2nd Samuel CH 11

David and Bathsheba Part 1

Okay so I don’t think this chapter really needs any Introduction because it is very to the point and it is very evident as to what is going on

David is a man after Gods own Heart, he is still a Human being with Human desires , and he is still a man that has a flesh.

His flesh at times can be louder than the spirit He knows, ( How many of you know that your flesh at times can be louder than the spirit that is in your life ? )

there are many reasons why our flesh is louder than our spirit but that is no excuse to commit acts of sin Like we are going to see here in this chapter with David

If we were to kind of reflect on the Life of David we know that He is a pretty solid and sound individual; He Has been known as one who cultivated his relationship with God and that is reason for Him being the King of Israel

He’s been extremely good at surrendering the Issues he has to God and he’s also been extremely good at seeking God during difficult times of His Life

Throughout 1st Samuel we see just a few Hiccups from David,

1) one where he cut the robe of King Saul while he was lying in a cave. David had an opportunity to Kill him but he chose not to

Even though he cut the robe of Saul, He Still had a conviction that left Him feeling troubled for what he had done

1 Samuel 24:3–5 “3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.”

so throughout 1st and 2nd Samuel there isn’t a ton of Detail about Davids Faults , Just a few that we can see clearly, that lead us to understand why He committed His adulterous act with Bathsheba Here in Chapter 11

clearly David even when He commits a sin is still very repentant, He still has a deep conviction of what He is doing

He knows what He is doing is wrong even though he does it anyway

Many of us in this room, all of us actually go through moments in time where our flesh is calling out so hard and so loud that we just give into it

everyone that is a human being is guilty of giving into their flesh at some point

When we give in to the flesh and we satisfy it , it pulls us further away from the spirit, like wise when we are in the spirit filling the spirit in us, we are pulling further away from the flesh leaving no room for the flesh

Galatians 5:16–17 “16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

Romans 8:6 “6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Romans 8:8 “8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 8:13 “13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Our flesh is always going to be calling, but how are you dealing with it ?

How Did David deal with it early on?

2) This Second little insight to the flesh of David that we see is In chapter 27 of first Samuel

Now David had been running from Saul, for about 13 years. And towards the end of 1st Samuel in Chapter 27 David goes and He Hides from Saul.

David Allied with the Philistines and he Lived among them in their Land for 1 year and 4 months

and in this Chapter we see that instead of turning to the Lord for strength during a time of Weakness, David runs toward the enemy, he runs to His flesh and he starts to Live out His life according to His flesh

He wants to Satisfy what ever is driving Him from within

He becomes during this year and 4 months , a cruel cold person raiding and pillaging towns of His enemies and then goes back to the Leader of the Philistines and lies about what it is that He is doing

1 Samuel 27:8–11 NKJV

8 And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. 10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.” 11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.

David gave in and allowed this to fester inside of him for over a year, while he turned to war and chaos to satisfy His flesh

He killed everyone and everything in HIs path to eliminate the chance of being exposed for what He was doing

His flesh in this time had become louder than the spirit that was in His life

3) Now the Third and final thing that we see a couple of times about David, Is the Sexual Sin thats In His Life

Some of you might wonder where we see that, but we see it when ever we see that David had more than one wife

In 2nd Samuel chapter 3 We see that David had 6 wives,

Its actually 7. If we were to Look and see that His wife Ahinoam is not mentioned in 2nd Samuel Ch 3, She is actually Mentioned back in 1st Samuel chapter 25

1 Samuel 25:41–43 “41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, “Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives.”

and then here in second Samuel we see the rest of His wives

2 Samuel 3:2–5 “2 Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 his second, Chileab(kil-e-ab) , by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; 4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah(CHEF-A-Tiah) the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.”

so 8 wives total adding Bathsheba, and then if we were to look even further into 2nd Samuel, Specifically chapter 15 , verse 16 , it says

2 Samuel 15:16 “16 Then the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ten women, concubines, to keep the house.”

He had 8 wives and 10 Concubines, David was a Player !!!

He was a man that very much so struggled with His flesh regarding His love for women and His sexual desires

Now some people can look at this and some other sections of the old testament and say that it is grounds for polygamy , but its Not

Genesis 2:24 “24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Again it says A Man being Singular shall be joined to His Wife, Again Singular , (One woman) and they Shall become One Flesh ,God made eve out of Adam not 3 eves out of one Adam.

