2 SAMUEL 11

Pastor Alan Carr writes: When you think of the life of David, one of two events probably come to your mind.  You either remember the time young David slew Goliath; or you remember when David committed adultery with Bathsheba.  Both events were monumental moments in the life of David.  In the first, David revealed fact of his humility.  In the second, David revealed the fact of his humanity.  In the first, David proved that he was a man of faith.  In the second, David proved that he was a man of flesh. When David met a giant named Goliath, we are privileged to witness his greatest victory.  When David met Bathsheba, we are forced to watch his greatest defeat.

11.1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem (cp. 1 Chron. 20.1-3).

·      Springtime in Israel was the most common season for kings to go to war, and David was customarily out fighting along with his armies at this time. This verse makes clear that David's first mistake was staying home when the rest of his armies were doing the fighting.

·      Up until this moment, David had never lost a battle.  Every time he stepped onto a field of combat, David won the battle and walked off the field a victor.  However, when David entered the arena of combat within his own heart, he was soundly defeated by a giant far more powerful than Goliath could have ever hoped to have been. Pastor Alan Carr

·      If we look back to 2 Samuel 5.12,13, we see that God had established David as king over Israel. It was at that time that David of victory and success that David took more concubines and wives. This multiplication of wives was in direct contradiction to the word of God in Deut. 17:14-17 which forbid him to not multiply unto himself horses, silver and gold and wives.

·      David had honored God’s command regarding items number one and three.  David had disabled the horses taken in battle, 2 Sam. 8:4.  He had also dedicated the gold and silver taken as spoil in battle to the Lord, 2 Sam. 8:7-12. But, he had disregarded what God had to say about accumulating wives.

·      This corrupt seed, sown long ago, has grown unchecked long enough and will now begin to bear bitter fruit.

·      As I think of what happened, of this I am sure, that it did not happen all at once. This matter of Bathsheba was simply the climax of something that had been going on in his life for twenty years. (Redpath)

11.2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide (late afternoon), that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

·      Rooftops were commonly flat and a place for the people of Israel to go out and relax or meditate. See Acts 10:9 for another example.

·      When the Bible says that Bathsheba was “very beautiful to look upon” we can say without reservation that she was the absolute vision of female beauty and physical perfection. 

·      Instead of fleeing this lust like Joseph did in Genesis 39, David bites the bait, hook, line and sinker.

·      This incident illustrates what is discussed in James 1:13-15, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

·      I believe it is important to point out that David’s sin was not in seeing Bathsheba. It was unlikely that he expected or planned to see her. David's sin was in choosing to keep his eyes on an alluring image after the sight came before his eyes.

o   Job 31.1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

o   1 John 2.16 The lust of the eyes.

§  Phil 4:6-9; 2 Cor. 10:3-5.  The mind must be guarded or the giants will ensnare it and lead the rest of the body into rebellion and sin!

11.3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

·      By inquiring for more information about Bathsheba and sending for her, David put himself into a more tempting situation.

·      This information regarding her husband Urijah (who is listed among David's mighty men in 2 Samuel 23:39), and the fact that she was the daughter of Eliam (which would make her the granddaughter of one of his counselors Ahithophel) should have caused David to stop the course of action he was pursuing.

·      But because his mind and affections have been overtaken with lust, all reason and the consequences of his sin are tossed out the window.

·      David has enough bible knowledge to know that if he has anything to do with Bathsheba sexually, it will be an act of adultery, which according to Jewish Law exposes him and Bathsheba to stoning to death. Bathsheba knows this as well. All David is thinking about now is satisfying himself and carrying out his fantasies with Bathsheba. Oh the deceitfulness of sin beloved.

11.4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

·      Instead of going to prayer and asking God for the strength to resist this temptation, he sends messengers to bring her to his palace.

·      Please note the progression of this sin. He saw her, her wanted her and he took her!  This is how sin works, James 1:15.  When a look is allowed to linger, lust will be conceived; and when lust is conceived, sin is always the result. This is how it has always worked. The mind is the first battlefield with the giants of sin.  If it falls, the rest of the defenses will tumble like dominoes!

·      Let me state here that both David and Bathsheba are in sin here. So far as we can tell, she was in complicity with David in the adultery. Bathsheba is sometimes portrayed as this innocent victim who was taken advantage of by a powerful king. I personally believe that Bathsheba knew that David, or any other man for that matter, could see her as she bathed, if they were on a high roof. 

·      As a matter of fact, there is something that this text tells us about Bathsheba.  She was more scrupulous for the ceremonial than for the moral law. She was purified from her uncleanness. She was more anxious to be sure and carry out the ceremonial law regarding the laws of purity and cleansing than she was to carry out the commandments of the Lord, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

·      I also believe that when she was told that David wanted to see her, see knew that he wasn’t going to talk politics or ask her to have a cup of tea. David’s lust is roaring and this beautiful woman is starving for attention while her husband is far away at war. 

·      The Bible talks about the pleasure of sin for a season (Hebrews 11.25). Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant Proverbs 9:17. David and Bathsheba may have enjoyed the pleasures of an illicit affair, but David paid for this moment of pleasure with a lifetime of pain!

11.5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

11.6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.

·      When David heard the disastrous news of Bathsheba's pregnancy he should have used it as a prompting to repent. Instead, David did what most unrepentant sinners do: hide his sin.

11.7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.

·      The one man who could answer any of these questions is Joab, his commander in chief.  So what does David do? He calls Uriah, and it’s on the pretext of finding out information about how the army is doing. 

