2 Samuel 11
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Introduction
Introduction
This chapter deals with one of the most familiar stories in 2 Samuel.
This chapter deals with one of the most familiar stories in 2 Samuel.
It is the story of David's harmful affair with Bathsheba and then its implications for David and for his rule and kingdom.
It is the story of David's harmful affair with Bathsheba and then its implications for David and for his rule and kingdom.
The Bible does something interesting in regards to the “Heroes” we find in it.
The Bible rarely flatters them and often reveals their flaws.
One might say that all the men and women of Scripture have feet of clay.
They are flawed with a sin nature, just like you and me … and the Holy Spirit presents a realistic portrait of their lives.
for the Holy Spirit paints a realistic portrait of their lives. He doesn't ignore, deny, or overlook the dark side. It should encourage us to know that even the best men and women in the biblical record had their faults and failures, just as we do yet the Sovereign Lord in His grace was able to use them to accomplish His purposes. Noah was a man of faith and obedience, yet he got drunk, Twice Abraham lied about his wife, and Jacob lied both to his father and to his brother Esau. Moses lost his temper disobeyed God and struck the rock, and Peter lost his courage and denied Christ three times.
He doesn't ignore, deny, or overlook the dark side.
It should encourage us to know that even the heroes of the faith had their faults and failures, just as we do.
It should encourage us to know that even the heroes of the faith had their faults and failures, just as we do.
And yet our Sovereign Lord in His grace was able to use them to accomplish His purposes.
Noah was a man of faith and obedience, yet he got drunk.
Twice Abraham lied about his wife.
Jacob lied both to his father and to his brother Esau.
And Rahab was a harlot.
Moses lost his temper disobeyed God and struck the rock in anger.
And Peter lost his courage and denied Christ three times.
Of course, our pastors today have to be perfect.
I’m kidding.
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Chapter 11 of 2 Samuel deals with the story of David and Bath-Sheba.
On the surface, David’s behavior
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In our chapter for today, David, a man after God's own heart, commits adultery and then commits murder in an attempt to coverup his own sin.
In our chapter for today, David, a man after God's own heart, commits adultery and then commits murder in an attempt to coverup his own sin.
These sins are greatly intensified because the Bible says of David that he was a man after God’s own heart.
These sins are greatly intensified because the Bible says of David that he was a man after God’s own heart.
Some have tried to justify David’s actions, but really there is no justification for what David did.
I'm certainly not defending it.
That being said, we do need to put it in perspective.
No sin, save the sin of Adam and Eve, has received more attention than the sin of David with Bathsheba.
Theatre and movie plots have adapted the story either as direct portrayals or as fodder for plot.
And many of those plots have portrayed the “David” character as the antagonist.
To grasp what the Holy Spirit would have us understand we should remember that David was a man who loved God. . . he was still "a man after God's heart."
He sinned, just as you and I have.
Of course, ours have not been recorded for all to read.
For this reason, I am forever grateful that God has finished writing Scripture.
I mean, would you want your sins recorded for all generations to read and discuss and make movies about and write books on and preach sermons on down through the centuries?
There is not a person I know who would want to have his failures and vices recorded for all generations to read and discuss and make movies about and write books on and preach sermons on down through the centuries.
Of course not.
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This record of history, told with candor and honesty, doesn't gloss over anything.
This record of history, told with candor and honesty, doesn't gloss over anything.
It reminds us that David was human … very much like you and I.
It reminds us that David was human … very much like you and I.
And from it we can gain great insight into things that make us spiritually vulnerable.
This narrative reminds us that God uses fallible people according to His own sovereignty.
God’s sovereignty is one of the most important principles in Christian theology.
This means that God is preeminent in power and authority.
The
God has the power and knowledge to prevent anything He chooses to prevent, so anything that does happen must, at the very least, be “allowed” by God.
And yet God allows humans to make choices.
He holds us personally responsible for our sins, and the Bible records God being unhappy with sinful actions.