Marriage is between one man and one woman, not multiple

Deuteronomy 17:17 “17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.”

the warning here in Deuteronomy is so that Kings would not become distracted by the desires they have over their desire for Him! (GOD)

Having multiple wives was indeed a sin in the old testament and it was something that usually led to the destruction of a King

This is exactly what we are going to read here with King David

His desire for Multiple women eventually caught up to Him and caused his life to spiral out of Control

Often times we see this very thing in our society today that teaches us to follow our hearts and to Love who you truly Love, Disregarding Gods commandment for one wife or one Husband

Now when it comes to marriage as many of you Know, we just finished 1st corinthians ch 7, it is a life long commitment that is rooted in Love for one another. A love that is beyond just a feeling, It is an action that becomes a choice

When a husband or a wife cheats, its usually because they Lose sight of the Lord and they fulfill the desire that is in the Heart

Now our Hearts are never something that can be fully trusted because naturally, our sin nature, our hearts are wicked

Jeremiah 17:9 “9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

it is Dangerous to follow a desire Like Davids for multiple wives or for you Ladies multiple Husbands;

it will not end good

So these things are important to understand because David didn’t just wake up in chapter 11 and decide that he was going to be a peeping Tom and steal another mans wife

this desire in His heart was cultivated over years and years of Satisfying that dark place in His heart

Serial Killers don’t become serial killers over night, it takes years and years of twisted thinking and fulfilling evil desires to get to that point

So Here we are 2nd Samuel Chapter 11: Lets Begin

2 Samuel 11:1 “1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”

2 Samuel 11:2 “2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.”

2 Samuel 11:3 “3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?””

2 Samuel 11:4 “4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.”

2 Samuel 11:5 “5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.””

Okay so In these first 5 verses we see a number of different things that add up to David committing Sin. The Act of Adultery

1) David was a king , He should have been at the battle with His men, Wars were not typically fought during the winter months because of the conditions

mud would cause chariots to get stuck, and it was cold

so fighting would take a pause and then continue during the spring time

David should have been in the field with the men that were under him Leading the charge like we saw at the end of chapter 10 but instead He’s chillin

Now David was actually un-easy, He was suppose to be asleep in vs 2 but he couldn’t sleep because he knew that he wasn’t where God wanted Him to be and that was the battlefield

so from the roof top he sees Bathsheba bathing, she was a beautiful Lady, some commentaries will actually say that its possible Bathsheba knew that she was visible from where King Davids house was and that she was purposely acting immodest to gain the eyes and attention of King David

regardless of the details, the way David went about this was sinful and it was His responsibility for the actions that took Place

Instead of turning away and taking his eyes off of her , David continued to watch her and Long for her

and thats why in vs 3) he asks around about her and he learns who She is,

His eyes were leading Him to destruction in this very moment

and then in vs 4 He sends messengers to Her, and here He sleeps with Her , then He gets her pregnant

So in these first 5 Verses alone we have this perfect Illustration Of Sin and what the steps Look Like to committing Sin (5 Steps)

1) David was not where He was suppose to be ( sometimes sin starts when we are in the wrong Place at the wrong time) (EXPOUND)

2) Davids Eyes Caught something and He entertained it ( He encountered temptation and took it a step further )

3) David Pursues the Temptation

4) David embraced the temptation ( He succumbed to it)

5) Davids Consequence to Sin

Now when it comes to Sin , we have to understand that it always starts somewhere and it usually most often starts off Small

James chapter 1 Is probably one of My favorite chapters in the Bible because when it comes to sin it shows us just how easy it is to get caught in it

sometimes we don’t even realize what is going on until its too late with Sin, like we see here with King David

David Had an opportunity to Kill the temptation that was before Him by leaving the roof, but instead His sinful nature allowed him to push closer and closer to the edge

After David inquired of Bathsheba , he learned that she was a daughter of an important person that He was close to, and the wife of another man that he was close to, but that didn’t stop Him Like it should have. One of Davids Mighty Men and one of His head counselors were related to Bathsheba

Now the way that Davids mind was working here was not good, He had multiple opportunities to Kill this desire that he was entertaining and he didn’t

The Adultery that he was committing was no Longer in His heart, it was at His fingertips

Now the adultery was in His heart ( At first ) and thats where it should have stopped, It should have never grown into anything more. But it did and we will see that this was the beginning of the downfall of King David

James 1:14–15 “14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

1)Davids Sin started as a desire that was deep down in His heart for a long time

2) He was enticed by satan and His desire grew even more when he saw Bathsheba bathing,

3)and then His desire was no longer a desire. He took action consciously deciding to sin

He got beyond the point of no return and that is a dangerous place when it comes to sin

when God finally gives you over to the desires of your heart, you know that conviction, that ability to say no will only last so long until the Lord actually allows you to be given over to your true desires

Romans 1:24 “24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,”

here in Romans Paul is addressing the christians in Rome, Primarily the gentiles about giving people over to the desires that are in there hearts

throughout scripture we see examples of God giving us over to our desires and thats why its important that our desire is HIM !

So to Us as readers of Gods word, when it comes to sin, we must always ask ourself what it is that our heart desires

we must always pray and ask that the Lord change the desire of our heart.