11.8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

·      Wash you feet. You now what David is doing here don’t you? David is attempting to entice Uriah to sleep with his wife in order to cover David's sin. David is using deception to try and cover his sins.  Instead of stepping up and being a man; confessing his sins to God and dealing with the consequences, David tried to hide like a coward.

·      God’s way is openness and honesty, Pro. 28:13; 1 John 1:9.  Man’s way is to hide it.  Sin will lead you down a path of deception

11.9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

·      Uriah is demonstrating more integrity and loyalty than David the king. David, who should have been out in the battle with the armies, was enjoying the comforts of his palace and yet Uriah, who was not even an Israelite, would not go down to his house out of empathy for the fighting troops of Israel.

o   Job 5.12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform [their] enterprise.

11.10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?

11.11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

11.12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.

11.13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

·      Commentator John Trapp tells us that some commentators believe that Uriah suspected some infidelity in Bathsheba, and avoided her out of jealousy. This is not hard to believe.

11.14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

·      David's callousness is further magnified by the fact that he sent the death notice to Joab by the hand of Uriah himself!

·      This letter from David was written with the same pen and hand with which David wrote the Spirit inspired psalms.

·      Our bodies can be yielded to The Lord and become instruments of blessing, or they can be yielded to the flesh and the world and become instruments of deception and cruelty.

·      The plot to cover up his sin was leading David deeper and deeper into its prison and farther and farther away from the Lord.

·      This is what sin does!  It sears the conscience making sin easier and easier. Someone has said, “Uriah, drunk, is more pious than David sober.”

11.15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

·      Remember, Joab is one of the sons of Zeriah that David once said “are too harsh for me,” because he slew Abner without any real excuse. But David wants to get rid of Urijah in the worst way, and so he gives to Joab this command to do his dirty work for him (murder Urijah). No doubt in Joab’s mind, he is thinking that David can no longer bring up the unjust murder of Abner ever again because David is doing the exact same thing! 

11.16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.

11.17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab:and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

11.18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;

11.19 And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,

11.20 And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?

·      It was commonly known that an army would not proceed quickly to the city wall when besieging it, until certain fortifications had been secured.

11.21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

·      A reminder of the story found in Judges 9:50-54, in which Abimelech was killed when a woman threw a millstone down from the city wall.

11.22 So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.

11.23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.

11.24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

·      No doubt, David heard these words with relief. He thought that now he could marry Bathsheba and give a plausible explanation for her pregnancy.

11.25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

·      If someone raised the question, “Who slew Uriah?” He would have said, “The Ammonites slew him.”  And he would say, “Ask Joab.”  So, he and Joab concur in the fact that the Ammonites slew Uriah, but the real slayer was David.

·      The sword devoureth one as well as another- This was a proverb regarding fortunes of war. It was a way of saying, "These things happen."

11.26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.

11.27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

·      The thing that David did displeased the Lord. Beloved, as far as the devil is concerned, every single one of us her tonight are candidates to be either David or Bathsheba.

Closing comments and some practical observations

David had a giant, and if a name had to be attached to this giant, I think lust would be appropriate.  It appears that David had strong sexual desires and sought to satisfy his urges by accumulating women.  But, David, like many others, discovered that many sexual partners will not satisfy your sexual desires, they will only increase them. David’s giant of lust was something that he allowed to thrive by feeding into it instead of mortifying it. David’s many wives did not satisfy his lust. This was because you can’t satisfy lusts of the flesh, because they are primarily rebellious assertions of self.

You may not battle with the sin of lust, but you know the name of the one or ones you do battle. Is it anger? Pride? Covetousness? Lying? Laziness? An addiction to drugs or alcohol?  Admitting that it exists and asking God for the power to repent and turn away from that sin is the first step in seeing it defeated!

A word to the men: We all know adultery is wrong; but Jesus said that looking at someone with lust for them constituted adultery already, Matt. 5:28.  Be careful how you look!  Men have a greater problem in this area than women do.  Dear brothers, I would just remind you that every woman in this world is either your sister in Christ or a lost soul that needs Jesus.  If you will see women in this light, it will help you fight the giant of lust!  There is no excuse for any man to look upon any woman with lust in his heart, unless he is married to her!

A word to the women: Dear sisters….yes, some men look when they shouldn’t, but some women dress to be seen!  There is no excuse and no reason for any woman who claims to know the Lord to dress in such a fashion that attention is drawn to her body!  Short skirts, tight pants or jeans, midriff bearing tops, low cut blouses, etc. are not fit apparel for a woman who says she loves the Lord!  When a woman dresses in this fashion, she is displaying a lack of love for her Christian brothers. How so, you may ask? When a woman wears immodest apparel she is placing a stumbling block in front of him, and Jesus warned against that kind of thing, Luke 17:1. No Christian woman should dress in such a way that it makes it easier for the man to sin in this manner.  I believe that many women do not understand men and how they think. Not knowing one thing, but when you dress to look sexy and attract the attention of men, that is wrong!  The Bible calls for women to dress modestly, 1 Tim. 2:9.  You will attract the right kind of man with the right kind of dress, 1 Pet. 3:1-4.)

A word to any that are covering up sin: Psalm 32 shows that David was under intense conviction during this time and that all the joy in his life evaporated away. David knew the stress and agony of living a double, false life. He found no relief until he repented and got right with God again. God knows how to and is willing to restore you and help you out of sin’s grip. The consequences of your sin may remain with you the rest of your life, but the guilt and condemnation of that sin are gone the very moment that we confess and forsake them.