The fact that sin exists demonstrates that God, Who is holy, allows things to occur that are outside of His direct action.
Human volition and human accountability sets the boundary for God’s control over the universe.
In other words, there is a point at which God chooses to allow things that He does not directly cause.
God has the ability to do anything, to take action and intervene in any situation, but He often chooses to act indirectly or to allow certain things for reasons of His own.
His will is furthered in any case.
Everything that happens is, at the very least, the result of God’s permissive will.
Everything that happens is, at the very least, the result of God’s permissive will.
There is a difference between God’s perfect will and His permissive will.
God’s perfect will is what allows us to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.
His permissive will is what allows us to make our own decisions and yet remain saved if we are in Christ Jesus or to remain unrepentant and experience His wrath if we reject Jesus.
The right of God to allow mankind’s free choices is just as necessary for true sovereignty as His ability to enact His will, wherever and however He chooses.
A poor example is you with an ant in a bowl.
You have total control over that ant … whether it lives or dies, yet you might allow it to crawl around in that
Something else we might gather from this story is a warning against presumption due to position and status, and that no one is above God's law.
These sins give perspective to the events that occur in the succeeding chapters as a result of God's judgment upon David.
Unfortunately, the child that resulted of this sin would die.
But the repercussions of David's sins do not end with the death of the child but seem to lay the foundation for a whole series of tragic events to follow.
The repercussions of David's sins do not end with the death of the child but seem to lay the foundation for a whole series of tragic events—rape, murder, and insurrection. When lust has conceived it gives birth to sin (CIT). The shock waves that began with a lustful heart on a rooftop were still being felt when David lay dying and was being pressured to make Solomon his successor on the throne. With this in mind, let's see what we can learn from the man's tragic failure.
There is rape, murder, rebellion and insurrection.
Still, out of this, Solomon would be born … so Bathsheba became the Matriarch of the Davidic dynasty that will culminate with the King Messiah, Jesus Christ.
With this in mind, let's see what we can learn from David’s very public and tragic sin.
v1
v1
In the previous chapter, Joab defeated Ammon, but allowed its army to retreat into it’s own city walls.
In the previous chapter, Joab defeated Ammon, but allowed its army to retreat into it’s own city walls.
He then left to return to Jerusalem without any further battles.
He then left to return to Jerusalem without any further battles.
In previous chapters, the Lord turned the tables on Philistia, Moab, Syria, and Edom to extend Israel's borders and give His people control of vital trade routes.
What began as a series of attacks and wars on Israel ended with Israel in command of territory from the Tigris/Euphrates valley in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south.
Incidentally, something very similar happened after Israel became a nation in 1948 and then again in the 6 day war of 1967.
Israel was attacked and defeated her attackers and took territory.
Now, the wealth of these nations was filtering into Israel.
The first verse sets the backdrop for the story.
It was the time of year when wars could be waged due to the availability of crops to sustain a military campaign.
Perhaps this was why Joab had previously returned to Jerusalem without completing the war with the Ammonites … the season prohibited an elongated military campaign.
Though the Syrians-Arameans no longer came to their aid, the Ammonites stubbornly maintained their hostile posture toward Israel.
This is supported by the fact that relates the King of Syria waiting until Spring to go to war against Israel.
Another possibility is that David was waiting to see if the Ammonites would capitulate, but gave up hope after about a year had passed.
Whatever the case, though the Syrians and Arameans no longer came to their aid, the Ammonites stubbornly maintained their hostile posture toward Israel.
Much of the time prior to this, David had gone to war with Israel.
But this time, he remained behind, while the army went to war.
v2
v2
By telling us that David did not join the military campaign, verse 1 sets the stage for what happens now.
By telling us that David did not join the military campaign, verse 1 sets the stage for what happens now.
It should not be overlooked that verse 1 says, “Kings go out to battle.”
It should not be overlooked that verse 1 says, “Kings go out to battle.”
Normally, at this time, Kings led their armies into battle.
