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Introduction
This chapter deals with one of the most familiar stories in 2 Samuel.
It is the story of David's harmful affair with Bathsheba and then its implications for David and for his rule and kingdom.
The Bible does something interesting in regards to the “Heroes” we find in it.
The Bible rarely flatters them and often reveals their flaws.
One might say that all the men and women of Scripture have feet of clay.
They are flawed with a sin nature, just like you and me … and the Holy Spirit presents a realistic portrait of their lives.
for the Holy Spirit paints a realistic portrait of their lives.
He doesn't ignore, deny, or overlook the dark side.
It should encourage us to know that even the best men and women in the biblical record had their faults and failures, just as we do yet the Sovereign Lord in His grace was able to use them to accomplish His purposes.
Noah was a man of faith and obedience, yet he got drunk, Twice Abraham lied about his wife, and Jacob lied both to his father and to his brother Esau.
Moses lost his temper disobeyed God and struck the rock, and Peter lost his courage and denied Christ three times.
He doesn't ignore, deny, or overlook the dark side.
It should encourage us to know that even the heroes of the faith had their faults and failures, just as we do.
And yet our Sovereign Lord in His grace was able to use them to accomplish His purposes.
Noah was a man of faith and obedience, yet he got drunk.
Twice Abraham lied about his wife.
Jacob lied both to his father and to his brother Esau.
And Rahab was a harlot.
Moses lost his temper disobeyed God and struck the rock in anger.
And Peter lost his courage and denied Christ three times.
Of course, our pastors today have to be perfect.
I’m kidding.
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Chapter 11 of 2 Samuel deals with the story of David and Bath-Sheba.
On the surface, David’s behavior
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In our chapter for today, David, a man after God's own heart, commits adultery and then commits murder in an attempt to coverup his own sin.
These sins are greatly intensified because the Bible says of David that he was a man after God’s own heart.
Some have tried to justify David’s actions, but really there is no justification for what David did.
I'm certainly not defending it.
That being said, we do need to put it in perspective.
No sin, save the sin of Adam and Eve, has received more attention than the sin of David with Bathsheba.
Theatre and movie plots have adapted the story either as direct portrayals or as fodder for plot.
And many of those plots have portrayed the “David” character as the antagonist.
To grasp what the Holy Spirit would have us understand we should remember that David was a man who loved God. . . he was still "a man after God's heart."
He sinned, just as you and I have.
Of course, ours have not been recorded for all to read.
For this reason, I am forever grateful that God has finished writing Scripture.
I mean, would you want your sins recorded for all generations to read and discuss and make movies about and write books on and preach sermons on down through the centuries?
There is not a person I know who would want to have his failures and vices recorded for all generations to read and discuss and make movies about and write books on and preach sermons on down through the centuries.
Of course not.
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This record of history, told with candor and honesty, doesn't gloss over anything.
It reminds us that David was human … very much like you and I.
And from it we can gain great insight into things that make us spiritually vulnerable.
This narrative reminds us that God uses fallible people according to His own sovereignty.
God’s sovereignty is one of the most important principles in Christian theology.
This means that God is preeminent in power and authority.
The
God has the power and knowledge to prevent anything He chooses to prevent, so anything that does happen must, at the very least, be “allowed” by God.
And yet God allows humans to make choices.
He holds us personally responsible for our sins, and the Bible records God being unhappy with sinful actions.
The fact that sin exists demonstrates that God, Who is holy, allows things to occur that are outside of His direct action.
Human volition and human accountability sets the boundary for God’s control over the universe.
In other words, there is a point at which God chooses to allow things that He does not directly cause.
God has the ability to do anything, to take action and intervene in any situation, but He often chooses to act indirectly or to allow certain things for reasons of His own.
His will is furthered in any case.
Everything that happens is, at the very least, the result of God’s permissive will.
There is a difference between God’s perfect will and His permissive will.
God’s perfect will is what allows us to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.
His permissive will is what allows us to make our own decisions and yet remain saved if we are in Christ Jesus or to remain unrepentant and experience His wrath if we reject Jesus.
The right of God to allow mankind’s free choices is just as necessary for true sovereignty as His ability to enact His will, wherever and however He chooses.
A poor example is you with an ant in a bowl.
You have total control over that ant … whether it lives or dies, yet you might allow it to crawl around in that
Something else we might gather from this story is a warning against presumption due to position and status, and that no one is above God's law.
These sins give perspective to the events that occur in the succeeding chapters as a result of God's judgment upon David.
Unfortunately, the child that resulted of this sin would die.
But the repercussions of David's sins do not end with the death of the child but seem to lay the foundation for a whole series of tragic events to follow.
The repercussions of David's sins do not end with the death of the child but seem to lay the foundation for a whole series of tragic events—rape, murder, and insurrection.
When lust has conceived it gives birth to sin (CIT).
The shock waves that began with a lustful heart on a rooftop were still being felt when David lay dying and was being pressured to make Solomon his successor on the throne.
With this in mind, let's see what we can learn from the man's tragic failure.
There is rape, murder, rebellion and insurrection.
Still, out of this, Solomon would be born … so Bathsheba became the Matriarch of the Davidic dynasty that will culminate with the King Messiah, Jesus Christ.
With this in mind, let's see what we can learn from David’s very public and tragic sin.
v1
In the previous chapter, Joab defeated Ammon, but allowed its army to retreat into it’s own city walls.
He then left to return to Jerusalem without any further battles.
In previous chapters, the Lord turned the tables on Philistia, Moab, Syria, and Edom to extend Israel's borders and give His people control of vital trade routes.
What began as a series of attacks and wars on Israel ended with Israel in command of territory from the Tigris/Euphrates valley in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south.
Incidentally, something very similar happened after Israel became a nation in 1948 and then again in the 6 day war of 1967.
Israel was attacked and defeated her attackers and took territory.
Now, the wealth of these nations was filtering into Israel.
The first verse sets the backdrop for the story.
It was the time of year when wars could be waged due to the availability of crops to sustain a military campaign.
Perhaps this was why Joab had previously returned to Jerusalem without completing the war with the Ammonites … the season prohibited an elongated military campaign.
Though the Syrians-Arameans no longer came to their aid, the Ammonites stubbornly maintained their hostile posture toward Israel.
This is supported by the fact that relates the King of Syria waiting until Spring to go to war against Israel.
Another possibility is that David was waiting to see if the Ammonites would capitulate, but gave up hope after about a year had passed.
Whatever the case, though the Syrians and Arameans no longer came to their aid, the Ammonites stubbornly maintained their hostile posture toward Israel.
Much of the time prior to this, David had gone to war with Israel.
But this time, he remained behind, while the army went to war.
v2
By telling us that David did not join the military campaign, verse 1 sets the stage for what happens now.
It should not be overlooked that verse 1 says, “Kings go out to battle.”
Normally, at this time, Kings led their armies into battle.
But David didn't go off to war.
David sent out his army, but he remained in Jerusalem.
For reasons that we are not told, David remained in Jerusalem.
He evidently decided to take a break and let the younger men go without him.
Because
David was now about fifty-eight years old … perhaps he was a few years older.
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