2 Samuel 11:6-27

Proverbs 28:13 ESV

13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Intro: We’re continuing in our study from the life of David, and we find ourselves entrenched in one of his most notorious sins between that David commited with a women named Bathsheba…let’s read quickly read what we looked at last week...

2 Samuel 11:1–5 ESV

1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

2 sam 11

Here we have witnessed David, who would be considered one of the best of us, (few more devoted, few more spiritual, few more set on the Lord’s Glory and fame) at his worst.

Instead going to battle...He’s at home where he shouldn’t be

Intro:

(ESV) 13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Intro:

He’s doing what he shouldn’t be doing

Intro:

He’s looking at what he shouldn’t be looking at

He ignores God’s escape paths…which leads him to have sex with one of his most devoted man’s wive’s and then sending her home

And it seemed like they might get away with it…until he gets word that she’s pregnant…now been caught…it’s time to come clean now…But David did what Adam did…instead of confessing his sin he tries to hide it

(Prop) And today we’re gonna see David’s secret spiral…and we’re gonna look at it though the end of this chapter, and then ask ourselves, “whats the warning for us today as God’s people”

We’re gonna move through this passage seeing different things about David

2 Samuel 11:6–7 ESV

6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going.

So here’s David, he’s commited this sin, and there seems like there’s nowhere else to run…He’s slept with another man’s wife and now she’s pregnant, she’s gonna start to show in no time, may as well come out and deal with it head on after all honesty is always the best policy right…so he sends word to Uriah…surly he’s gonna confess right?

“Sir…Uriah the Hitite to see you”

“Uriah…I have something to say…How’s Joab? How are the people? How’s the war going?”

Now doubt Uriah’s thinking “you called me back from the war for this?

Notice how he asks 3 questions at once - why? because when you keeping secrets silence is nerve racking

Here’s the picture: David had an opportunity to confess and instead he stayed silent…and the spiral continues

Think about this chapter 11

By verse 5 we see David’s sin

By verse 7 we see David’s opportunity to end the spiral…doesn’t mean their won’t be consequences…but at least healing can begin…by confessing his sin

That won’t happen for another 32 verses…

App: How much unnecessary pain could be avoided if when given the opportunity we simply quick to confess our sin

Psalm 32:34

In psalm 32:3-4 David acknowledges the toll that his secrecy had on him

Psalm 32:3–4 ESV

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

Studies have shown that secrecy creates

Emotional Stress

Feelings of Fatigue

Feelings of intense lonliness

What should we do?

James 5:16 ESV

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

If you have some of secret sin today…Let healing begin…confess it

This could have been the end of it right here…if he would have just told the truth

Here’s the next movement...

2 Samuel 11:8 ESV

8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.

2 Samuel 11:8–11 ESV

8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

What a kind and magnanimous thing to do for Uriah right?…David brings Uriah home and says…”take a load off Uriah…go and wash your feet (which essentally means relax) and I tell you what, here’s a gift basket for you and your Lady to enjoy tonight…Here’s some chocolates, some wine, and Ed Sheeren playlist…go and enjoy yourself” how nice except the fact that David who’s ever the tactician knows that all of the consequences go away If He can just get Uriah to be intimate with his wife he’s in the clear so here he is trying to manipulate the situation

App: General When something seems too good to be true…it often is…Now there are exceptions to the rule but be prayerful about the things you accept

2 sam

So David set the plan up but will it work?

2 Samuel 11:9–11 ESV

9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

2 Samuel 11:9–10 ESV

9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”

2 sam 11:

2 sam 11:9-

So we see here that Uriah, does not expect David’s accommodations and instead of going home, he slept at the door of the kings house with his servants…And when David finds out he seems a little irritated and way too interested in Uriah’s love life

So David ever the tactician he knows that all of the consequences go away If He can just put Uriah to be intimate with his own wife so here he is trying to manipulate the situation

App: Hidden sin has a tendency to make you act really Odd

Why didn’t he go home? - Some commentators say he may have been suspicious of his wife…was their marriage on the rocks? But his reason for not going home was his devotion to the Battle -

Why didn’t he go home? - Some commentators say he may have been suspicious of his wife…was their marriage on the rocks?