But David didn't go off to war.
David sent out his army, but he remained in Jerusalem.
For reasons that we are not told, David remained in Jerusalem.
He evidently decided to take a break and let the younger men go without him.
Because
David was now about fifty-eight years old … perhaps he was a few years older.
He had been on the throne somewhere around 26 years.
During that time, he had distinguished himself as a man of God, as a composer of psalms, as a faithful shepherd, as a valiant warrior on the battlefield, and as a leader of his people.
And he not only led the people in righteousness, he composed much of the hymnal of Israel.
He was a man of passion as well as compassion.
He was compassionate toward Mephibosheth, keeping his promise to Jonathan and to Saul, demonstrating grace and showing honor.\
He was also passionate about God’s plan for Israel.
And yet, as we look at the next segment in the life of David we find him falling into a period of sin.
And that sin had devastating consequences for his family, his reign, and his nation.
Sin always bears consequences.
The Bible warns us in
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
We're to take heed lest we fall, whether we are in our fifties or sixties, our teens, or our twenties, thirties, or forties.
No one is too young or ever gets too old to fall.
Had David been leading the army of Israel, he would not have seen Bathsheba, at least not in this way at this time.
Whatever kept David in Jerusalem, this much we find confirmed in this chapter … “Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.”
Idleness isn’t just the absence of activity … all of us need rest on a regular basis.
Idleness is also activity that has no good purpose.
We should be very careful that we do not condemn rest or taking a break.
Even God commands a Sabbath.
Instead, the danger is yielding to temptation.
warns:
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Let’s face it, temptation was not on that rooftop … it was within David in the form of his own desires.
Let’s face it, there is temptation in many places … it doesn’t have to be on top of a roof while taking a break.
Danger is not necessarily on top of a roof while taking a break.
And it wasn’t necessarily on the roof where Bathsheba was bathing.
The danger was in his own desires.
And the great problem here is not necessarily that David took a break, but it is pictured in David’s laying down of his armor.
And the great problem here is not necessarily that David took a break, but it is pictured in David’s laying down of his armor.
When David laid aside his armor, he took the first step toward moral defeat.
And the same spiritual principle applies to believers today.
speaks of God’s provision to us for spiritual warfare.
Paul wrote:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians
Paul then detailed this spiritual armor that God has given to us.
There is the helmet of salvation … Without the helmet of salvation, we don’t think like saved people.
There is the breastplate of righteousness, … without this we have nothing to protect the heart.
There is the belt of truth … Lacking the belt of truth, we easily believe lies (Lies like … “I can get away with this”).
And there is the sword of the Word and the shield of faith … without which, we are helpless before the Enemy.
There is also prayer … Without prayer we have no power.
And then there are the shoes of peace, which should be a testimony of our righteous standing in Christ to all people.
Though we experience battles we walk in peace.
But if we neglect the armor of God, we will be walking not in peace but in panic because the battles will be getting the better of us.
As for the shoes of peace, David walked in the midst of battles for the rest of his life.
As for David, his neglect of putting on the armor in this instance would bring more battles to his life.
The irony is that he would have been safer on the physical battlefield than on the battlefield he stepped out into from his bedroom.
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Does Bathsheba deserve some blame here?
Does Bathsheba deserve some blame here?
Well, rooftops back then were like another floor of the house and were used for escaping the heat of the day that would be trapped inside the walls.
Well, rooftops back then were like another floor of the house and were used for escaping the heat of the day that would be trapped inside the walls.
During the hottest part of the day, people would rest inside and then step out in the afternoon to cool down in the breeze.
Bathsheba’s husband was gone off to fight the Ammonites.
David was simply walking out from his rest into the afternoon breeze.
And, within view of the palace, there she was.
One has to wonder if there were not motives on her part.
Nevertheless, David should have averted his eyes and left the roof at once.
But he entertained the desires that were within himself and allowed his desires to give birth to sin.
