2 Samuel 11:1 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.
Spring was the time for war because the weather was agreeable, and fields provided food for armies on the march. David led many battles in the past, but now that he was a well established king, others could do the task. So David remained at home, a king at his leisure.
2 Samuel 11:2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.
David’s palace had a flat roof porch, and may’ve been the tallest building in Jerusalem. This gave him a view of the region, as well as other people’s homes. From there he saw a woman bathing, and noticed she was beautiful. David should have looked away but, instead, he prolonged his gaze. Then he sent for the woman and she became pregnant. Her name was Bathsheba, and she was married to Uriah.
This was a problem since David was a spiritual leader, and the law of God said You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Even worse, If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). David and Bathsheba were both in serious trouble.
It would’ve been better if David had simply looked away. He was a good man who loved God, and served him with all his heart. But goodness is no guarantee against weakness and, in a moment of weakness, David sinned. Now he’d try to conceal it.
2 Samuel 11:6 David sent this word to Joab: Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent him to David.
David’s plan was so simple it could hardly fail. He called Bathsheba’s husband home from battle to give an account of the war. Having been away for a while, he’d surely want to sleep with his wife. Then, when he learned she was pregnant, he’d assume the child was his.
But Uriah was a man of such character that, as long as his fellow soldiers were sleeping in a field, he refused the comfort of his own bed. So Uriah slept at the entrance of David’s palace, along with David’s other servants. Then David got him drunk, hoping to weaken his resolve, but this also failed. David was growing desperate so he sent Uriah back to battle with a letter to his commander. Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die (2 Samuel 11:15).
It’s hard to imagine what David was thinking when he wrote those terrible words. He believed in God’s law, including You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13), so this was against everything he stood for. But desperate people do desperate things, and David was truly desperate. So he set in motion his plan to kill an innocent man.
This is why Jesus taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). Under the right circumstances there’s nothing of which we’re not capable—including adultery and murder. Those who do such things aren’t always worse than others, but are truly ensnared by the devil. Their conduct should be condemned, of course, but under similar circumstances we could do similar things.
2 Samuel 11:26-27 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.
As the most powerful man in the nation, David was able to avoid execution for himself and Bathsheba. Perhaps he married her quickly so the child would seem to come from their marriage. Or maybe he hoped to appear noble by taking the pregnant widow of a worthy soldier. But the trauma of David’s sin so hardened his heart that he wasn’t relating to God. Instead of confessing and repenting, David seems to have rationalized his sin as the privilege of kings. He already had numerous wives, why not one more? But the thing David had done displeased the Lord (1 Samuel 11:27b), it says.
2 Samuel 12:1 The Lord sent Nathan to David.
Nathan was the prophet to whom God gave the unhappy task of rebuking the king. It’s not clear how Nathan knew of David’s sin, but he may have learned it from God. So Nathan went to David with a parable of two men: one rich, the other poor. The rich man had numerous sheep, but the poor man had only one little sheep, which he loved with all his heart. One day the rich man had visitors but, instead of killing one of his own sheep for dinner, he took the poor man’s sheep instead.
As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! (2 Samuel 12:5), said David. You are the man! (2 Samuel 12:7), said Nathan. Then he told David about the terrible consequences that would come because of his sin, including the death of their child.
2 Samuel 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.
God pardoned David’s sin but didn’t remove the consequences. The child died and David never recovered his greatness. The man whom God used to build his kingdom let many people down, especially himself.
God’s kingdom needs a righteous king in order to have God’s favor. Jesus is the only king who never sinned (1 Peter 2:22), and his kingdom is coming soon. Then the people of God will rejoice forever under the rule of a perfect king.
Reflection and Review
Was David basically good or bad?
What does Uriah teach us about life?
How could David have avoided this failure?
Spring was the time for war because the weather was agreeable, and fields provided food for armies on the march. David led many battles in the past, but now that he was a well established king, others could do the task. So David remained at home, a king at his leisure.
2 Samuel 11:2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.
David’s palace had a flat roof porch, and may’ve been the tallest building in Jerusalem. This gave him a view of the region, as well as other people’s homes. From there he saw a woman bathing, and noticed she was beautiful. David should have looked away but, instead, he prolonged his gaze. Then he sent for the woman and she became pregnant. Her name was Bathsheba, and she was married to Uriah.
This was a problem since David was a spiritual leader, and the law of God said You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Even worse, If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). David and Bathsheba were both in serious trouble.
It would’ve been better if David had simply looked away. He was a good man who loved God, and served him with all his heart. But goodness is no guarantee against weakness and, in a moment of weakness, David sinned. Now he’d try to conceal it.
2 Samuel 11:6 David sent this word to Joab: Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent him to David.
David’s plan was so simple it could hardly fail. He called Bathsheba’s husband home from battle to give an account of the war. Having been away for a while, he’d surely want to sleep with his wife. Then, when he learned she was pregnant, he’d assume the child was his.
But Uriah was a man of such character that, as long as his fellow soldiers were sleeping in a field, he refused the comfort of his own bed. So Uriah slept at the entrance of David’s palace, along with David’s other servants. Then David got him drunk, hoping to weaken his resolve, but this also failed. David was growing desperate so he sent Uriah back to battle with a letter to his commander. Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die (2 Samuel 11:15).
It’s hard to imagine what David was thinking when he wrote those terrible words. He believed in God’s law, including You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13), so this was against everything he stood for. But desperate people do desperate things, and David was truly desperate. So he set in motion his plan to kill an innocent man.
This is why Jesus taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). Under the right circumstances there’s nothing of which we’re not capable—including adultery and murder. Those who do such things aren’t always worse than others, but are truly ensnared by the devil. Their conduct should be condemned, of course, but under similar circumstances we could do similar things.
2 Samuel 11:26-27 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.
As the most powerful man in the nation, David was able to avoid execution for himself and Bathsheba. Perhaps he married her quickly so the child would seem to come from their marriage. Or maybe he hoped to appear noble by taking the pregnant widow of a worthy soldier. But the trauma of David’s sin so hardened his heart that he wasn’t relating to God. Instead of confessing and repenting, David seems to have rationalized his sin as the privilege of kings. He already had numerous wives, why not one more? But the thing David had done displeased the Lord (1 Samuel 11:27b), it says.
2 Samuel 12:1 The Lord sent Nathan to David.
Nathan was the prophet to whom God gave the unhappy task of rebuking the king. It’s not clear how Nathan knew of David’s sin, but he may have learned it from God. So Nathan went to David with a parable of two men: one rich, the other poor. The rich man had numerous sheep, but the poor man had only one little sheep, which he loved with all his heart. One day the rich man had visitors but, instead of killing one of his own sheep for dinner, he took the poor man’s sheep instead.
As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! (2 Samuel 12:5), said David. You are the man! (2 Samuel 12:7), said Nathan. Then he told David about the terrible consequences that would come because of his sin, including the death of their child.
2 Samuel 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.
God pardoned David’s sin but didn’t remove the consequences. The child died and David never recovered his greatness. The man whom God used to build his kingdom let many people down, especially himself.
God’s kingdom needs a righteous king in order to have God’s favor. Jesus is the only king who never sinned (1 Peter 2:22), and his kingdom is coming soon. Then the people of God will rejoice forever under the rule of a perfect king.
Reflection and Review
Was David basically good or bad?
What does Uriah teach us about life?
How could David have avoided this failure?