Read: 2 Samuel 11
Many people know this story:
the story of David and Bathsheba, the story of David’s big sin. However, this
sin was not something that David just stumbled into. When we study the story,
we can see that through arrogance and rebellious choices he veered off of God’s
path and walked way off the map. Integrity has much to do with how one responds
when one has messed up, and what one does when given the opportunity to either hide
or confess a sin. It is with great sadness that we see King David turn his back
on integrity.
The backdrop to this event is
the Israeli/Ammonite war which began in chapter 10 and continues throughout
chapters 11 and 12. While the nation’s armies are on the battlefields, the
reader receives news about what is happening on the home front. Chapter 11
verse 1 shows us that something is wrong: “In…
the time when kings go out to battle… David remained in Jerusalem.” It was
a key role of the king to lead the nation into battle. During Saul’s reign, it
was David who stepped up on multiple occasions to lead the people in battle,
and in doing so he was exalted by the people. They saw David’s leadership
abilities and many longed to see him reign as king in Israel. Yet here he is as
ruler of Israel shirking his kingly duties, twiddling his thumbs on his throne
while his armies are off fighting a vital battle. This isn’t just any skirmish;
the armies of Israel are going to besiege the Ammonite capital of Rabbah, an
endeavour that will take much time and calculated strategy. In arrogance and
laziness David stays home. This is his first transgression, and it will open the
door to greater sin.
This is a very different David
than the man we grew to admire in 1 Samuel. This man seems more like jealous
Saul than the sweet Psalmist of Israel. The steadfastness that was developed in
the wilderness looks to be crumbling, the devotion to God lost, the zeal for
righteousness discarded. David appears pompous; power, prestige and prosperity
have fattened his ego. That is why he is at home while his armies are fighting
the nation’s battles. He has forgotten that God is Lord of Israel and is
supposed to be King over his own life. No longer is he acting as God’s anointed
servant, raised to lead Israel for the sake of the nation; instead he has
placed himself on a pedestal and is relishing in the service of others while he
does what he wants. While his armies are camped out on the battlefields, David
is lounging in bed till late afternoon. Laziness is a dangerous additive to
life. When we are lazy, we cease to guard ourselves against sin. Proverbs 13:4
says “The soul of the sluggard craves and
gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”
While on the run from Saul and later as a new king, diligently seeking God,
David’s soul was filled in abundance. But as he has lost diligence and gained
worldly riches, he has become a sluggard. In laziness, his eyes lust after what
is not his and his heart craves that which God has not given him. And though he
attempts to satisfy the craving, his soul is starved.
From atop his palace roof he
finds that he has the perfect view of a beautiful woman. He inquires about her;
if she is unmarried, he would have had the right to take her as one of his
wives. But the news that she is Bathsheba, wife
of Uriah, should have quelled his urges. Instead, temptation gives way to
lust; David covets this beautiful wife of Uriah. He sends for her and sleeps
with her. There is nothing to tell us that Bathsheba should share in the guilt
of David’s actions. She was not placing herself in David’s sightline, nor
should she be blamed for her own beauty. She was not seducing David in any way,
and we should not assume that she was consensual in the encounter. As king,
David had the power (though not the blessing) to take any woman he pleased, and
it pleased him to take Bathsheba. His actions were driven by lust and laziness.
It seems that he had no intentions beside one night of pleasure, for she goes
right back home afterwards. David made the mistake of many – that “just one
time” could be a completely no-strings-attached incident. He had not planned on
a pregnancy. David moves into panic mode. First covetousness and lust, then
adultery and now lying, David seeks to deceive Uriah and tries to get him to
sleep with Bathsheba so that her pregnancy will appear legitimate. But Uriah is
too honourable for that. In the face of David’s brazen immorality, Uriah shines
with integrity and humility. He will not allow himself the luxury of his bed
and his wife while his comrades are sleeping in tents on the battlefield! And
so, in desperate measure, David orders the murder of Uriah. Uriah carries his
suicide note back to the frontlines and falls in battle.
Uriah was not an unknown name
to David. He was listed among David’s “Mighty Men” in 1 Chronicles 11 – the men
who “were the chiefs of David’s mighty
warriors—they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support
to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised”. (v
10) Uriah was a friend and advocate who had valiantly put his life on the line to
serve his king. And his king killed him.
They say “all’s fair in love
and war.” Covetousness, lust, adultery, deception, laziness, arrogance and
murder are not right or fair. Yet the whole event appears to be swept under the
rug. Only David and Bathsheba know of the pregnancy. Only David and Joab know
of the murder. Bathsheba mourns the death of her husband and David quickly
takes her as his wife. Perhaps all is fair
and well and fine in David’s harem and on his battlefields. What no one knows
will not hurt the nation… right? But there is One who is always watching, One
who saw it all, and He was not pleased. “But
the thing David had done displeased the LORD.”
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. This
is a heavy and sad story, showing us that even the most devoted follower can
move very far from God through compromise. Spend some time in quiet
examination. Ask God to open your heart. In humility, ask him to show you areas
of compromise – things that you are doing, saying or thinking that, if you
continue, could lead you far away from God’s path for your life.
2. Take
some time to focus specifically on laziness. Read and meditate on Proverbs 13:4.
Ask God to show you if and how laziness is an issue in your life. Ask Him to
open your eyes to the damage that it is causing to your life.
3. Spend
some time in confession. Repent of any sin that has been revealed and ask God
to cleanse your heart. Ask Him to change you.
4. Is
there something that you have swept under the rug that God wants you to bring
to light and confess to another individual? Is there something you need to make
right? If so, plan to do that as soon as possible.
