The highlight of the books of Samuel is chapter 7, while the low point is chapter 11. Today, we move from the high of chapter 7 to the low of David committing three offenses against the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).
- Do not covet your neighbor’s wife.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not murder.
How It Began
The story begins when the Israelites went to fight the Ammonites. David sent his general, the Ark of the Lord, and the army, but he stayed at home in his palace in Jerusalem.
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem (2 Samuel 11.1)..
Spring was a time when people in the Middle East went to war. The rainy season had ended, and there was plenty of food for the horses and pack animals along the way.
James understood the nature of sin that worked out in David’s life on a particularly fateful day.
But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when desire has conceived, it engenders sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death (James 1:14-15).
David was walking on the roof of his palace, and saw a beautiful woman bathing on the roof of her house.
- Desire: He desired her, and like a fish drawn to bait on a hook, he went for it.
- Full-grown Sin: He found out that the woman was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of his loyal soldiers.
Despite this, he slept with her and later learned she was pregnant. In fact, the only words we hear from Bathsheba in this whole situation are, “I am pregnant.”
- Death As the story unfolds, we learn that Uriah, a group of soldiers involved in David’s plot, and the child born to David and Bathsheba all died.
David’s Attempted Deception
Before all the deaths, David tried to deceive Uriah. He sent a message to his general, Joab, asking for Uriah to come back from the field.
David urged Uriah to go home and enjoy time with his wife. But Uriah refused, believing that if the Ark of God and the other soldiers were on the battlefield, he should not enjoy such pleasures.
David didn’t give up. He invited Uriah back to his house, got him drunk, and tried again to get him to go to his wife. Still, it didn’t happen.
So David sent Uriah back with a letter. The letter instructed Joab to set up a situation where Uriah would be killed by the enemy.
More than a History Lesson
One of the devil’s tricks is making us believe that following God means never having fun again. But the truth is, if we follow God, our lives will work out quite well.
My child, keep your father’s commandment,
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Bind them upon your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life. (Proverbs 6:20-23)
David’s experience with Bathsheba is a case study in what happens when we fail to follow God’s direction in our daily lives.
To preserve you from the wife of another,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes,
for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another stalks a man’s precious life. (Proverbs 6:24-26)
Like James taught, the results of sin (in this instance, adultery) is death.
Can fire be carried in the bosom
without burning one’s clothes?
Or can one walk on hot coals
without scorching the feet?
So is he who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
But he who commits adultery has no sense;
he who does it destroys himself. (Proverbs 6:27-29, 32)
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 