There are two stories going on in your life – the Upper Story and the Lower Story. We all live in and see life from the perspective of the lower story. No matter how hard we try, we can only see so far down the road because humanity’s viewpoint is linear, horizontal, limited. All our decisions require some sort of faith or trust in what we cannot control around the corner. The Upper Story is how the things look from God’s perspective. His viewpoint is panoramic, vertical, unlimited. Not only does he see around the next bend in the road, he is sees it all from beginning to end. The goal is to align our Lower Story to God’s Upper Story because when we do, God promises it will be a good story.
SUMMARY
David was voted least likely among his brothers to be king and the last person on the battlefront you’d pick to play the hero, but David was the underdog who overcame. He confronted lions, giants and kings with bare hands and bold faith. At last, the man after God’s own heart sat on Israel’s throne.
But kings who stay home from battle are seldom at rest. David’s eyes wandered and so did his heart. He summoned the very lovely and very married Bathsheba to his palace and then into his bed. When Bathsheba sent word she was pregnant, David turned his strategy tactics toward her husband, Uriah.
He called Uriah home from the battlefield to visit his wife, expecting a night together would position Uriah as the father-to-be. The plan failed, so David sent Uriah back to the frontlines carrying an order for General Joab to engineer a battlefield “accident” and guarantee Uriah’s death. The plan worked. David married Bathsheba and went back to the business of the kingdom.
Then Nathan, the prophet, came to the palace. Guilty kings never fare well when prophets visit. Nathan told a parable and pointed the finger of blame squarely in David’s face. He asserted, “You are the man!” and the man after God’s own heart had become the man with blood on his hands. David and Bathsheba’s marriage feasting turned quickly into mourning the death of their son. David repented of his sin and God forgave him. They had a second son named Solomon, which means peace.
Sadly, David was a better king than father. David’s sin was forgiven, but its aftermath was calamitous. His son, Absalom, attempted to usurp the throne and his rise to power resulted in a rebellion. David instructed his troops to be gentle with his son but the clash between David’s army and Absalom’s rebels was brutal. When Absalom was found hanging from a tree, Joab killed the conspirator. King David mourned in anguish when he heard the news.
David’s closing chapter turns the page from battles to building. He knew that Solomon would build a house for God, so he did all he could to prepare the way. From the overflow of David’s heart came the emptying of his bank account. Others followed the king’s example and gave willingly to build God’s temple. King David’s story draws to a close with poetic psalms of praise and his sights set on living “in the house of the LORD forever.”
David’s Lower Story places the spotlight on one man’s sin and its tragic consequences. Yet it also beams with the offer of forgiveness and redemption. God’s grand Upper Story reminds us that no one is righteous on their own. God’s promise to David (p.159) pointed across a millennium to a sinless King of Kings; no end of righteousness, no end of peace, and the redemption of all things.
QUESTIONS
- How have you prepared for an emergency in your home? At your work? What type of training is available to help you prepare for whatever life sends your way?
- God used Nathan to confront David about his sin. Has anyone ever confronted you about a specific sin or habit in your life? Who has permission to be your “Nathan”? If no one, how could you change that?
- Psalm 32 (p.164) shows what David felt like when he kept his sin a secret. Have you ever had a secret sin? How does/did keeping it secret affect you?
- The steps of David’s sin and cover-up are: he saw, he desired, he took, he schemed. Read James 1:15 and Romans 6:23 and compare David’s steps leading to sin with Eve’s (p. 5). Consider the statement: Sin always gives birth to more sin. How has this been true in your own life?
- After David’s baby died, he arose and worshiped (p. 165). What does this say about the nature of worship?? Why did God take the life of the child when it was his father who sinned? How do you feel about God’s decision?
- From Psalm 32, describe how David felt before and after his confession (p. 165-166). If all our sins were forgiven by Christ dying on the cross, then what value does confession have today (John 1:8-10)? It has been said that to confess your sins to God is telling Him the thing he already knows. How does acknowledging the things God is aware of help you emotionally and spiritually?
- In your opinion, does God’s punishment of David (and all his family) fit the crime if God truly forgave him? Why or why not?
- Look at Psalm 23 (p. 173). This passage continues to be so meaningful to people today, even those who don’t know Christ personally. What images in these verses speak to you personally? What do you think makes these verses compelling to an unbeliever? How can you use these verses to bless someone who’s life is marred by the consequences of sin?
TAKE-AWAY
We live in a real world of circumstances beyond our control and of great temptations to cross the line of sin. While we can never be prepared for all the situations will happen, we can mitigate some of the damage by choosing not to do what we know to be wrong and sinful. Either way, if you find yourself battered by the events of life or by the consequences of your own poor choices, take refuge in Jesus, who’s forgiveness is free and who’s refuge is safe.
PRAYER
God, When I am tempted, make me aware of all the hurt my sin might cause. Please place in my life people who can speak the truth to me in love. Give me the humility and wisdom to hear such truth. Help me know that your forgiveness is total and complete. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.