And so, His imagination went to work and started to conceive sin.
his imagination went to work and started to conceive sin. That would have been a good time to turn away decisively and leave the roof of his palace for a much safer place. When Joseph faced a similar temptation, he fled from the scene (). “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”
That moment would have been a good time to turn away decisively and leave the roof of his palace for a much safer place.
You might remember that when Joseph faced a similar temptation, he ran.
He still suffered, but he suffered righteously … that is, not because he had been guilty of violating a command of God.
Peter would later write:
If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
1 Peter 4:
Had David turned and gone back into his palace at this point he would have resisted sin.
But David was now the most powerful person in the kingdom and had grown accustomed to getting whatever he wanted, so he followed up his physical desire with an inquiry as we’ll see next.
v3
v3
So, David inquired about the woman he had seen.
So, David inquired about the woman he had seen.
Now, in the text you will see “someone” italicized and this is because it is not a part of the original text but was added because the authors felt it provided clarity.
Now, in the text you will see “someone” italicized and this is because it is not a part of the original text but was added because the authors felt it provided clarity.
The question is then whether it was “someone” else or David himself who said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
If it is David who said this, it implies that David had a close relationship with Uriah … making what he is about to do all the more egregious.
Uriah was a soldier in David’s army.
And because he is listed as one of David’s foremost soldiers in the last verse of chapter 23.
He is called Uriah the Hittite either because he was a proselyte of Hittite descent or he was an Israelite who used to dwell in a Hittite area.
As for Bathsheba’s bathing, the law required a ritual immersion for women following their time of the month and this is what is meant in verse 4 when it says she was, “cleansed from her impurity.”
Now, David, against God’s word, already had a harem of women.
Perhaps the thought was satisfaction in abundance, but we all know that abundance does not satisfy … rather, indulgence often instigates.
David’s own statement of recognition that this was the wife of Uriah should have said, “Off limits.”
But David’s desire for pleasure took his eyes off of the LORD and moved him to say yes to that which he ought to have said no.
v4
v4
So, David moved quickly.
So, David moved quickly.
Perhaps this was to avoid thinking about any warnings or consequences.
Perhaps this was to avoid thinking about any warnings or consequences.
David abused his privilege, power, and position, but from the language here, there is no doubt that they were both consenting in this.
F.B. Meyers writes of this: “One brief spell of passionate indulgence, and then-his character blasted irretrievably; his peace vanished; the foundations of his kingdom imperiled; the Lord displeased; and great occasion given to his enemies to blaspheme!”
And very quickly now, we get to the consequences.
v5
v5
The devil never tips his hand as to what he is about when he tempts us.
The devil never tips his hand as to what he is about when he tempts us.
Satan tells us about the excitement of fulfilling sinful desires, but he doesn’t every warn of the consequences.
Satan tells us about the excitement of fulfilling sinful desires, but he doesn’t every warn of the consequences.
And then when the sin is done and all the consequences come about, the devil is nowhere to be found.
He encourages you to give in to desires and then smiles as you fall. . . but then turns around to accuse.
The only recorded words of Bathsheba in this incident are, “I’m pregnant.”
David certainly didn’t want to hear those words.
What David heard was, “What are you going to do now?”
And so he came up with a plan to deceive others so that he could get away with his violation.
The marriage bond was considered sacred and the punishment for adultery was severe under the Law.
‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
David could have been put to death for what he did.
However, as is the case with rulers and politicians today, laws are considered applicable for the people, but don’t always feel the need to obey the laws themselves.
This happens today in our country … and it happened back then as well.
It has always been a temptation for people in authority through the years.
One of the ways in which power corrupts is by making those who have it think that they are above the rules that guide the conduct of ordinary people.
In regards to adultery here in our chapter … Someone else might have endured the full penalty of the law.
But David was king.
Actually, someone else will pay the penalty of death … actually two people.
Uriah and this baby.
v6-11
v6-11
So, David immediately devised a plan to cover up his sin.
So, David immediately devised a plan to cover up his sin.
