David and Bath-Sheba
Book of 2 Samuel Chapter 11
So far in our lessons we have seen the strengths of King David and we start thinking of him as a man who was above sin, but what we find is that he was actually a human being who also had a sin nature just as we all do and lust may have been his greatest temptation.
God had said that David was a man after God's own heart and he still was.
Jehovah had these words for King Saul.
1Sa 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: "the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart", and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
We know that King Saul never one time sought the knowledge of the Lord when he took his nation to war and he never tried to get the Ark of God back into its home in the Holy of Holies.
David had lived a righteous life, but suddenly without warning, David was confronted with a temptation that he was too weak to overcome.
We know that David had probably faced such temptation many times because he had many wives. Some were because of politics, but most of them were David's own desires.
This time we find that there were several differences that the Lord has made known to us.
The Lord never tries to hide the sin of those He has chosen for special work.
It is these things that brought the nation of Israel into a divided nation and a weakened nation could not defend itself from the wickedness of this world that is centered upon conflict and is still centered on conflict.
A little bit of power can change many who were once just part of society.
We should understand that God does not mention a curse just to be saying the words!
God still means what He has said because He says what He means in all curses and in all sin but also in His blessings.
It was David's sin that almost destroyed his entire family and it was David's sin that set Israel on a course of destruction which they are still trying to recover from.
When we turn our backs on God, we are simply headed for trouble in our lives and our children’s lives that could go on for generations!
Deu 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Deu 28:16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Deu 28:17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Deu 28:18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Deu 28:19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Deu 28:20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
It was David's sin that was the main cause of the nation of Israel and to scatter them all over the earth until May 14,1948 when again Israel became a nation upon the some of the same land that God has given to them.
Deu 28:63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
Deu 28:64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
Deu 28:65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
Deu 28:66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
Deu 28:67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
We serve a loving merciful God but He expects obedience from us all!
Some would try to convince you that the curse of God does not exists today but the same curse to Adam and Eve is the same curse we are under today and will not be over until the Lord Jesus Christ says that it is over.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
In the time of King David, the king would go out with his troops in the time of war. David had already reached the age where he was unable to do hand-to-hand combat with the enemy but he at least should have gone out with his troops to direct the battle.
We already know that David was a great military strategist.
It was one of those times and David did not go with his troops and the Bible does not say why he did not go with them.
The Bible just confirms that King David would have been far better off to have gone into battle with his army.
*****2Sa 11:1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
Taking this passage word for word it appears that it was after Winter but in the Spring that most of these wars of Israel began.
Because of walled cities an army would lay siege to that city and as those crops began to come in they would have food provided by that city and that would also deprive that city of the harvest and cause them to run out of food.
Why David did not go out with his armies, the Scriptures do not say.
Joab had already wasted the land of Ammon and had now laid siege to Rabbah, the capitol city of Ammon.
Joab had brought many of the treasures to Jerusalem including the crown of the king which was made of pure gold.
1Ch 20:2 And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city.
We do see where David did make a trip to Rabbah just before the battle ended and at the end, these people of Rabbah were put to work as servants to Israel.
1Ch 20:3 And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
This verse may sound terrible but it reads the people were given saws and harrows and axes and they were made servants of Israel instead the terrorists that they were.
What had the Lord said?
Eze 25:6 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel;
Eze 25:7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
Before King David went to Rabbah he did something that would multiply into unspeakable sin by the ruler of Israel, David, who it was said had a heart that belonged to Jehovah.
It proves that any of us are capable of falling back into sin and it seems we are most susceptible after we have been on the mountain for an extended amount of time.
The valley is a terrible place for most of us but we will spend a good amount of time in the valley because of this world of sin that we live in.
*****2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
All the houses of the Jews had flat roofs that you could walk upon and they were places of storage, and places to observe the stars and to relax as it seems King David was trying to do on this day.
This is when the devil will take advantage of our situation and cause as much havoc as he can in our lives.
King David had a house worthy of a king so it was higher that all other houses around him.
All the Jewish homes had yards that had fences that were higher than the head. We would say privacy fences.
Bathsheba was breaking no law.
A tub was put into the back yard so the sun could warm the water during the day and just at nighttime when the water was the warmest, the owner could bath or in Bathsheba's case it was a ritual bath.
The outward purification with water, symbolizing man's need of inward purity before admission into God's presence.
It was King David who was sinful.
David should have read the Book of Job.
Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
Job 31:2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
Job 31:3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
Job 31:4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
Job 31:5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;
Job 31:6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.
We all need to stay close to the Word of God to obey what the Lord has said!
1Co_10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
He looked.
He lusted.
He failed the Lord.
We must understand that Satan has been on the job for more six thousand years and we are numbered by our own years.
In our daily walk, we can be called innocent of the first look upon sin but that second look is the one that causes our sin.
King David could not have known this beautiful lady was taking a bath which was actually a purification bath by the laws of Moses.
David became guilty when he took that second look and then lingered to stare at this young lady.
Then he did much more than this!
*****2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
First King David enquired to whom she belonged to.
We should remember by this time God had brought David's troubles to an end and King David was the most powerful monarch in that quarter of the known world.
He had reached higher than he ever could have imagined.
No nation had the will to come against Israel in the days of King David that is, up until the time of this period when David allowed sin to come back into his life.
It was bad enough that this young lady was innocent while King David watched her bath, but then when David knew that she was the wife of one of his best soldiers you would think that it would all stop at that point, but David's lust had already taken over him and he did not care who she belonged to, after all he was a great king. who could challenge him.
So David took the next step.
