A FALL FROM THE ROOF TOP - David and Bethsheba
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
A little boy had just attended Bible Class where the Ten Commandments were the topic. When he sat by his father in the auditorium for worship, he asked his dad, “Daddy, what does it mean when it says, ‘Thou shalt not commit agriculture?’”
A little boy had just attended Bible Class where the Ten Commandments were the topic. When he sat by his father in the auditorium for worship, he asked his dad, “Daddy, what does it mean when it says, ‘Thou shalt not commit agriculture?’”
Some of us can probably identify with this dilemma – you do not want to give the child too much information, and neither do you want to put him off by withholding the needed answer.
Thus, the father says, “Son that means that you’re not to plow the other man’s field.”
I wish we were all as innocent as that child when it comes to the topic I’ll be addressing in this sermon.
I wish I could euphemize the subject so that all of us would get the message and yet be spared the details.
In this lesson I want us to see the pain and the ruined lives that results when people refuse to heed the warnings and plow in another man’s field.
Someone once described David’s life like two sides of a roof – the one side rises up, and then at the top, it suddenly drops off and falls an equal distance on the other side
Someone once described David’s life like two sides of a roof – the one side rises up, and then at the top, it suddenly drops off and falls an equal distance on the other side
David rose from the sheep pens of his father to be a great warrior, poet, and king.
But if we are going to understand the man, David, we are going to have to consider the other side of the roof.
Beginning in 2 Samuel 11, David breaks over the top and begins to slide down the other side.
The story involves adultery, deceit, cover-up, and murder.
It set into motion a series of events that would compound heartache upon heartache in the life of this man who was the king of Israel.
How does a godly man – “a man after God’s own heart” in this case, get involved in an adulterous affair. Let us study the account and we will see.
How does a godly man – “a man after God’s own heart” in this case, get involved in an adulterous affair. Let us study the account and we will see.
DISCUSSION
DAVID’S SIN OF ADULTERY
DAVID’S SIN OF ADULTERY
1 And it came to pass, at the return 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 children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem.
David has reached what we may call today, “middle age” by the time of the events described here. He is about 50 years old.
David is at a stage in life where his youthful investments are yielding a premium of prosperity and respect. In the past, he would always lead his troops in to battle, but now He can now slack off a little …
On this particular day, the soldiers amass for battle and they are sent into battle under general Joab. David decided to take the spring campaign off.
This would turn out to be one of the poorest decisions David ever made, because it would launch him on one of the toughest campaigns of his life – one in which he would be terribly defeated.
By the way, it would be wise for us to mention that times of leisure can be times of great vulnerability.
After a completed project we like some time off – times when we have no one else’s agenda confronting us…
But, the proverbial statement, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” is all too often true. It is good to take time off, but Christians should never take time off from discipline and self-control.
The biblical writer seems to imply that David should have been in battle instead of bed... “at the time when kings go out to battle.” There will be many times, I am sure, that David had wished he had gone to battle…
2 And it came to pass at eventide, 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 bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
This was not something that David had set up or planned, sleep had simply alluded him and he was walking about minding his own business. Such an inadvertent thing could have happened to anyone.
A person has to wonder, though, what this woman was doing taking a bath on the roof in full view of the king’s outdoor sleeping quarters?
Was this a ploy on her part to get David’s attention
For reasons, I will mention in a moment – I think that exactly what she was doing. But I will say that there are some women completely oblivious to the affect that they can have on men due to their dress or lack thereof.
And the same is true of men - I might add...
Ladies, men are stimulated by what they see. The way you dress and the way that you carry yourself in view of your Christian brothers can be a great help or a great hindrance.
Like Bathsheba here, you can destroy a man’s godly intentions by the way you dress. Do you realize that?
9 In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment;
Are you dressing modestly?
Much of the clothing that is being geared toward our young ladies is for the purpose of revealing – it has to do with “sex appeal.” Short dresses, skin tight clothing, low cut tops and the like should have no place in a godly woman’s wardrobe.
Of course, David wasn’t innocent in this situation either.
David was a man who had difficulty bridling his passions…
13 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.
This was in addition to the six or more wives he had in Hebron.
The law of Moses had laid it on the line in...
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
David did not obey this teaching.
He would pay for his disregard, as we shall see.
Adultery is seldom something that just “happens” on the spur of the moment or as an after-thought.
