Don't Look

Introduction

A. Of all the biblical stories about David’s life, none is better known than his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. It is a story that includes adultery, deception, murder, and no repentance. It is a story which challenges us. It is a very human story. There is nothing heroic about David in this story. It is a story that would be easy to talk about the sins of the flesh and point the finger at David. In the next few chapters, David’s life falls apart. His walk with God is shaken by sin. David makes choices which will result in death, desertion, defeat, and yet God continues to love David and provide for him. 2 Samuel 11 is the first of many stories in which David’s humanity is seen, but God’s grace is seen even more. Each of us are tempted. Each of us have felt the sting of remorse when we sin, but the next several chapters reveals God’s desire to restore. But our heart must be right. Our heart, as David’s was, must be set upon God.

The Story

A. As 2 Samuel 11 opens, David is about 50 years old. He has been king for almost 20 years. He is wealthy. He is famous. He is powerful. He has the best that life has to offer. Nothing is beyond David’s reach. God has blessed him immeasurably. The Israelite army goes off to war. Normally, kings would lead the battle, but in this case, David allowed Joab to lead the troops. We don’t know why David stayed home, but the Bible is clear that he should have been with the troops. David’s staying home was different from normal behavior.

B. On a pleasant evening, David can’t sleep. He gets up from bed and goes to the roof of his palace to walk around. Maybe he goes up there innocently enough, but he looks over not too far from his rooftop and sees a woman taking a bath. This would have been common. There is nothing in the text to suggest that Bathsheba is doing anything she shouldn’t have been doing. She is taking a bath in accordance with the law of God found in Leviticus 15. After her menstrual flow, a woman was to count seven days and then bathe. This would be a ceremonial cleansing. But our understanding of the monthly cycle for a woman, would allow us to understand that this would have been a prime opportunity for conception.

C. David is more than curious. He sends for her even after being told that she was married. All indications seem to suggest that for David this was intended to be for only one night. Some have tried to share some of the blame for this encounter with Bathsheba. The text does not suggest that to be the case. David initiates this encounter. The text doesn’t tell us if Bathsheba welcomed David’s advance. But when the king issues an order, one doesn’t object too strenuously. Note Joab’s instructions to serve as an accomplish in Uriah’s murder.

D. Several days later, Bathsheba sends a message to David that she is pregnant. David now plots a scheme to avoid being found out. David sends for Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. After inquiries about the battle, he instructs Uriah to go home to his wife. David is hoping, of course, that Uriah will sleep with his wife and then Bathsheba can claim that the child’s father is Uriah. However, Uriah isn’t about to lose his focus. He is committed to David, to the nation, and to remaining focused on the battle. David tries to get him drunk. Uriah remains committed to his task. Finally, David sends Uriah back to the war carrying his own death papers. Joab follows David’s instructions and not only Uriah but a number of other brave men are killed in battle.

E. After a period of mourning, David takes Bathsheba in as his wife. Now when she gives birth to their child, it will appear that it is just an early birth. It appears that David has gotten away with everything. While some know what has happened, those who know are servants. David resumes his normal activities as king.

Lessons

A. The first lesson from this story is probably obvious. Everyone has an area of life in which temptation is a problem. We must be aware of our weaknesses so that we can fight when temptation comes. Not everyone has the same weakness. David displays two weaknesses. First, is lust. Already in 2 Samuel 5:12–13, the Bible tells us that David has a weakness for women. From Deuteronomy 17:15–17, God did not want his king to have multiple wives. David violated God’s law. David had available a number of women for his sexual pleasure, but he chose another man’s wife because of lust. Second, David became complacent and indulgent. He enjoyed whatever he wanted. He began to take life easy. While others were out fighting battles, David remained in the lap of luxury. David ignored his weaknesses.

When we ignore our weakness, we do so to our own detriment. Being aware of our weaknesses will allow us to be on our guard and to avoid those areas. ILL. “Warning.”

ii. Believing ourselves to be above the temptation, we find ourselves overwhelmed. So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall. As my grandmother said, “sometimes we can get too big for our britches.” We can think that we are above our temptations. Be careful you can fall.

B. The second lesson is as much as we may try to hide our sin, God knows the truth. David used extraordinary means to cover up his sin. He had everything which he might need to keep from being caught, but God knew. In a couple of weeks when we pick up with chapter 12, we will see this truth even more but 11:27 let’s us know that God was displeased with David’s actions. ILL. “Sin: Hiding Sin.” We try to jam our sin back into a safe place. We try to protect ourselves. We try to pretend that it doesn’t exist. We want everyone to have the impression that everything is okay. Can’t you imagine the day that David brought Bathsheba to the palace? The sense of relief that he must have had. The belief that a mistake was now going to work out okay. But the Bible tells us that God saw and was displeased. He isn’t going to leave David alone about his sin. We can try to hide our sin, but God knows the truth.

We may live a long time with hidden sin. We may try to cover up that which is embarrassing, but God knows what is happening. We can do a very good job of hiding the truth from others, but we cannot hide the truth from God.

ii. Hiding from each other can lead us to believe that we are hiding from God as well. Perhaps tonight we need to quit hiding. What is needed is for the truth to be told. Invitation.

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