*****2Sa 11:4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
David had neglected his duty to be with his army which would have been a much better place than where he found himself right now.
We still have to say that Bathsheba was still innocent after all, David was King of all Israel, how could she defy him.
All we can say is the David's lust blinded him to the clear laws of God's Holy Word against committing adultery.
Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Lev 18:20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.
Lev 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
David disregarded the Word of God.
David disregarded the wreckage he could cause in his own family.
David disregarded the wreckage he could cause in someone else's family.
David disregarded what could happen in his nation that had just joined together by the Word of God which David had rejected.
In many ways we can relate these things to our own nation that became strong and self-sustaining until the Lord Jesus Christ has been rejected and are now appearing weak to those nations who have feared us for many years.
I do not think we should try to drag Bathsheba through the mud for what happened, as many books and many commentaries try to do.
I believe had she rejected the king things would be much worse for her and her husband!
Rulers have great control over those who defy them even today.
Then she conceived.
*****2Sa 11:5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
David's moment of satisfaction now was having an unexpected consequence.
It is these types of things that keep the abortion industry busy.
People who believe they have to the freedom to be promiscuous and then the freedom to kill an innocent child after such behavior are no more than murderers and fornicators!
Had such a thing been done in the time of David I'm sure it could have been used here, but the laws of God protected that newborn life and this was a child as soon as conception took place.
God says every child is a blessing!
Pro_20:7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
At any time David could have departed from the evil that was surrounding him, but the hole of evil does not stop until it has been filled.
The Bible says:
Psa 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
King David just dug his hole deeper.
*****2Sa 11:6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
2Sa 11:7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
2Sa 11:8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
2Sa 11:9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
When we have sinned against our Savior there is only one thing to do, and that is to ask for forgiveness and then repent.
David devised a plan in an attempt to escape his guilt, but no such plan can fool God!
David sent for Uriah saying he wanted an update report of the progress of the war, when he really wanted Uriah to spend some time with his wife.
Uriah was not just your average soldier! Uriah was one of the band of David's mighty men.
1Ch 11:26 Also the valiant men of the armies were, Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
And:
1Ch 11:41 Uriah the Hittite,
What we find is, that Uriah was a much better man than King David at this time.
David tried with all he knew to get Uriah to go home to be with his wife, in hope that when this child was born it would known as Uriah's child and David's problem would be over as surely Bathsheba would not have told Uriah what happened.
Evidently many people had known that Bathsheba had gone to the house of King David.
Uriah was a dedicated soldier who wanted to get back to the battlefield, because his fellow soldiers were there.
No one seems to understand how close fellow soldiers become when they spend time upon the battlefield.
It is an extremely close relationship, as close or closer than brothers.
Now I do not claim to be anything special but when I was in Vietnam I came down with strep throat and reached a high fever until I was almost delirious and my medic called for a medivac. I was at 104 degrees and it was 105 degrees temperature yet I was freezing to death and could not get warm. When I reached the battlefield hospital, I received two shots of penicillin in both hips and two bottles of penicillin and went straight back to my platoon because I did want to be separated from them just in case they got into a firefight. I wanted to be with them because we were brothers!
Uriah was not about to go home to be with his wife when his brothers were in harm’s way!
David's deceptive plan failed!
David's first sin was the fact temptation had taken control of him at the sight of Bathsheba undressed.
The first look at Bathsheba was an accident and it was not sinful.
That second look was sin and this is when lust became sin, a sin of the heart even if David went no further.
Mat_5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat_5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Had David gone no further he would have still to confess that sin before God, but David went ever further.
It was a murder of character and in fact called for capital punishment for which both parties were to be sentenced to death.
David did not stop at this point but continued to pile on one sin after another!
In desperation, David made a second attempt to deceive Uriah.
*****2Sa 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
2Sa 11:13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
David ordered Uriah to stay in Jerusalem one more day and to eat with the King.
It was David trying a feeble attempt to get Uriah drunk enough that he might go home to his wife.
Again, Uriah refused to go home to his wife while his brothers in the army of God was at war.
We know that deception is the opposite of truthfulness!
When we scheme to deceive another person, we are not walking in the truth, no matter if we think we are, we are walking in sin.
Deceiving is lying and David was living a lie.
What does the Lord Jesus say?
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
God adds to this:
Psa 101:7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
We can see that the Lord is serious about these things!
Book of Proverbs:
Pro 19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
King David went deeper into sin rather than confess his guilt and repent, and these things would affect his life and the lives of his family and the whole nation of Israel from that day forward.
*****2Sa 11:14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
2Sa 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
Uriah would take his own death decree to Joab the next day.
David wrote a letter to Joab ordering him to place Uriah at the front of the battle and then withdraw from him and Uriah would be killed.
Joab can also be found guilty because he did this thing, which was enough guilt in the eyes of God, but Joab had other reasons.
We can be sure that more soldiers than Uriah were killed that day!
When the lives of our militaries mean nothing to our politicians and presidents we are almost finished as a nation and will like Putin who has murdered over 300,000 of his own people in the Ukraine without remorse.
Joab and King David both knew that the death of Uriah, who was more noble and more gallant than they both, did not come by chance but was intentional murder.
What we know for sure is, that King David should have been with his army. The Devil will always find work for idle hands to do!
It should be obvious that a first sin will lead to more sin if there is an attempt to hide it.
We cannot hide any sin from the Lord.
He knows that sin because it was one of the sins, He died for on the cross of Mount Calvary.
All sin needs to be confessed so it can be forgiven and we can move on with our lives, not causing further damage to those we love!
Amen
