One of the most helpful insights that has been shared with me in understanding the Old Testament is that the Old Testament often has types, or is typological in nature. By that we mean that as we read the Old Testament we will often come across events, concepts, or persons which give us insight into what is to come. Thus, for example we read of the temple as the dwelling place of God not because God’s ultimate hope for his children is to dwell in his people’s midst in a building but so that we might understand what John means when he says that Jesus is the temple of God, seeing that he was God’s presence with his people. In addition, the priesthood and the offering of sacrifices in the Old Testament were not given by God because they were God’s plan for the forgiveness of his people’s sins. The book of Hebrews makes clear that the priesthood was always lacking and that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins. But we see these in the Old Testament as a type of what was to come so that we might better understand what Christ would do (and, now, has done) for us.

In the same way, David functions as a type in the Old Testament. It is not uncommon for the New Testament to take quotes of David praying for himself, expressing his agony, or expressing his hope in God and apply them to Christ. Thus, even Psalm 22, which is a psalm of God’s anointed king feeling abandoned by the Lord is quoted by Jesus as he hangs on the cross and cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And all of this is rightly done by the New Testament authors because they understand that David was a type of the one who was to come. His life was to picture for us what Christ would be. Therefore, it is no mistake that David, as God’s anointed king defeats and destroys the enemy, Goliath, so that God’s people might be delivered from the one who holds them captive, for his life was to picture what Christ would do.

I bring this up not because instead of preaching this morning I want to embark on a lesson in biblical interpretation, but because it is important that we understand David as a type in the Old Testament of the great King who was to come, Jesus of Nazareth.

With that said, my goal this morning is to walk through the text, seeing what has occurred in these four chapters, and then to show us what this says of Christ to us and how we should respond to that. The section itself divides into three sections: chapters 9, 10, and 11-12. Therefore, let’s first turn to chapter 9 in which we see David’s covenant faithfulness.

David shows his faithfulness to his covenant with Jonathan (9)

Chapter 9 opens with a question by David as he asks, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (9:1). David asks this because Jonathan had made a covenant with David years earlier saying, “Do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth” (1 Samuel 20:15). Therefore, David’s men find that there is one, a son of Jonathan who had been crippled in his feet from the time he was a young boy. His name was Mephibosheth. Therefore David sent for him.

Now, Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan was the final living relative of Saul, so it seems. And it was customary for the king to destroy anyone remaining from what might be a rival line to the throne. It is therefore no surprise that when Mephibosheth comes to David that he falls on his face before him, no doubt terrified, saying, “Behold, I am your servant” (9:6).

But David’s intent is not to kill Mephibosheth but to bless him. So, he quickly relieves his fears saying, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always” (9:7). Instead of death and cursing, Mephibosheth gets life and blessing. Then, David calls Saul’s servant and instructs him in what he should do so that Mephibosheth is blessed. Thus the chapter ends, “So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet” (9:13).

The key, I believe, to this chapter is the answer to Mephibosheth’s question in 9:8 as he asks, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” For we know that the answer is not anything in Mephibosheth. Does he have anything to offer David? No. He is lame in both feet and is from the line of a king who had made himself David’s enemy. The answer is that David shows this kindness toward Mephibosheth because the king is faithful to his covenant.

This cannot help but instruct us in the faithfulness of another king who would come from David’s line, Jesus of Nazareth. For why do we have the security of knowing that one day we will stand before God and hear that we might enter into his rest to recline at the table of the king? It is not because we have anything to offer in and of ourselves. Nor is it because we deserve it, for we were actually enemies of God, even as we have read this morning from Romans 5:8-10. But we will stand before God and hear, “Welcome” because Christ is faithful to the covenant he made as he took the cup, gave it, and said to his disciples, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28). Let David’s actions in 2 Samuel 9 remind us today of the faithfulness of Christ to the covenant he has made with all who have placed their faith in him and let us rest in that forgiveness through his blood.

David destroys those who oppose him and make themselves his enemies (10)

Chapter ten begins in much the same manner as chapter 9. Just as David had shown faithfulness to the covenant made with Jonathan, chapter 10 begins with David seeking to show faithfulness to the descendant of a king who had dealt faithfully with him. The king of the Ammonites had died, and his son reigned in his place. Therefore, David said, “I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me” (10:2). So David sent his messengers to Hanun to comfort him during this time of his father’s death.