David immediately devised a plan to cover up his sin. He called Uriah home from the battlefield, hoping that this brave soldier would go home and spend time with his wife. In fact, David ordered him to go home (v. 8), but the soldier disobeyed and stayed with the king’s servants that night. David even sent food from his own table so Uriah and his wife could enjoy a feast, but Uriah never took it home. We wonder if Uriah had heard something that made him suspicious. Palace servants are notorious gossips.
He called for Uriah to return from the battle.
He called for Uriah to return from the battle.
His hope was that Uriah would go home and spend time with his wife.
David commanded him to go home to his wife and even sent food with him.
But things didn’t go the way that David expected.
Even though David ordered him to go home, he disobeyed and stayed with the king’s servants that night.
Either Uriah was incredibly dedicated to David as his King and Commander or Uriah had heard something that made him suspicious.
Whatever the case, the appearance was that Uriah was just that committed to David and the army of Israel.
The next day, when David interviewed Uriah he thought he could shame him into going home to Bathsheba.
But the rebuke went the other way.
David had to think up another scheme, and his next expedient was to have a second interview with Uriah the next day, during which the king chided him for not going home. A true soldier, Uriah gently rebuked the king for suggesting that one of his own soldiers put personal pleasure ahead of duty, especially when their fellow soldiers were out on the battlefield. Even the Ark of God was in a tent, so why should Uriah enjoy his home and wife? suggests that David’s soldiers abstained from intercourse while fulfilling their military duties (a regulation based on ); so Uriah must have been surprised when his commander suggested such a thing.
Uriah gently rebuked the king for suggesting that one of his own soldiers put personal pleasure ahead of duty, especially when their fellow soldiers were out on the battlefield.
Isn’t that exactly what David had done … only with Uriah’s wife?
And to make the rebuke even worse Uriah hearkens back to David’s own sentiments about the Ark and the Temple.
Uriah says that the ark (which basically was the visual representation of God’s presence) and the army of Israel and Judah are living in tents.
Why should he go home to feast and enjoy his wife?
suggests that Israel’s soldiers abstained from being with their wives while fulfilling military duties.
So Uriah must have been surprised when his commander suggested such a thing.
v12-13
v12-13
David’s next attempt was to invite Uriah to have a meal with him before he returned to the battle.
David’s next attempt was to invite Uriah to have a meal with him before he returned to the battle.
His plan was to wine and dine Uriah in the palace in hope that Uriah’s resolve would weaken and he would go home to Bathsheba.
His plan was to wine and dine Uriah in the palace in hope that Uriah’s resolve would weaken and he would go home to Bathsheba.
So, while they were eating, David made sure that Uriah got drunk.
But Uriah drunk was exercising more integrity than David sober in his sinful plotting.
And once again Uriah refused to go home.
And once again Uriah refused to go home.
Uriah was faithful at heart.
He was faithful to his fellow soldiers and his nation and his king.
And even when alcohol tore down his defenses, he remained faithful.
Cover-ups begin early in our history.
Adam and Eve tried to cover-up with leaves, but their efforts only betrayed their guilt.
This attempted cover-up by manipulation, like so many others, fails completely.
So this left David with just one more option, as far as he could see.
Of course, there was another option … confess and repent … but David was too busy trying to hide his sin.
And that took David along this dark path … he would have to take Uriah out of the way and make it look like a consequence of war.
This way, he could marry Uriah’s widow without controversy.
And the sooner they married, the better the scheme would work.
v14-17
v14-17
How David has fallen from the man he once was.
How David has fallen from the man he once was.
Uriah is now acting more like the David we knew from earlier days.
Uriah is now acting more like the David we knew from earlier days.
Uriah is now acting like the David we knew from earlier days. Uriah is the "David" that David should be.
Uriah here is the "David" that David should be … and David is plotting to kill him.
Once David began his effort to cover up his sin, each step led him deeper and deeper into sin.
First he lusted, then he committed adultery, then deceit, and finally murder.
