Second Samuel 11:1

The Bible says in Second Samuel 11:1-2, “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.[2] And it came to pass in an eveningtide, 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.” The important phrase of verse one is, “the time when kings go forth to battle.” David was a king. His place, his work, his responsibility was to be in the place of battle. Life was not designed to be leisure and fun. Life was designed for you to accomplish something. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work.” It says in Proverbs 6:6-11, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:[7] Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,[8] Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.[9] How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?[10] Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:[11] So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” If you do not go about doing the Master’s work that He has given to you, then that means that you will not be doing what God wants you to do. It also means that you will not be in the place where God wants you to be. Perhaps you will be like David: you will be in the place of unimaginable temptation. Jesus told us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” You will need Divine help to escape temptation, and one of the ways that God helps you is by the work that He gives you to do. The old saying is very true, “Idleness is the devil’s workshop.”

Notice the last phrase of verse two, “the woman was very beautiful to look upon.” God designed men and women so that they would be attracted to each other. And what a great design. But the purpose of that design is so that one man would be attracted to one woman. If you pray and are surrendered to God’s will, you will find that one person that God has for you. But you must make sure that your desire for love is always directed to that one and only that one. If you do not understand how desire can work within you, then you might be in trouble. It says in James 1:14-15, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.[15] Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” The word “lust” here simply means “strong desire.” The Lord has made you with certain strong desires, and you must learn how to channel them. Strong desire is not sin, but strong desire will lead you to sin if you do not know how to avoid temptation. We already saw that David was in the wrong place of leisure instead of the place of work and responsibility. Here is something else that led to David being overcome by desire: he “looked” on the woman. Be careful what you do with your eyes. Be careful where you look. That is one of the dangers of the internet and other things in our society that present images that it is better not to see. David already had a problem with women. He already had at least seven wives and several concubines. For example, it says in Second Samuel 5:17, “And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron; and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.” In other words, he was accustomed to seeing a beautiful woman and wanting her and taking her. This time was much worse because woman was married. And one of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Often it is emphasized how great and how terrible and how shameful was the sin of David and Bathsheba. But this story is also a story of how great is the mercy of God. Not only did God forgive them, but their second son was Solomon who would become the wisest man on earth, who would build the temple, and who would be in the lineage of Christ. Always remember God’s great mercy when you read this story. The Bible says in Second Samuel 11:3-13, “And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?[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.[5] And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.[6] And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.[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.[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.[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.[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] 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.[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.[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.” The coverup was worse than the sin, much worse. David tried to get Uriah to go and be with his wife so that Uriah would think that the child was his. That did not work because Uriah was too honorable of a man to enjoy life when his fellow soldiers were at war. Too bad that we do not have more patriots like that in our country.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 11:14-17, “And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.[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.[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.[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.” Unfortunately for both Uriah and David, this time David’s plan worked. Sometimes the worse thing that can happen to you is to get what you want. That is why Jesus taught us to pray and ask for God’s will. Now David is not only known for committing adultery, but also for shamefully causing the death of Uriah.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 11:18-27, “Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;[19] And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,[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?[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.[22] So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.[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.[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.[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.[26] And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.[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.” Of course, this is a terrible story. May God have mercy on us all or we could do something just as bad. How selfish is the human nature! Truly we are all sinners. No wonder Jesus told us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” David got what he wanted. Uriah was dead, and Bathsheba became his wife. But there is a God who is watching all that we do. It says at the end of verse twenty-seven, “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 12:1-6, “And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.[2] The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:[3] But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.[4] And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.[5] And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:[6] And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” Of course, David did not realize that the story of Nathan was about him, and David was angry and wanted justice and a righteous punishment.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 12:7, “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;” There is a phrase in this verse that is a very well known phrase, and it is a very piercing and convicting phrase: “Thou art the man.” And then God proceeds to remind David of what God had done for him by making David king and by delivering David so often from the hand of Saul. The Holy Spirit does the same thing in our hearts when He convicts us of sin and brings us to Jesus. And the Holy Spirit does the same thing in our hearts after we are a true believing Christian and we do something wrong that takes us out of fellowship with the Lord.

The fact that God reminds David of what God had done for David teaches us that one of the ways to avoid temptation is to do just that: remember all the things that God has done for you and appreciate them. Remember all the love that the Lord has shown for you, and then love Him in return by being faithful to Him and by leaving the place of temptation instead of yielding to the temptation. As a matter of fact, when we yield to temptation, it shows that we do not love the Lord very much. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Temptation is a part of life. How will we avoid temptation in the future? Develop more love for God and for Christ: that would be a good start.

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