David & Bathsheba
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This morning, I am continuing in a series looking at a few minor Biblical characters, and today we will look at the story of Bathsheba and David from 2 Samuel 11-12. Quick background: David has been king over all of Israel for about 20 years, and things are going really well. David is a man after God’s heart, a composer of Psalms, the slayer of Goliath, a valiant warrior, the leader of his people, and he has restored peace and security to Israel. And then comes chapter 11, a tragic story of temptation, sin, forgiveness, and restoration. There are seven things I want to learn from this passage. 2 Samuel 11 - In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." What a stunning passage. The first thing I want to highlight is this: (1) Beware the slippery slope of sin – In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army... But David remained in Jerusalem. What a telling opening line of this chapter. Everything that will happen can only happen because David is not where he should be. Not only that, but the text continues in verse 2 to say “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing.” Now, many people took afternoon siestas, but here is King David, getting out of bed in the evening. David is not where he should be, and he is getting lazy. Isn’t this how a fall into sin so often begins? With just a small step away from where you should be, no longer abiding in Christ. The slippery slope of sin begins when you are no longer abiding, when you are no longer connected. You know there are important things to be done, but you can’t get out of bed, or you can’t turn off the TV or the internet. You know it’s a bad idea to be walking down the liquor aisle, or to go to the bar with the guys, or to be visiting a department store, or to be watching a certain kind of movie, or to be rummaging through your snack cabinet for food, or to steal things from work, or to hang out with that group, or to say something you know you shouldn’t. It’s a small step, but you know that if you could only resist that first,
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small step you would prevent the slide that inevitably will happen. It’s so much easier to destroy an acorn than to fell an oak tree. Even before 2 Samuel 11, there is evidence of David’s slide. Look at 5:12-13: 2 Samuel 5:12-13 - And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. 13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. This contradicted God’s words about choosing a king and how he should resist taking many wives: Deuteronomy 17:14-15,17 - When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses… 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. Polygamy is never a good idea in the Bible, and that’s one of the reasons you have to understand how to read the Bible, that it’s not a collection of moral examples to emulate. Just because David had many wives does not mean God was in favor of that. With David, having many women did not abate his sex drive but increased it – even though he had a harem, he still coveted Bathsheba. Giving in to sex drive does not appease it but makes you want more. Giving in to temptation does not make it go away, but only makes it come back stronger the next time. Giving in to anger, to spending, to drinking – it doesn’t make it go away, but feeds it. So here we have David growing in pride and power – he can have anything he wants; complacency, and lust. Sin is a slippery slope. Each slippery slope begins with one small step away from where you should be. That is the time to say no and flee, because often once you’ve begun to slide, it is close to impossible to stop. Consider what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote – “In our members there is a slumbering inclination toward desire, which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power, desire seizes mastery of the flesh. All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is a sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money… At this moment God is quite unreal to us. He loses all reality, and only
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desire for the creature is real. The only reality is the devil. Satan does not here fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God… The lust thus aroused envelopes the mind and will of man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us. The questions present themselves as, “Is what the flesh desires really sin in this case?” And, “Is it really not permitted to me, yes, expected of me now, here in my particular situation to appease desire?” It is here that everything within me rises up against the Word of God… Therefore the Bible teaches us in times of temptation in the flesh, there is one command: Flee! Flee fornication. Flee idolatry. Flee youthful lusts. Flee the lusts of the world. There is no resistance to Satan in lust other than flight. Every struggle against lust in one’s own strength is doomed to failure.” Run away. David lost all awareness of who he was or what would happen. There is no pros/cons list at a time like that. It is “give in or flee”. You are playing with fire. For some of you, I could end the sermon right here and if you are willing to repent and believe the Lord, your life might be saved this very day. But there is more to say: (2) The deceptiveness of temptation - In temptation – whether sexual, shoplifting, lying, cheating, alcohol, drugs, or something else – you are often captivated by the excitement, the adventure, the fun, but never have the clear-headed ability to contemplate the long-term result. You are never told that this will ruin your family, ruin your life, lose you a job, or ruin your reputation. In David’s case, this misstep – looking at a naked woman bathing - will eventually lead to adultery, murder, the division of his kingdom, the rebellion of his children, and the loss of favor of the people. Was it really worth it? But that is what happens when we are tempted. All we can see before us is what we want. We can not see how the cigarette will lead to lung cancer, or the half gallon of ice cream will lead to heart disease, or how the flirtation will lead to the destruction of our family, or how the lie will lead to us losing our job. Temptation is so deceitful. Remember what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:14 - Satan masquerades as an angel of light. That is why again, the only answer is to flee, to not try to reason with the temptation or have any conversation with it. Just run away. Continuing in v. 6: 6
