This years Lenten Midweek Sermons are prepared by Pastor Brent Kuhlman, or Trinity Lutheran Church Murdock NE.
Ninth Commandment:
You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s House
Tenth Commandment:
You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife …
Bible Narrative:
2 Samuel 11:1-4
Tonight, 2 Samuel 11 is used in conjunction with the
Ninth and Ten Commandments. This Bible
story is writing for your Lenten – repentant - learning. For your warning AND for your repentance! “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take
heed lest he fall,” (1 Corinthians 10:11)! The Law of God is good and wise. The Ten Commandments describe what your life
before God and before one another should look like.
But you and I are sinners. Children of Adam and Eve! Our sinful flesh does
not do what the Law requires. The
commandments say: “You shall not covet” and,
because of our sinful nature, we are off to the races COVETING! We profusely covet what doesn’t belong to
us.
And so the Commandments reveal our sin. Point them out to us. Like an X-ray or CAT scan machine! It’s really ugly! Brutal!
Shocking! We really didn’t think
we were that bad! We could have never
imagined this sin sickness to be so deep!
Corrupt to the core! Lost and
condemned persons we are due to our sinful condition!
In addition, the Commandments silence all our flimsy
fig leaf excuses of self-justification before God and hold us accountable. The Ninth and Tenth Commandments that
say: “You shall not covet,” expose
us for who we really are: SINNERS! And this Word of God kills us! And that’s very good. Because that’s the only thing you can do with
the old Adam / Eve! You can’t rehab old
Adam / Eve! You can’t salvage old Adam /
Eve! The old Adam / Eve by daily
contrition and repentance is to be drowned and die with all sin and evil desires!
In addition, tonight’s Scripture is also written for
our comfort. There is forgiveness for
sinners. Every sinner! For every sin. No matter how heinous. There is free and total pardon for you, me,
King David, and the world through Jesus Christ our Lord and His holy week
innocent suffering and Good Friday dying!
Consequently, there is a promise from Jesus Himself! And it is this: “I forgive you!” This is very good too. For all you’re left with here is faith –
faith alone – in Jesus and His absolution.
And that faith is the new creation – the new creature – that lives
before God now only by faith in Jesus!
Now to the text.
King David. Doesn’t
do his kingly vocation. “In
the spring when kings go off to war” David farms it all out to General
Joab. It’s up to General Joab to fight
Israel’s enemies and defend Israel’s borders while King David loafs. Joab ravages and besieges. David dawdles. Joab and all Israel are fighting in the
field. David loafs at home.
And so one night when David can’t sleep he spots
her. He can’t believe his eyes! She’s taking a bath! Right out in the open! What kind of women would do that? It is as if she wants to be seen on
purpose! Perhaps she has something on
her mind! Hmm?
He can’t take his eyes off her. She’s gorgeous! Stunning!
What a body! Kim Kardashian or
Jennifer Anniston have nothing on her!
She could be the cover girl for GQ or the centerfold for Playboy every
month for the next ten years!
Who is she? This
naked bathing beauty? As if David didn’t
know.
Her name is Bathsheba. Daughter of Eliam. And she has a wedding ring on her finger! She is wedded to Uriah the Hittite! Eliam is the son of one of David’s
counselors, Ahithophel. And both Eliam and
Uriah are both members of the king’s personal bodyguards (2 Samuels 23:34,
39). Beautiful Bathsheba: Eliam’s daughter – Uriah’s wife. They all know each other! Very well!
And King David covets her. Doesn’t give a rip that she’s married. He wants her.
And he wants her now! Badly. No low “T” with this man! He will satisfy his desires no matter
what. No matter who he hurts. No matter whose lives he destroys. Now matter who he has to kill. HE WILL have what he covets! He will have her! He is the king! And what the king does is right!
So he barks out orders: “Go fetch her for me! Chop!
Chop!” “And
don’t forget to sneak her through the back door! I’ll have the lights dimmed, the candles lit,
and the romantic music playing softly!” Off
go David’s servants. To her house. Right across the street no doubt!
“Good Evening Madam Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and
wife of Uriah. My, don’t you look ravishing
tonight. The king requests your …. presence. Please follow us.” And they escort the ravishing bombshell
directly to the king’s bedroom. The
one-night-stand is consummated! Underneath
the canopy and between the sheets of his majesty’s royal bed! His coveting led directly to physically
adulterating his marriage and Bathsheba’s.
And David could care less. He got
what he wanted! He got what he
coveted!
What or who is it that you covet?
What’s that?
You say you don’t covet?
Nonsense! Of course you do! You are no better than King David. You are just as bad as King David.
Your coveting knows no bounds! It ranges from another person’s spouse all
the way to your neighbor’s land, home, or investments! You name it.
Whatever your neighbor has – you want it! You’re never content with what God has given
you!
Taking people to court is the usual way to extend
and bring to fulfillment the coveting!
All under the cover of legality! “See
I have the title! It was awarded to
me! The inheritance is mine! The court said so!” The tentacles of coveting extend into
everyday business transactions. In these
tough economic times – your neighbor out of work – his 401k tanked – deep in
debt – has property and possessions.
With all the cunning you can muster and with an eye for more profit you harass
and hustle him into selling his stuff for only half of what it is worth. And you justify the purchase by saying: “I got a super deal!” And like David you could care less. Because it’s all about you Baby! First come first serve! Look out for numero uno! Survival of the
fittest!
You see how deep the sin is? It’s really bad. “You shall not covet!” The last two commandments reveal our sin, indict,
convict and condemn us. God is not
pleased! These commandments show God’s
wrath against our coveting! Lost, dead,
and condemned you and I are in our sin!
But here is the good news! Really, really great news! His name is Jesus. God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world
to Himself – NOT COUNTING YOUR SINS AGAINST YOU! Imagine that!
God forgives. He forgives you! Because of Jesus! And only because of Jesus!
How can this be?
Here’s how! God made Jesus, the
sinless and perfectly holy one, TO BE SIN!
“He who knew no sin was made to be sin.” And to be cursed (Galatians 3:13)! Yes, that’s right! Jesus was determined to go all the way for
your salvation. He wouldn’t stop until
He took all that is yours – including and especially all your sin! “God has laid on him the iniquity of us
all,” (Isaiah 53).
Perfect and holy Jesus is made to be sin by bearing
all your sin, all my sin, all the world’s sin in His body. So much so that Jesus is MAXIMUM SINNER! He willingly goes under the Law and endures
His Father’s wrath against all sin and every sinner! In your place. Vicariously!
The greatest and only sacrifice that atones for sin: Good Friday’s Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world.
Now that the Law has accused Christ on the cross, it
looks all around. It looks at you. But you are baptized into Christ’s
death. Jesus gives you His Good Friday
Body and Blood to eat and drink sacramentally.
In Christ the Law is fulfilled for you.
All the Law’s accusations are used up in Christ and His promises. And what does He promise: Te
absolvo! You
are forgiven. All you sin -- all your
coveting is answered for! And you have
peace with God through Jesus Christ!
Have a happy Ash Wednesday!