Our Heart for Jesus should be greater than our love of sin and desires

This brings me to My Main point that I want to talk about today and this one is more so for the Boys but it still applies to you Ladies: And That is WHERE ARE YOUR EYES

you see the enemy knows our weakness, boys the enemy knows that God created you to be visual

David was enticed and pulled away from God because satan twisted and contorted what God created In Davids mind and David Gave in

The very thing that God created to be Good, Davids ability to be visual , was robbed by satan and used against a Godly man

our eyes should be fixed on Jesus and not fulfilling the desires that are in our hearts. When our eyes are fixated on the wrong things it leads to sin

When it comes to Sexual Sin especially to us Guys , it always usually starts with the eyes, (expound)

You Know as a christian its always super awkward when something catches the eyes, especially a beautiful woman

when there is a room full of christian Men and a pretty girl walks by, you know what all those men are doing? They are looking around at each-other to see who is looking where they are not suppose to. Its funny but its also very telling

and its telling because usually there is always one maybe two maybe everyone looking where they shouldn’t

our eyes give us the ability to let things into the Mind. Our eyes are the mouth of our mind. What ever we look at, what ever we see , our mind has the ability to remember it forever

and thats the downside to being visual , so what ever it is that you put your eyes on, Just know that it has the ability to become a desire in your heart

( Expound ) share stories of when some exotic looking person walks by, and my wife is always looking to see if im looking

stare at the ground

Sin Starts very Small, its as simple as a glance , that glance turns into a gaze, that gaze turns into some form of action, today i would say its sliding into someones DMS or actually going up to someone and getting their phone number

then from there it leads to another thing, and another thing and at the very root of the thing that is causing you to follow through with all of this is a desire in your heart that is probably not good

Now of course there are good intentions, and of course there are people who don’t always have bad desires but i’m saying thats how this stuff starts

it starts when the desire is so out of control that we give in to it

Davids desire was so out of control simply by looking for too long that He couldn’t even function until He was temporarily satisfied.

Matthew 5:27–28 “27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Adultery starts with the eyes !

1) If David only thought about the repercussions to His sin , He may have not committed the Sin !

2) if He would of known that he would of impregnated this woman, do you think he would have done it ?

3) if he would have known that it was going to cause the murder of a trusted friend, do you think he would have done it ?

4) if he would have known that His daughter would be raped by His son do you think He would have done it ?

5) if he would have known one of his sons would kill the other do you think he would have done it ?

6) if he would have known that one of His sons would lead a civil war against Him do you think he would have done it ?

7) if he would have known one of his sons would follow in his foot steps do you think he would have done it ?

you see thats the power of fixating your eyes on something other than Jesus , you get tunnel vision, you lose the ability to think ,the only thing on your mind is how you are going to get what you want. How you are going to fulfill that desire that pulls and tugs at your heart

Its so dangerous to fixate our eyes on anything but Jesus

Hebrews 12:1 “1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

we are being watched by everyone around us even by witnesses in Heaven

as a christian you are being watched , by christians and by non christians

sin Holds us back, and things that are not sins ( the weight ), hinders us from running an effective race for the Lord

what weights need to be laid aside ? what Sin has you in bondage ?

Sin can be avoided but for some reason Like David it is not

Some sins can ensnare us and become harmful to us ( there is consequence to sin)

Some sins are more dangerous to us than other sins ( they each have different consequences )

at the end here he Says Let us run with Endurance the race set before us

effort and commitment on our behalf are needed for the endurance in this race that we run for the Lord

determination, and commitment is needed when running a race of endurance

The race that is set before us as believers is not an easy race, its going to be difficult , full of struggles and temptations

but check out the next verse

Hebrews 12:2 “2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

looking unto Jesus means fixating our eyes on Him and turning our eyes away from the things that pull us away from Him

as christians it is our duty to fix our eyes on Jesus , HE died for our sins and he took on the guilt and shame for us

we have no excuse but to be fixated on Him

After all He paved the path for us to follow

when we are fixated on Jesus we are winning

there will always be something trying to distract and pull us away from fixing our eyes on Jesus

For some of us David is a perfect illustration of fixating our eyes on the wrong things , but for others it may even be things that are not sexual or sensual

Everything around us thats material has the ability to grab the attention of our eyes, our mind and our hearts

they are weights that pull us away from Jesus

Gods word is rooted with instruction to fixate our eyes on Him

Luke 11:34 “34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.”

Acts 26:18 “18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”

Psalm 105:4 “4 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!”

Isaiah 40:26 “26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.”

Psalm 121:1 “1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?”

Matthew 19:26 “26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

Proverbs 3:5 “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;”

Proverbs 27:20 “20 Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.”

Ill Leave you guys with this,

the Human eye has over 2 million working parts

there are over 100 million light sensitive cells in the eye

the average person blinks 12 times per second

the human eye has the ability to change focus up to 50 times per second

in the typical life span of a human and the eye, they will process over 24 million images

the human eye has the ability to detect over 10 million different colors

and the last one ill leave you with, over 80 percent of of the brains processing comes from the eyes

Our eyes are a gift so don’t use them to do bad things, Keep them focused in Jesus and don’t stare at things you shouldn’t especially you boys