So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, "Uriah did not
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go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" 11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" 12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'" 22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." 25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab." 26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. (3) The choice to come clean or cover up – Even though it is hard to recover from a first step into sin, all along the slippery slope there are always opportunities to stop, to confess, to make it right; or, to cover up, to excuse behavior, to continue the lie. It’s never too late to make things right, to begin the process towards restoration and righteousness. Otherwise, we just dig ourselves a deeper hole. David sees Bathsheba, but he doesn’t have to act on it. Even the servant says, “isn’t that Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?” After David slept with Bathsheba and got her pregnant, he could have owned up to what he had done. Instead, he devises a plan to get Uriah to come home and sleep with his wife. When
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that doesn’t work, he feels his only option is to have Uriah killed. They withdraw from him and Uriah and others are killed. To make matters worse, who is Uriah? 2 Samuel 23 tells us about David’s mighty men, 37 men who stuck by David’s side and fought for him when he was on the run for his life. The last one listed in verse 39 is Uriah the Hittite. Uriah was a man devoted to David, and David betrayed him and had him killed. Stunning. The Bible often says, “If today you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” If you are on the slippery slope, make it right today. There is always an opportunity to flee, to confess, to throw yourself on the mercy of God. (4) The capacity for wickedness in every heart Step back from the story to understand how to read the Bible. A big mistake many people make is to see the Bible as a collection of morality tales, to see people like David as examples of what we are to be like. Yes, there are times when he is a model for us, but the hero of this story is clearly not David. It is God. It is always God. The Bible is not a collection of morality tales. The Bible is the story of the incredible grace of God, His undeserved love and favor given to men and women who do not deserve it, who continually resist it, and who don’t even appreciate it once they have experienced it. It is God choosing David, taking him from the hillside watching sheep to make him king, blessing him with an everlasting lineage despite his shortcomings. Abraham lies and puts his wife in danger; Moses doesn’t trust God and disobeys God in the wilderness; Jacob is a scoundrel; Joseph is arrogant; Paul kills Christians, and so on, but God still chooses them and uses them. Do you read this story and think that you are somehow better than David, that you are not capable of this? That if you had unlimited power and everyone serving you, you wouldn’t become complacent, lustful, and proud either? We are all capable of this. Often the only thing holding us back is the fear of being caught. Be honest – if you knew you would not get caught and there would be no repercussions or consequences, would you still live the moral lives you live? If you were invisible, what would you do? If you had absolute power, what would you be capable of? 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 - So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
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This capacity for wickedness that caused David to steal a man’s wife and have him killed resides in every human heart. But this is not the end of the story. Let’s continue in chapter 12: NIV
2 Samuel 12 - The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him." 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." 7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." 15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." 19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." 20 Then David got up
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from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 21 His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" 22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. (5) The need for the accountability of a friend Remember that in this day, kings such as David were responsible for hearing court cases and judging them. In chapter 12, Nathan brings David a case to hear – it is not a real one, as we soon find out, but David does not know this. After hearing the case, David responds with his guilty conscience by exclaiming that this man deserves to die. He calls for the man to make fourfold repayment, which is according to the law set down in Exodus, but there is nothing in the law about death. David’s guilt seems to be making him more judgmental. And then Nathan turns it around on David, saying you are the man.” Notice how Nathan does it. He does not just start with “you are the man.” God is after conviction, not condemnation. Sometimes people just confront in condemnation instead of working for conviction. That just works to put people on the defensive. Nathan gets conviction and repentance, not condemnation. Who do you have in your life that will tell you the truth? You need to give people you trust permission, because many people will not tell you the truth on their own. And who in your life do you need to tell the truth to, even when no one else will? Take the risk, and be sure to do it with the goal of conviction and repentance, not condemnation. (6) The certainty of reaping what you have sown 10
Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do
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this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." David experiences the tragic results of his actions. His son dies. His family falls apart – in the next chapter, his son Amnon will rape his daughter Tamar, and then his other son Absalom will kill Amnon. Absalom will rebel against his father, and Israel will turn to follow Absalom, causing David to once again have to flee for his life, until finally Absalom is killed. Remember the law of reaping and sowing: Galatians 6:7-9 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. You can trust that if you stray from God down the slippery slope of sin, you may be able to resist the consequences for awhile, but one day you will reap what you have sown. (7) The hope of forgiveness and redemption Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 24
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. David deserves to die, but the Lord forgives him. More than that, David and Bathsheba have another child, and this child (Solomon) ends up being the child of promise, through whom the Messiah, Jesus, will eventually come. Matthew 1:6 Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife. What is going on here? God is able to bring the greatest good out of the worst evil. It’s not that all of this mess had to happen in order for Jesus to be born, but rather that God in His mercy uses our worst failures to bring the greatest goods out of them. Some of you have made giant messes of your life, or others have
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caused the mess for you. Do not despair. Turn and trust in the Lord and He can bring hope out of tragedy. How can God do this? How can he shower such grace on someone so undeserving? Remember that David is not the hero of this story, but God is. Look at the contrast between David in 2 Samuel 11-12 and Jesus standing before Pilate. David is the one who deserves to be judged, but he is standing in judgment before Nathan. Jesus, on the other hand, stands before Pilate being judged when he is the one who deserves to be the judge. Jesus allowed himself to be judged and killed, even when he did not deserve it, so that those of us who deserve His judgment can find forgiveness and redemption. We find forgiveness in Him, even when we have done horrendous things. More than forgiveness, when we come to him we find that God is able to bring the greatest goods out of the worst failures. His mercy is beyond measure. This morning, do what you can to flee temptation before you slide down the slippery slope of sin. Find someone to whom you can confess your sin, someone who can be a Nathan for you. And above all, know that sin is not the final word, that our God loves to bring the greatest goods out of the worst failures.
This morning, I am continuing in a series looking at a few minor Biblical characters, and today we will look at the story of Bathsheba and David from 2 Samuel 11-12. Quick background: David has been king over all of Israel for about 20 years, and things are going really well. David is a man after God’s heart, a composer of Psalms, the slayer of Goliath, a valiant warrior, the leader of his people, and he has restored peace and security to Israel. And then comes chapter 11, a tragic story of temptation, sin, forgiveness, and restoration. There are seven things I want to learn from this passage. 2 Samuel 11 - In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." What a stunning passage. The first thing I want to highlight is this: (1) Beware the slippery slope of sin – In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army... But David remained in Jerusalem. What a telling opening line of this chapter. Everything that will happen can only happen because David is not where he should be. Not only that, but the text continues in verse 2 to say “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing.” Now, many people took afternoon siestas, but here is King David, getting out of bed in the evening. David is not where he should be, and he is getting lazy. Isn’t this how a fall into sin so often begins? With just a small step away from where you should be, no longer abiding in Christ. The slippery slope of sin begins when you are no longer abiding, when you are no longer connected. You know there are important things to be done, but you can’t get out of bed, or you can’t turn off the TV or the internet. You know it’s a bad idea to be walking down the liquor aisle, or to go to the bar with the guys, or to be visiting a department store, or to be watching a certain kind of movie, or to be rummaging through your snack cabinet for food, or to steal things from work, or to hang out with that group, or to say something you know you shouldn’t. It’s a small step, but you know that if you could only resist that first,
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small step you would prevent the slide that inevitably will happen. It’s so much easier to destroy an acorn than to fell an oak tree. Even before 2 Samuel 11, there is evidence of David’s slide. Look at 5:12-13: 2 Samuel 5:12-13 - And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. 