David and Repentance.

Duration: 33 minutes


David sinned and repented. He was forgiven. King David set the way for all of Israel.

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You Lucky People!
King David and Repentance.


Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations does not intend to preach to people.
We are not so much interested in your spiritual salvation. We concentrate more on provoking and maintaining your interest in the Ten Tribes, informing you, interacting with you, and requesting your financial support to help keep us going in this enterprise.

[Some of you were already aware of this issue concerning the Lost Ten Tribes without our services. Even so, we still often have something to add to the appreciation of it.]

Since our Hebrew Nations/Brit-Am message is based on the Bible some people feel it is not for them.
They say they have strayed so much from that line of thought that they no longer pertain to it.
They are no longer part of the Biblical World.

You have heard me this far and you more or less understand what we are talking about!
Do you realize how lucky you are?

Better people than I, or perhaps even than some of you, for some reason or other are unable to relate to all this.
It is foreign to them.
The Almighty has chosen  us!!
By "us" I do not mean just me but you as well.
We are in the realm of those who may be spoken to.
You may not agree with everything you hear in these type of talks but at least you can relate to it. Thati s a lot.

This is not a simple matter.
It should not be taken for granted.

First Written on 25 April 2012, 3 Iyar 5772

These are the Days of Counting the Omer i.e. the New Grain Offering. They began after the first day of Pesach.

Leviticus 15:
15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath [i.e. Feast-Day of Passover], from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

The Commentary Bais Yisroel (Rabbi Yisrael Alter 1895-1997) whom we have quoted in the past comments on this period (VaYikra Metsora 716):
This is a time of self-examination. It is also a period that pertains especially to Joseph.


We should take an example from Joseph. The brothers of Joseph thought to kill him. In the end instead of murdering their brother they sold him as a slave to a bunch of Arab slave-merchants. Joseph was taken to Egypt and after serving as a slave, he was falsely accused of attempted rape, and imprisoned. later he became the effective ruler of the country. He saved his father and brothers and their families from famine. He also saved most of the civilized world in his time. He then forgave his brothers. He too should forgive those who sin against us, especially when they are mebers of our own family. Charity begins at home.

Joseph brought his brothers into the house (Genesis 43:17). Joseph was the Master of the House.
He was the Boss. By examining and perfecting ourselves we too become the Boss. We became the Masters of Our Own Houses meaning ourselves!
This process is also associated with King David.
According to the simple preliminary impression of the Biblical text King David sinned grievously.
A closer examination may reveal that there were mitigating factors (Shabat 26:1). Nevertheless the straightforward import is that David took the wife of another man (2-Samuel  ch.11). When she became pregnant he tried to foist the child off as that of the husband. When that did not work he went further. David caused the death of the husband with by commanding that he be placed in danger. This was done while the husband was serving in the army of David himself! After this he took the woman, Bat-Sheva, openly.

2 Samuel 11 :

1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, 'Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite'' 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, 'I am with child.'

6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.' And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered. 8 And David said to Uriah, 'Go down to your house and wash your feet.' So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 So when they told David, saying, 'Uriah did not go down to his house,' David said to Uriah, 'Did you not come from a journey' Why did you not go down to your house''

11 And Uriah said to David, 'The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife' As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.'

12 Then David said to Uriah, 'Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.' So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, 'Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.' 16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, 19 and charged the messenger, saying, 'When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, 20 if it happens that the king's wrath rises, and he says to you: 'Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought' Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall' 21 Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth' Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez' Why did you go near the wall'''then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.''

22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. 23 And the messenger said to David, 'Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'

25 Then David said to the messenger, 'Thus you shall say to Joab: 'Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.' So encourage him.'

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

2-Samuel 12:

1 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: 'There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.'

5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, 'As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.'

7 Then Nathan said to David, 'You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight' You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 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.' 11 Thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from 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. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.''

13 So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.'
And Nathan said to David, 'The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.' 15 Then Nathan departed to his house.

And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, 'Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead' He may do some harm!'

19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, 'Is the child dead''
And they said, 'He is dead.'

20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, 'What is this that you have done' You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.'

22 And he said, 'While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live'' 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast' Can I bring him back again' I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.'

24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he[b] called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, 'I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city's water supply. 28 Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name.' 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. 30 Then he took their king's crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David's head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

First of all the Bible says that David sinned.
God condemned David for the sin.
No-one disputes this.
There may however be a few mitigating factors in favor David.

Uriah may have been a Hittite foreign mercenary. Bathsheba was young. She was considered the wife of Uriah and is so described in the Bible.
For this and other reasons, the legal status of this marriage may have been uncertain.
Nevertheless she was considered the woman of Uriah and David was condemned for taking her.


The Sages (Avodah Zarah 4:2) said that King David did not deserve to sin like he did (or even have caused it to be thought that he had) but Divine Providence allowed the event to come about to teach us the powers of Repentance.
King David repented:

2-Samuel 12:
13 So David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.'


cf.
Psalm 51:
51 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight,
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

David was the King in the past.

2-Samuel 8:
15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people.

David will be King in the future.

Ezekiel 37:
24 'David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 25 Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.'

Jeremiah 23:
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD [is] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The future Messiah will be a descendant of David. The word translated from the Hebrew as OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS is Tsidkaynu. Literally this means "will make us righteous" or through whom we shall become righteous". Not only will the Messiah descendant of David be righteous but he shall make others do right and become righteous.
The future Messiah will be a descendant of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6,  Isaiah ch.11) !
David was forgiven.
So can we be.
The Bais Yisroel says that David was lead through all the very numerous manners of temptation and overcame them all (cf. Psalm 26), except for the one time he slipped up (1-King 15:5).
David was preparing the way for us. Not by failing but by overcoming and in the one case where he did fail by paving the way back.
Home.
It is very doubtful if any of you have ever done anything as bad as King David did.
If he repented and was forgiven so may we all be.

The Description of the Messiah in Isaiah

Isaiah 11:
11 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
11 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
12 He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart,
And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west;
Together they shall plunder the people of the East;
They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab;
And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
15 The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River,
And strike it in the seven streams,
And make men cross over dry-shod.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
Who will be left from Assyria,
As it was for Israel
In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.


 

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