you?

Read the following passage:

Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

G
ALATIANS
6:1-2

What role do we have in helping one another be restored to God?

What attitude are you to have when others need to be restored?

Are you seeking restoration? What steps do you need to take?

STOP AND PONDER

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

E
PHESIANS
2:8-10

Are you a new creation?

SEEK GOD’S WORD FOR TRUTH

Traditionally, Bathsheba is remembered for her adulterous affair with King David and is referred to as “the wife of Uriah.” But let’s recount how God remembers her. Read the following passages:

Then David moved the capital to Jerusalem, where he reigned another thirty-three years. The sons born to David in Jerusalem included Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. Bathsheba, the daughter of Ammiel [Eliam], was the mother of these sons.

1 C
HRONICLES
3:4b-5

What did God do for Bathsheba?

Then Nathan the prophet went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and asked her, “Did you realize that Haggith’s son, Adonijah, has made himself king and that our lord David doesn’t even know about it? If you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon, follow my counsel. Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘My lord, didn’t you promise me that my son Solomon would be the next king and would sit upon your throne? Then why has Adonijah become king?’ And while you are still talking with him, I will come and confirm everything you have said.”

1 K
INGS
1:11-14

List everything that shows God’s continued care for Bathsheba.

“Call Bathsheba,” David said. So she came back in and stood before the king. And the king vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has rescued me from every danger, today I decree that your son Solomon will be the next king and will sit on my throne, just as I swore to you before the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Then Bathsheba bowed low before him again and exclaimed, “May my lord King David live forever!”

1 K
INGS
1:28-31

How did David continue to support and comfort Bathsheba?

All the royal officials went to King David and congratulated him, saying, “May your God make Solomon’s fame even greater than your own, and may Solomon’s kingdom be even greater than yours!” Then the king bowed his head in worship as he lay in his bed, and he spoke these words: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has chosen someone to sit on my throne while I am still alive to see it.”

1 K
INGS
1:47-48

How did God keep His promise to Bathsheba? What was David’s response?

Young Woman
: “Go out to look upon King Solomon, O young women of Jerusalem. See the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day, the day of his gladness.”

S
ONG OF
S
ONGS
3:11

What further joy did Bathsheba have?

Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (his mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

M
ATTHEW
1:6, 16

What ultimate blessing was bestowed upon Bathsheba?

FIND GOD’S WAYS FOR YOU

How do you think you’ll be remembered?

How would you like to be remembered?

How has God blessed you?

Trace God’s hand of mercy in your life.

STOP AND PONDER

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.

J
EREMIAH
29:11-14a

Jesus has found you. Have you found Him? He’s waiting.

THIS is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of King David and of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was
Tamar
).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz (his mother was
Rahab
).
Boaz was the father of Obed (his mother was
Ruth
).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (his mother was
Bathsheba,
the widow of Uriah).
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asaph.
Asaph was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amos.
Amos was the father of Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary
was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

M
ATTHEW
1:1-16