13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. This contradicted God’s words about choosing a king and how he should resist taking many wives: Deuteronomy 17:14-15,17 - When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses… 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. Polygamy is never a good idea in the Bible, and that’s one of the reasons you have to understand how to read the Bible, that it’s not a collection of moral examples to emulate. Just because David had many wives does not mean God was in favor of that. With David, having many women did not abate his sex drive but increased it – even though he had a harem, he still coveted Bathsheba. Giving in to sex drive does not appease it but makes you want more. Giving in to temptation does not make it go away, but only makes it come back stronger the next time. Giving in to anger, to spending, to drinking – it doesn’t make it go away, but feeds it. So here we have David growing in pride and power – he can have anything he wants; complacency, and lust. Sin is a slippery slope. Each slippery slope begins with one small step away from where you should be. That is the time to say no and flee, because often once you’ve begun to slide, it is close to impossible to stop. Consider what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote – “In our members there is a slumbering inclination toward desire, which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power, desire seizes mastery of the flesh. All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is a sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money… At this moment God is quite unreal to us. He loses all reality, and only
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desire for the creature is real. The only reality is the devil. Satan does not here fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God… The lust thus aroused envelopes the mind and will of man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us. The questions present themselves as, “Is what the flesh desires really sin in this case?” And, “Is it really not permitted to me, yes, expected of me now, here in my particular situation to appease desire?” It is here that everything within me rises up against the Word of God… Therefore the Bible teaches us in times of temptation in the flesh, there is one command: Flee! Flee fornication. Flee idolatry. Flee youthful lusts. Flee the lusts of the world. There is no resistance to Satan in lust other than flight. Every struggle against lust in one’s own strength is doomed to failure.” Run away. David lost all awareness of who he was or what would happen. There is no pros/cons list at a time like that. It is “give in or flee”. You are playing with fire. For some of you, I could end the sermon right here and if you are willing to repent and believe the Lord, your life might be saved this very day. But there is more to say: (2) The deceptiveness of temptation - In temptation – whether sexual, shoplifting, lying, cheating, alcohol, drugs, or something else – you are often captivated by the excitement, the adventure, the fun, but never have the clear-headed ability to contemplate the long-term result. You are never told that this will ruin your family, ruin your life, lose you a job, or ruin your reputation. In David’s case, this misstep – looking at a naked woman bathing - will eventually lead to adultery, murder, the division of his kingdom, the rebellion of his children, and the loss of favor of the people. Was it really worth it? But that is what happens when we are tempted. All we can see before us is what we want. We can not see how the cigarette will lead to lung cancer, or the half gallon of ice cream will lead to heart disease, or how the flirtation will lead to the destruction of our family, or how the lie will lead to us losing our job. Temptation is so deceitful. Remember what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:14 - Satan masquerades as an angel of light. That is why again, the only answer is to flee, to not try to reason with the temptation or have any conversation with it. Just run away. Continuing in v. 6: 6
So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, "Uriah did not
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go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" 11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" 12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'" 22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." 25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab." 26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. (3) The choice to come clean or cover up – Even though it is hard to recover from a first step into sin, all along the slippery slope there are always opportunities to stop, to confess, to make it right; or, to cover up, to excuse behavior, to continue the lie. It’s never too late to make things right, to begin the process towards restoration and righteousness. Otherwise, we just dig ourselves a deeper hole. David sees Bathsheba, but he doesn’t have to act on it. Even the servant says, “isn’t that Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?” After David slept with Bathsheba and got her pregnant, he could have owned up to what he had done. Instead, he devises a plan to get Uriah to come home and sleep with his wife. When
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that doesn’t work, he feels his only option is to have Uriah killed. They withdraw from him and Uriah and others are killed. To make matters worse, who is Uriah? 2 Samuel 23 tells us about David’s mighty men, 37 men who stuck by David’s side and fought for him when he was on the run for his life. The last one listed in verse 39 is Uriah the Hittite. Uriah was a man devoted to David, and David betrayed him and had him killed. Stunning. The Bible often says, “If today you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” If you are on the slippery slope, make it right today. There is always an opportunity to flee, to confess, to throw yourself on the mercy of God. (4) The capacity for wickedness in every heart Step back from the story to understand how to read the Bible. A big mistake many people make is to see the Bible as a collection of morality tales, to see people like David as examples of what we are to be like. Yes, there are times when he is a model for us, but the hero of this story is clearly not David. It is God. It is always God. The Bible is not a collection of morality tales. The Bible is the story of the incredible grace of God, His undeserved love and favor given to men and women who do not deserve it, who continually resist it, and who don’t even appreciate it