The princes of the Ammonites, however, suspected a plot to destroy them. They said to Hanun, “Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?” (10:3). Therefore, Hanun took David’s men, shaved off half of their beards, cut their garments up to their hips, and sent them away disgraced and ashamed.

When David heard of it, he told the men to wait in Jericho until their beards grew back, and then he turned against the Ammonites. However, realizing what was happening, the Ammonites hired the Syrians to help them in battle. Nonetheless Joab and Abishai each led successful campaigns against the Syrians, and when they regathered themselves for attack David gathered Israel together and destroyed them, making any survivors subject to them. Therefore, the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.

But if David’s life pictures Christ as our king, what is it that his actions here teach us? They teach us that the Anointed King will destroy those who oppose his offer to be reconciled. This is exactly what Psalm 2 has taught us. In Psalm 2, we read that the Lord declares his Son to be the Anointed King. Thus, we read, “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psalm 2:7-9). Therefore, the psalmist urges the people saying, “Now, therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in his way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (2:10-12).

This is exactly what we see with David. Blessed are all who take refuge in him even as we see in Mephibosheth. At the same time, however, David’s wrath falls upon all who make themselves his enemies and oppose him. This is a clear picture of Christ. Even as David did not send his messengers because he wanted to destroy those supporting the king of Ammonite but to befriend him, when they oppose his offer of peace and make themselves his enemies, they are crushed; so God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:17). Nonetheless, when the Son is rejected, the Anointed King will destroy his enemies.

Just as it is the same king acting toward Mephibosheth and the Syrians, so it will be the same King whose return will be a welcome and longed-for sight to those who are his children and a terribly fearful sight to those who are his enemy. Christ is coming to judge as the Anointed King returns. Therefore, we go forth as messengers of the King, pleading with men to repent and be reconciled to him, warning them that if they reject this command then they will suffer his wrath. Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish in his way. That is our plea to men as we go forth in spreading the gospel.

Finally, David commits adultery and murder, sees his sin, and confesses his sin before God (11-12)

Chapter 11 might come to us unexpectedly. If we have fallen in love with David up to this point, thinking that the main lesson for us in these chapters in which he is the main topic is to model his actions, chapter 11 shows us a disgusting picture of David’s sin.

While his men are away at war with the Ammonites, David remains at Jerusalem. He should have been at war, but he was standing alone on his roof one later afternoon, overlooking the city. And as he turned to one house he saw a beautiful woman bathing on the roof. He was drawn to her. He wanted her. And he was not confused about who she was. Thus, he asked one of his men, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (11:3). Indeed it was. She was one whom he could not have. Yet he sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her.

And just as it seemed like David might get away with it, as her husband was away fighting a battle on David’s behalf, Bathsheba sends word to David that she is pregnant. Instantly, David begins scheming how to cover his tracks. He sends word to Joab, telling him to send Uriah home. He hopes that he can encourage Uriah to come home, sleep with his wife, and then the pregnancy could never be traced back to David. But Uriah is an honorable man and refuses to sleep with his wife while his brothers are out at war.

So the next night, David gives Uriah much to drink, hoping that the alcohol will keep him from thinking so rationally so that he sleeps with his wife. But again David’s plan fails, for Uriah did not go down to his house. Therefore, rather than confessing his sin, David sends word to Joab to but Uriah in a dangerous place in battle, pull back from him, and let him die. It seems that Joab improves David’s plan a bit, making Uriah’s death a bit less obvious. Instead of abandoning Uriah he moves the troops close to a tower where Uriah, along with some others, are killed. Nevertheless, the command is obeyed, and Uriah is dead.

As word comes back to David, it looks like all will work out okay. David’s tracks will be covered. He sends for Bathsheba, who is mourning her husband’s death and sleeps with her. Therefore, when she has a child months later it won’t be clear that David had committed adultery but will appear that Bathsheba simply became pregnant after her husband’s death. It looked like all had been handled ‘successfully’ by David and that no one would know of his sin. However, the last line of chapter 11 assures us that we nor David should think that. For we read, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (11:27).