Why didn’t he go home? - Some commentators say he may have been suspicious of his wife…was their marriage on the rocks? But his reason for not going home was his devotion to the Battle -

But his reason for not going home was his devotion to the Battle -

L

But here he gives his response...

2 Samuel 11:11 ESV

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

2 SAM

Uriah’s response was one of solidarity with his men…I’ll go home when it’s time to go home. I’ll rest when it’s time to rest....theres a time for peace and there a time for war, I’m not gonna go home and act like everything is fine, when my brothers in arms are fighting, dying and staying out in tents...

Now if you look at passages like Lev15:16 and we might come to the conclusion that David’s army was held to a strict standard of “No sex while enlisted in battle” If this is the case then it shows us something really dark about David…He’s more then okey with Uriah disqualifying himself from service so that he might cover his sin

App: This is what Sin does if enslaved by it…You begin to devalue people…and look at them as ether aids or obstacles not caring about their well being at all

But Uriah isn’t having it, and David’s getting desperate...

2 Samuel 11:12–13 ESV

12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

So you might say, “Joe David wasn’t drunk, Uriah was…and my response would be…David was drunk alright, not on alcohol…but on sin” and love what W.W said about this situation

“At this time Uriah who was drunk was a better man than David who was sober”

Think about this - The tactic that David is employing to cover his sin is the same Tactic that brought the Ammonite people all togeter

When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness, Lot and his daughters fled to the hill country on the southern end of the Dead Sea. Probably thinking they were the only people left on the earth, Lot’s daughters got him drunk and had incestuous relations with him to produce children (). The older daughter had a son named Moab (“from father”), and the younger gave birth to Ben-Ammi (“son of my people”). The Ammonites, descendants of Ben-Ammi

Here’s the picture: You have the greatest king of Israel, acting like the very enemy that Uriah is fighting against

App: This is what happens when your drunk by sin…you become insane, you do things that you would never do in your right mind...

“There is a certain level of Insanity to all sins…why would we be willing to risk so much for pleasures so momentary? the only answer is momentary insanity”

Why would father leave his family? for someone he barely knows…He’s sin drunk

Why would a person lose risk their job’s and steal…Their sin drunk

But once again, Uriah is a man who’s focused on his mission and doesn’t go home…So David’s desperation to cover has driven him to do something I’m sure he never dreamed of doing

2 Samuel 11:14–25 ESV

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ” 22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

2 Samuel 11:14–26 ESV

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ” 22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.” 26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.

2 Samuel 11:14 ESV

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

2 sam

2 Samuel 11:15–25 ESV

15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ” 22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

Think about this, this is David the sweet Psalmist of Israel…the one who wrote things like this

2 samuel 11:

Psalm 63:1–4 ESV

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 61:1–5 ESV

1 Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; 2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, 3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. 4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah 5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Psalm

Psalm 61

Psalm 27:1–4 ESV

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. 4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

The one who wrote letters to the Lord…just wrote a letter to Joab and this is what it said...

2 Samuel 11:15 ESV

15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”

2 sam 11:

Here’s the sweet psalmist of Israel with the very mind that God gave him to think deeply on God’s goodness, and the very creativity God to write poems of praise…He’s now using to create an elaborate and sinful plan

App: This is what we do when we’re in sin, those gifts that God has given to you to bring him glory and honor…are still in effect, their just being used for the forces of Darkness

Sin doesn’t just Rob you, it Rob’s God…it Robs others

2 Samuel 11:16–25 ESV

16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ” 22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

2 Samuel 11:16–24 ESV

16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ” 22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”

Notice that Joab gives a ridiculously thorough account of the situation including a rebuttal in the case that David’s (who then would have been recognized as a military genius) questions Joab’s tactic though the whole thing was cooked up by David secretly

Joab was trying to cover his own hide

The proper tactic here would have been to wait the army out now that the’ve cut them off

But instead that got to where the defense is strong and needlessly engage and not only does Joab die, but other good men die as well

App: Never be deceived Sin will always cost more then you think...