David had become so calloused that he sent the letter commanding Uriah’s death to be delivered by Uriah himself.
David was breaking the Ten Commandments one by one.
He coveted his neighbor’s wife and committed adultery with her, and now he would bear false witness against his neighbor and order him to be killed.
AND, he was even bringing more people into his scheme … namely Joab.
The plan he suggested was to put Uriah in the front of an intense battle, then withdraw so he would be killed.
Joab received the letter.
As we have seen, Joab was very shrewd.
He probably read between the lines of David’s letter and deduced that the only thing Uriah had that David could want would be hjs wife, so he cooperated with the plan.
AND knowing David’s scheme would be another weapon Joab could use for his own protection someday.
Besides, Joab had already killed Asahel, Abner, and would one day murder Amasa, so he understood these things.
While Joab had no problem with the goal of David's plan, he decided the plan was too risky.
It would have been too obvious and would have made many of those who fought under Joab's command doubt his commitment to them.
So Joab led an attack against a part of the city where he knew the resistance would be really strong.
And in the process of that battle he lost several men, including Uriah
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Uriah, the faithful soldier was successfully put to death as though he were the enemy.
Uriah, the faithful soldier was successfully put to death as though he were the enemy.
But not only is Uriah put to death, but a number of other Israelite warriors die with him.
But not only is Uriah put to death, but a number of other Israelite warriors die with him.
They had to lose their lives to conceal the murder of Uriah.
Uriah's death has to be viewed as one of a group of men, rather than merely one man.
So now David has become an adulterer and a multi-murderer.
And, without a doubt, this is the moral and spiritual low-water mark of David's life.
David thought he could escape guilt when all the while he was adding to his guilt.
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
v18-24
v18-24
“He who covers his sins will not prosper” ( nkjv).
Joab had Rabbah under siege and ordered his men not to go too near the wall lest they be shot at and killed. Occasionally some Ammonite soldiers would come out the city gate and try to entice the Jewish soldiers to come closer and attack them, but Joab’s orders were obeyed. Shrewd Joab may have read between the lines of David’s letter and deduced that the only thing Uriah had that David could want would be Uriah’s beautiful wife, so he cooperated with the plan. After all, knowing David’s scheme would be another weapon Joab could use for his own protection someday. Besides, Joab had already killed Asahel, Abner (; ), and would one day murder Amasa (20:6–10), so he understood these things. Joab knew he couldn’t send Uriah up to the walls alone or it would look suspicious, so several of “the king’s servants” (v. 24) died with him just so David could cover his sins. “The king’s servants” may refer to David’s bodyguard, the best of the Israelite troops (8:18).
So, the mission is accomplished: Uriah is dead.
So, the mission is accomplished: Uriah is dead.
Joab has carried out David's instructions.
Joab has carried out David's instructions.
He made a few minor alterations … but the goal is accomplished.
It was a suicide mission.
But Joab knew that he needed to let the king know that his objective had been accomplished without revealing to anyone else that the two of them had murdered Uriah in such a way that it looked like just another casualty of war.
And it wouldn’t take a genius to deduce that Uriah was set up.
Joab had to assemble a group of mighty men, including Uriah, to wage an attack on the city.
That attack was not at a weak point but at the enemies strongest point.
And so the attack provokes a counter-attack against Uriah and those with him.
And when the Israelite army drew back from their own men on Joab’s orders, they left them defenseless, and the obvious result is a slaughter.
So, now, Joab had to let the king know that his plan had been carried out.
But he had to do it without revealing to anyone else that the two of them had done it intentionally.
He knew that when David heard the report of Joab arranging it so that more soldiers than Uriah was killed, he might be angry.
So then, how could he report this in a way that doesn't make himself look like a fool, or a murderer?
And so Joab told the messenger to bury the headline.
After the report of the battle, THEN the messenger was to report the death of Uriah.
