2 Samuel 11 – David’s Adultery and Murder
It was
nigh time and David was pacing on his roof top, probably because he couldn't sleep. He looked onto Bathsheba’s roof top and saw her bathing. Instead of looking away, he continued to
stare at her because she was very beautiful.
He gave into temptation. He asked
who she was and was told she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. That didn’t stop David. He sent for her, she came to him and they
slept together. It seemed like David got
away with his sin, but later Bathsheba told David she was pregnant. David was caught and now he had to find a way
to get out of this mess.
First
of all David should have been on the battle field instead of in Jerusalem and
he would have not been tempted.
Bathsheba should have not been bathing on the roof for others to see. David’s sin was not seeing her, but choosing
to keep his eyes on her. David had many
wives and power as king, but must have not been satisfied with all God had
given him. David could have taken
himself out of this situation at the moment of temptation like Joseph when he
ran from Potiphar’s wife.
The pleasures
of sin look enticing and beautiful, but can cause even more sin if we give into
it. David committed adultery in his
heart up on the roof even before he practiced it. David knew it was wrong, but did it
anyway. He just wasn’t thinking but
acted on his feelings, desires and impulses.
When
have you sinned and then tried to cover it up?
When
have you let Satan convince you to do something you knew was wrong?
When
David heard of the pregnancy, he should have repented. Instead he did what a lot of sinners do and
tried to hide his sin. They sin more to
get out of the original sin. He wanted
to draw Uriah back home so he would sleep with his wife, which would give a
reason for her pregnancy. He sent for
Uriah hoping he would go home to Bathsheba, but Uriah didn’t go home so David’s
plan didn’t work. So he had to try
again. He invited Uriah to eat and drink
with him hoping he would get him drunk.
Still Uriah didn’t go home to Bathsheba.
Now he must figure out another plan – a more drastic one.
Uriah
was not a selfish man. He had a duty to
the other soldiers. He didn’t want to
enjoy what his fellow soldiers couldn’t.
He was a man of integrity and loyal to the king’s interests rather than
to his own pleasures.
David’s
lust was so powerful that he wanted Uriah dead.
David sent a note to Joab with Uriah and arranged Uriah’s death by
hiding it in battle. Unknowingly Uriah
carried the note that led to his own death.
Joab without knowing the facts, obeyed David’s command. He sent Uriah to the front line where the
fighting was the fierce and he was killed.
This was the same as if David had killed Uriah himself.
Satan
tempted David little by little – lust on the roof, sending for another man’s
wife, sleeping with her, lies to Uriah, then murder of Uriah. David could have stopped at any time, but he
gave in at every point. One sin led to
another and another. His lust turned
into adultery, lies, deception and murder.
Now that Uriah was dead David took Bathsheba as his wife and they had a
son. God of course witnessed all this
and was displeased with David.
Principle: God knows everything even what’s done in
secret.
Sin is
never hidden from God. The only answer
to sin is confession and repentance.
When we sin we’ve sinned against God.
We have choices to make every day just like David. We can learn from this incident in his
life. We can pray for discernment in our
choices and if we walk down the wrong path, pray that God will empower us to
change our course. But if we do end up
in sin, we should be honest and repent instead of trying to cover it up and
avoid taking responsibility.
2 Samuel 12 – David Rebuked
God
knows our hearts and He knew David was miserable in his guilt and was ready to
repent. God sent Nathan to David and
Nathan told him a story about a rich man with many sheep. The man took a pet lamb from a poor man and
slaughtered it his dinner guests. This
made David very angry and he commanded death to the man. Nathan told David that he was this man. David had to condemn his own sin before he
could find forgiveness. David confessed
immediately and submitted to God’s discipline which would be the death of his newborn
son and later painful consequences in David’s family.
Through
Nathan God explained to David all that He had given him, but instead of
gratitude David sought out sin. David
didn’t get angry with Nathan and attack him for confronting him. He recognized it was his sin and he was
responsible. He didn’t make excuses or
blame Joab or God. He confessed that he
had sinned against God.
Principle: God exposes sin and leads His children to
repentance.
If we
don’t confess our sin, we become slaves to our guilt. We don’t have to be slaves, God is gracious,
compassionate and merciful. When we
repent, He forgives. He may severely
deal with our sins, but we can trust He does everything for our good.
David
repented immediately and God forgave David immediately. Nathan told David that God had taken away his
sin and he was not going to die, but because of David’s sin his son would
die. David pleaded with God for his
child. He even fasted refusing to eat or
drink. On the 7th day his son
died. David had a sense of peace,
because he would meet him in heaven one day.
To me this is an assurance that children who die at a young age will go
to heaven.
Why is it so easy to drift from the Lord?
How often do you manipulate your circumstances to fit your needs?
What tempts you?
How often do you manipulate your circumstances to fit your needs?
What tempts you?
What
steps do you take to guard against that temptation?
Have
you ever told yourself that you’ve done something so unthinkable that God would
never forgive you?
David
and Bathsheba bore another son and God called him Jedidiah, which means
“loved of the Lord”. He was the son born
out of a marriage that began in adultery, but who would be heir to David’s
throne. David had other sons, but God
chose this son to be an ancestor of Jesus to demonstrate the truth that God
forgives repentant sinners. This son was the one who would later build the temple.
Jedidiah was more of a nickname, because later in 1 Chronicles 22:9 God told David to call him Solomon, which means peace.
Principle: God forgives and restores repentant sinners.
Joab
fought against Rabbah and Ammon, but wanted to capture the city. He told David to come and finish the war or
Joab would take credit for the defeat himself.
David went and finished the victory which he should have done all along
instead of staying in Jerusalem.
Next
time we will continue in the book of 2 Samuel. See you here next time.
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