once they have experienced it. It is God choosing David, taking him from the hillside watching sheep to make him king, blessing him with an everlasting lineage despite his shortcomings. Abraham lies and puts his wife in danger; Moses doesn’t trust God and disobeys God in the wilderness; Jacob is a scoundrel; Joseph is arrogant; Paul kills Christians, and so on, but God still chooses them and uses them. Do you read this story and think that you are somehow better than David, that you are not capable of this? That if you had unlimited power and everyone serving you, you wouldn’t become complacent, lustful, and proud either? We are all capable of this. Often the only thing holding us back is the fear of being caught. Be honest – if you knew you would not get caught and there would be no repercussions or consequences, would you still live the moral lives you live? If you were invisible, what would you do? If you had absolute power, what would you be capable of? 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 - So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
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This capacity for wickedness that caused David to steal a man’s wife and have him killed resides in every human heart. But this is not the end of the story. Let’s continue in chapter 12: NIV
2 Samuel 12 - The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him." 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." 7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." 15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." 19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." 20 Then David got up
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from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 21 His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" 22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. (5) The need for the accountability of a friend Remember that in this day, kings such as David were responsible for hearing court cases and judging them. In chapter 12, Nathan brings David a case to hear – it is not a real one, as we soon find out, but David does not know this. After hearing the case, David responds with his guilty conscience by exclaiming that this man deserves to die. He calls for the man to make fourfold repayment, which is according to the law set down in Exodus, but there is nothing in the law about death. David’s guilt seems to be making him more judgmental. And then Nathan turns it around on David, saying you are the man.” Notice how Nathan does it. He does not just start with “you are the man.” God is after conviction, not condemnation. Sometimes people just confront in condemnation instead of working for conviction. That just works to put people on the defensive. Nathan gets conviction and repentance, not condemnation. Who do you have in your life that will tell you the truth? You need to give people you trust permission, because many people will not tell you the truth on their own. And who in your life do you need to tell the truth to, even when no one else will? Take the risk, and be sure to do it with the goal of conviction and repentance, not condemnation. (6) The certainty of reaping what you have sown 10
Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do
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this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." David experiences the tragic results of his actions. His son dies. His family falls apart – in the next chapter, his son Amnon will rape his daughter Tamar, and then his other son Absalom will kill Amnon. Absalom will rebel against his father, and Israel will turn to follow Absalom, causing David to once again have to flee for his life, until finally Absalom is killed. Remember the law of reaping and sowing: Galatians 6:7-9 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. You can trust that if you stray from God down the slippery slope of sin, you may be able to resist the consequences for awhile, but one day you will reap what you have sown. (7) The hope of forgiveness and redemption Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 24
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. David deserves to die, but the Lord forgives him. More than that, David and Bathsheba have another child, and this child (Solomon) ends up being the child of promise, through whom the Messiah, Jesus, will eventually come. Matthew 1:6 Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife. What is going on here? God is able to bring the greatest good out of the worst evil. It’s not that all of this mess had to happen in order for Jesus to be born, but rather that God in His mercy uses our worst failures to bring the greatest goods out of them. Some of you have made giant messes of your life, or others have
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caused the mess for you. Do not despair. Turn and trust in the Lord and He can bring hope out of tragedy. How can God do this? How can he shower such grace on someone so undeserving? Remember that David is not the hero of this story, but God is. Look at the contrast between David in 2 Samuel 11-12 and Jesus standing before Pilate. David is the one who deserves to be judged, but he is standing in judgment before Nathan. Jesus, on the other hand, stands before Pilate being judged when he is the one who deserves to be the judge. Jesus allowed himself to be judged and killed, even when he did not deserve it, so that those of us who deserve His judgment can find forgiveness and redemption. We find forgiveness in Him, even when we have done horrendous things. More than forgiveness, when we come to him we find that God is able to bring the greatest goods out of the worst failures. His mercy is beyond measure. This morning, do what you can to flee temptation before you slide down the slippery slope of sin. Find someone to whom you can confess your sin, someone who can be a Nathan for you. And above all, know that sin is not the final word, that our God loves to bring the greatest goods out of the worst failures.