Joab hoped closing with the news of Uriah’s death would settle David’s anger over the deaths of the other soldiers.
v25
v25
So, David reacted exactly as Joab had anticipated.
So, David reacted exactly as Joab had anticipated.
The news of Uriah's death calmed him.
The news of Uriah's death calmed him.
And in the message that he sent back to Joab, David covered their treachery with pious words, "the sword devours one as well as another."
Uriah, a great warrior and a man of godly character, has just died, and David does not express one word of grief, one expression of sorrow, not one word of tribute.
Uriah dies, and David is unmoved.
This is not the David of a few chapters earlier.
This is a hardened, callused David.
He’s callused by his own sin.
v26-27
These two verses end the chapter but not the story.
These two verses end the chapter but not the story.
When Bathsheba heard of Uriah's death in verse 26, "she mourned for her husband".
When Bathsheba heard of Uriah's death in verse 26, "she mourned for her husband".
Verse 26 tells us that she learned of Uriah's death after the fact .... later perhaps from a messenger or from the wife of another soldier.
David would certainly not have told her in order to prevent her from suspecting that he had murdered her husband.
After all, would David really want his new wife to know he murdered her husband? David acts without Bathsheba's help. We still are not given any indication of her feelings, since the words may be a reference to the prescribed ritual of mourning for the dead. It could have been as little as a week. We are, however, told of her becoming David's wife and bearing him a son.
David acted without Bathsheba's help.
We are not given any indication of her feelings.
The reference to her mourning simply refers to the normal ritual of mourning for the dead.
The time that lapsed could have been as little as a week … we are not told.
We are, however, told of her becoming David's wife and bearing him a son.
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David though had broken at least three of the Ten Commandments that God had given Israel for relating to God and to fellow men.
David though had broken at least three of the Ten Commandments that God had given Israel for relating to God and to fellow men.
He had coveted another man's wife, committed adultery, and murdered.
He had coveted another man's wife, committed adultery, and murdered.
Yet who can judge the judge, who can question the actions of the king?
The answer comes in the final verse of the chapter in words that suggest that no one stands above the law of God.
What seemed to David a final ending to what would have been a very sticky situation is but the beginning of problems.
[David was trying to legitimize his sin. By making Uriah a casualty of war, he makes Bathsheba a widow. He can now marry this woman and raise the child as his own, which of course it is.]
One of the tragic aspects of our story is that the sequence of sin in David's life does not end with his adulterous union with Bathsheba.
That is because "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord" … and set events in motion that would trouble David till his death.
It leads to a deceptive plot to make her husband Uriah appear to be the father of David's child with Bathsheba and culminates in David's murder of Uriah and his marriage to Uriah's wife, Bathsheba.
Sin has a sneaky way of compounding itself.
Before you know it, you're more deeply involved in it than you ever thought you would be.
That is why it is best not to flirt with sin.
It very easily captures us, ensnares us … and wreaks havoc in our lives.
David once killed giants.
Now this giant secret will be killing him until his sin is exposed and he repents.
CONCLUSION
Our text has many applications and implications for today. Let me suggest a few as I conclude this lesson. First, when we seek to conceal our sin, things only get worse. Thus, the best course of action is to confess our sins and to forsake them. , "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."
Bathsheba’s expressions of grief for her dead warrior husband were undoubtedly sincere, but they were mitigated by the knowledge that she would soon be living in the palace. People probably raised their eyebrows when she married so quickly after the funeral, and married the king at that, but when some six months later she delivered a baby boy, eyebrows went up again. suggests Bathsheba is the seventh wife of David, but when you add Michal, who was childless, Bathsheba becomes the eighth. In Scripture, the number eight is often the sign of a new beginning, and with the birth of Solomon to David and Bathsheba, this hope was fulfilled.
However, David had unfinished business to take care of because the Lord was displeased with all he had done.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Through Jesus Christ we are forgiven of our sins.
Yet we still deal with the earthly consequences of our sin.
And David will have a lot to deal with coming up in the next chapters.