So Uriah is dead…and look what we see lastly...

2 Samuel 11:26–27 ESV

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

2 Samuel 11:27 ESV

27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

To some this Act by David would have seemed truly Nobel, Bathsheba has lost her husband at war and now She’s widowed and here comes David acting like some royal surrogate”Kinsmen redeemer” and everybody would have been saying “Wow that David…what a gracious and giving king”

2 sam 11:

But for the same reason David was chosen…He would also be dealt with…remember the words of Samuel IN 1 Sam 16:7

1 Samuel 16:7 ESV

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

1 sam 1

look at the end of v.27 But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. - Next week, we’re gonna see that Lord’s judgement upon the wickedness of David

App: It’s important to understand that to God there is no such thing as a hidden sin

Hebrews 4:13 ESV

13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Think about that, If you have some hidden sin, just remember God sees you…and his judgment may grind slowly…but it grinds thoroughly

Next week we’ll look at the painful yet beautiful conclusion of this story

Conclusion: So before we end today there are 3 things that this passage should highlight for us...

Though coming clean would have been painful for David, we find that hiding his sin would prove to be much more painful for him and all involved

If your hear today and you’ve done something that needs to confessed…don’t waste your life and energy on hiding it…come clean…face the consequences…and start the healing

Whats the Gospel?

That Jesus came and died to save sinners us

Some of us think the only time we need the gospel is the first day you got saved…but now that your mature…your somehow less needy for the Savior

Some people the only time they need the gospel is the first day you got saved…but that couldn’t be further from the truth

Here we have one of the greatest men in all the bible, the Giant slayer, the man after God’s own heart, a man who wrote 73 psalms and here in this chapter we see him lying, manipulating, murdering all to cover the fact that sleep with another man’s wife and got her pregnant

If he’s capable of that…what are we capable of?

You need grace...

I heard a story about a pastor who received a very generous offer from a family in their church. This family was going to Disney World and they wanted to take my pastor friend and his family with them. In fact, they wanted to treat them to everything: hotel rooms, meals, tickets into the park, everything they could possibly need to enjoy this trip as much as the host family did.

The guy offering this trip told my friend that he had one condition and one condition only: If you pay for anything, you pay for everything. In other words, try to pull out your wallet to pay for anything, and you are going to owe for everything. He insisted it was to be entirely his treat or none of it would be his treat.

APPLICATION

App: Paul said it’s by grace we have been saved...

There are some of you who think yourself too mature to need God’s full payment of Grace…and God’s says…put your wallet…recognize your neediness for me

Understanding God’s grace makes life more Joyful

Understanding God’s grace makes you more approachable to sinners

Now David was a wonderful man no doubt, but he’s still just a man…think about this, David was put in a “Him or me” situation…and he chose himself But Jesus…He’s a king cut from a different cloth

Isaiah 53:4–7 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Isa 53:

Isaiah 53:4–6 ESV

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus too was faced with a “them” or “me” situation…He chose me

From Israel to New Zealand

That had the effect of keeping my friend's wallet in his pocket! He never tried to pay for a thing!

Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins; to pay the debt we could never pay; to earn for us what we could never earn for ourselves. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ declares that Jesus’ payment was accepted by God the Father. As a result, everyone who places their complete trust in Jesus receives eternal life – and a place in heaven with God – as a gift. Jesus is a better king

2 Samuel 11:6-27

David the liar v.6-7

David the manipulator v.8-11

David the drunk v.12-13

David the killer v.14-25

David the Nobel v.27

Repentance hurts, But unrepentence hurts more

If David can fall so can we

We will never outgrow our need for the Gospel of grace

Jesus is a better king

Jesus is a better king than David