Therefore, it should not be surprising to us that the next event that we read of is Nathan approaching David concerning his sin. But Nathan doesn’t simply come out and say, “You’re a murderer and adulterer worthy of death.” Rather, he tells David a story. He tells of a rich man who had many flocks and herds and a poor man with one little lamb living in the same city. The poor man loved his lamb, cared for it in his home, allowed his children to play with it, fed it nicely, and held it in his arms. Simply put, the man loved his little lamb. However, one day the rich man had a guest come through and wanted to serve lamb for dinner. But instead of taking any of his own from his flocks, the rich man took the poor man’s lamb, slaughtered it, and served a delightful meal. David’s response came quickly and harshly as he cried out 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” (12:5-8).

David was outraged. He cried out that the man deserved to die even as he should restore what he has taken, not simply because he took the lamb but because he had shown no pity on him who had so little while he had so much. What David did not realize, however, was that he had declared what should have been his own judgment, for Nathan declares to him, “You are the man” (12:7). We read of the Lord’s judgment in 12:7-12, as Nathan declares:

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.' \"

Judgment was coming to David. And David’s response is simple; it is confession. He declares, “I have sinned against the Lord” (12:13). He has nothing left to say. There are no excuses to be given. He is guilty. But Nathan’s response is grace. He says, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” David was forgiven, but his sin was going to carry a cost. His child would die.

Therefore, David falls on the Lord’s grace, fasting for the sake of his child, pleading for his life. Then, as the child dies and David sees that het Lord has not relented from the judgment he moves on, cleaning himself up, going about his day and declaring to his servants, “Now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (12:23). Yet this is not God’s last word. Rather, Bathsheba conceives again and bears a son named Solomon, the one who would build the temple and from whom would ultimately come the Christ.

The chapter ends, however, with the events we may have forgotten about – the war with the Ammonites. David’s sin has come to the forefront, but after his confession the author gives us the conclusion to the war. Joab led his men, defeating the royal city, and sent messengers to David telling him that the Ammonites had been defeated (12:27). So David gathered his men, took the city, and took the king’s crown, making the Ammonites his servants. Then David returned with all the people to Jerusalem. And so the section ends.

These two chapters teach us much in dealing with sin. They teach us to flee temptation, especially sexual temptation. Even as David saw Bathsheba, he should have run. We are not made to expose ourselves to sexual temptation and not get burned. Therefore, we must flee from sexual immorality, not letting our feet be close to the adultress’s house. This means that we fool ourselves if we think that in our time of courting before marriage that we can constantly put ourselves in sexually tempting situations and not get burned. This means that we fool ourselves if we think we can put things in front of our eyes on the television or internet and not think we are killing ourselves. As Carl Trueman has pointed out to us, “Not everyone who lusts commits adultery, but everyone who commits adultery first lusts.” We must flee from sexual temptation.

The text also teaches us that we cannot cover our sins and prosper. Don’t think you can ignore your sin or successfully move on from your sin until you confess your sin. David’s plot looks to have worked, but God knew, and God would force him to deal with it.

It teaches us as well that our response to God’s gracious conviction must be simple confession. As God is gracious to convict us of our sin, our response must be to confess, even as David did. We don’t make excuses or try to explain our actions. Our response must be confession: “I have sinned against the Lord.”

And it’s a text that teaches us to trust in God’s forgiveness so that we should not wallow in our sin as if bound by guilt, but having confessed our sin, walk under the forgiveness that is ours because of Christ.

Finally, it teaches us that it is good and right to cry out to God for his grace even in removing the consequences of our sin but that we need to realize that he may not do it. It is fine and good to for the one who is threatened with legal punishment for his sin to cry out to God that the judge might spare him, all the while acknowledging that God is not bound to relieve us of such consequences and may allow us to face them for our own good.

Indeed, there are many lessons in this text concerning temptation and dealing with sin. But why does the author include this story right in the middle of this story about war with the Ammonites. I think he includes it to show us that though David pictures for us the covenant faithfulness of the Anointed One of God and the judgment the Anointed One will show against his enemies, he is not the ultimate Anointed King to whom we look for our salvation, but there is another to come. 2 Samuel 11-12 show us clearly that David is not the ultimate promised King. This text screams to us to look for another.

And just this past Sunday, on Christmas Day, we have celebrated that the true King has come. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. He deals faithfully with his own, will judge his enemies, and indeed will return to do both. In fact, David is allowed to live and be forgiven of his sin because David’s great Son would come and die on the cross for his sins and be raised from the dead three days later. Therefore, as we come to the table, may we celebrate who he is, what he has done, and what he has promised to do. Amen.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER KING