Articles
David’s Sin With Bathsheba
David’s Sin With Bathsheba By Derek Long
Israel had wanted a king to rule over them like all the nations around them (1 Samuel 8:4-5). God gave them as their first king, Saul the son of Kish. Outwardly Saul appeared to be the ideal king for Israel (1 Samuel 9:2; 10:17-24). Saul appears to be humble early on in his reign (1 Samuel 9:21; 10:21-27) and yet eventually his heart is lifted up. On one occasion, Saul offered a sacrifice which he was not authorized to do. As a result, Samuel tells Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13-14, NKJV). God selected David to take Saul’s place as the next king over Israel. David may not have outwardly looked the part of a king as much as Saul or others but inwardly he was the type of person God was looking for (1 Samuel 16:7). Eventually, Saul would die in battle and David would become king. David’s reign would be filled with victories and David reigns as a righteous king over Israel. Yet the Bible shows us how even David, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), fell into sin. 2 Samuel 11-12 records for us David’s sin with Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan’s rebuke of David for his sin. It is important for us to remember accounts like this are written for our learning (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11). Let’s examine some things we can learn from David’s sin with Bathsheba. David’s sin with Bathsheba reminds us even the greatest heroes of faith fall. David had trusted God in the face of Goliath. David had a heart which longed for God as we see in the Psalms. David was not immune to temptation and neither are we (1 Corinthians 10:12). David’s sin with Bathsheba reminds us how temptation works. David remained at Jerusalem while Joab and the army was besieging Rabbah and he arose one evening walked on his roof and, “saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold” (2 Samuel 11:1-2, NKJV). David had a choice here as to how he was going to respond. David could have turned his eyes away, gotten off of the roof, etc. David instead, “sent and inquired about the woman … then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her” (2 Samuel 11:3-4, NKJV). When we are presented with an opportunity to sin, if we do not turn away quickly, no matter how strong we are we are likely to give into temptation. David’s temptation reminds us of the importance of being careful what we allow our eyes to look upon (Job 31:1; Matthew 5:27-28). Proverbs 6:25-29 sounds the warning, “Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent” (NKJV). We cannot flirt with temptation and think we will not get hurt in the process. David’s sin reminds us how a moment of sinful pleasure can cause a lifetime of painful consequences. David and Bathsheba’s adultery results in a child being conceived (2 Samuel 11:5). David attempts to cover up his sin. He is unable to get Uriah to go home to his wife and so has Uriah killed (2 Samuel 11:6-17). David appears to have covered his tracks and yet his sin is still weighing upon him (Psalm 32:3-4). Eventually God sends the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin. Nathan tells David of consequences which will come about as a result of David’s sin. The sword would never depart from David’s house (2 Samuel 12:10). David would face adversity from his own house (2 Samuel 12:11). David’s wives would be taken by another and “he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun” (2 Samuel 12:11-12). The child conceived by David and Bathsheba’s adultery would die (2 Samuel 12:14). David’s life would never be the same even though he was forgiven of his sins. We need to remember sin can be forgiven but forgiveness will not remove all the earthly consequences brought about by our sins. A person who abuses drugs (whether illegal or legal) can be forgiven but may still suffer the consequence of poor health. A person who engages in sexual immorality can be forgiven but children may be conceived unlawfully, a sexually transmitted disease may come upon the person, and the scars of regret and the loss of innocence can never be fully removed. A person may engage in some unlawful action and be forgiven but still suffer punishment from the authorities. We need to remember, “the way of the unfaithful is hard” (Proverbs 13:15, NKJV). We need to remember we will reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8). Let’s not take the devil’s bait of a moment’s pleasure for a lifetime and if we do not repent an eternity of heartaches. David’s sin with Bathsheba demonstrates for us how the righteous respond when corrected about sins they have engaged in. David could tell the injustice committed by the rich man taking the poor man’s lamb to feed his guest (2 Samuel 12:1-6). A person may commit some sort of sin and yet is still capable of making moral judgments at times. Nathan though had to point out to David, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7, NKJV). When people point out sins we are guilty of, how will we respond? Will we get angry and want to have nothing to do with them? Will we deny it is our fault or that we have done anything wrong (1 Samuel 15:13-25) before owning up to our personal responsibility? Will we acknowledge our sin as David did (2 Samuel 12:13)? Will we realize our sin is against God and earnestly seek His mercy and forgiveness (Psalm 51)? David’s sin with Bathsheba reminds us of God’s willingness to forgive us if we are willing to repent (2 Samuel 12:13). Are we willing to repent of our sins and receive God’s forgiveness? God, “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30, NKJV). The Lord is, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV). Will we repent of our sins like David did or will we perish (Luke 13:3, 5)?
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