It nearly always has a background – a history of letting down of the guards and barriers.
Lust that is allowed to grow in one’s life becomes a tolerated habit.
But beware, it will grow stronger and stronger, and if not brought under control – it will grow out of control.
By the way, I think this makes something very clear that flies in the face in the face of a commonly held myth today: Having multiple partners does not diminish the problem of lust – as a matter of fact it feeds lust!
David had all the wives he wanted, but he still wanted someone else.
Feeding lust, thinking that if we can just get enough, we’ll be satisfied, only causes it to grow stronger until ultimately, a person will do things that are twisted and abnormal that he never dreamed he would do.
Before this chapter is over, David will have committed the murder of an innocent man!
The Bible commands us to limit our passions to our marriage partner alone
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well. 16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee. 18 Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth. 19 As a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love. 20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
This verse isn’t a lesson on drinking water, in case you hadn’t figured it out!
3 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?
Now, what David should have done upon seeing this woman was to call his servants to go down and tell her to put her clothes on
Better yet, he should have told his wife to do it.
Don’t you think she would have had something appropriate to say to this woman who was exhibiting herself in front of her husband?
Instead, David starting indulging his curiosity. His fantasies were aroused he started to play with lust. He’s playing “what if.”
David should have stopped right there. Like a fish he was lured out of his safe hiding place by a tantalizing bait – he is not thinking about the hook and the line that will haul him out to destruction.
Potiphar’s wife put the make on Joseph – but he didn’t stick around to consider the options. He ran! We should too!
So, David saw and he inquired…
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.
As I mentioned earlier, I did not think that Bathsheba was a naïve, innocent party. I say that because there is not a hint of resistance in this verse
This was not rape. It was an act between consenting parties. Both of them were guilty.
5 And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
In the roulette game of illicit sex, you never know when the spinning wheel is going to stop on that slot that reads “pregnant”
But far more was at risk for David than the embarrassment of an illicit pregnancy.
This act, and the ones that followed it as David attempted to cover it up - would ravage David’s family.
You see, this father would lose the respect of his sons and as a result, one of them would be murdered, one would rape his sister, and another would lead a rebellion against his father.
But now, David is faced with two choices: call in the counselors and admit the wrong he has done, or attempt to cover it up
Sadly, David chooses the cover up.
DAVID’S ATTEMPTED COVER UP
DAVID’S ATTEMPTED COVER UP
6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
Uriah was on the battle field
7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David asked of him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.
What a hypocritical farce! David isn’t interested in Uriah and the war. This is simply a maneuver.
13 He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.
Once the decision is made to cover up, deceit and hypocrisy abound. Deceit and adultery go hand and hand.
First cover up attempt
First cover up attempt
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 food 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, Art thou not come from a journey? wherefore didst thou not go down unto thy house? 11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open field; shall I then go into my 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.
“Wash your feet” is an idiom that means, “relax and make yourself at home
Uriah was a man of integrity – something David had been up until this point.
David’s hypocrisy stands in bold contrast to Uriah’s integrity. You would think that this would have woke David up to his sin
But his sense of justice is warped at this point by his sin.
Sin does that.
Sin blinds us to the obvious right and wrong
Second cover up attempt
Second cover up attempt
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.
He got him drunk, thinking surely, he would want to go lay with his wife then
Plan 2 had failed
Third cover up attempt
Third cover up attempt
14 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.
This begins the third and final attempt at a cover up
David made this godly man carry his own death warrant!
David is so bent on covering up his disgrace that he is ordering the murder of this man of integrity!
Once you start down the slippery road of deceit, it gets harder and harder to stop and get off
16 And it came to pass, when Joab kept watch upon the city, that he assigned Uriah unto the 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, even of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
Ah, the perfect cover-up. Now no one would ever know.
But God knew. He saw the whole thing.
David would reap what he had sown, bitterly!
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; 19 and he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling all the things concerning the war unto the king, 20 it shall be that, if the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore went ye so nigh unto the city to fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? 21 who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? why went ye so nigh the wall? then shalt thou say, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
So, Joab, an accomplice in this murder, knows full well the hypocrisy of his boss!
It would come back to haunt David later. He would never really be able to trust Joab fully because of his knowledge of this.
22 So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. 23 And the messenger said unto David, The men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entrance of the gate. 24 And the shooters shot at thy servants from off the wall; and some of the king’s servants are 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.
What a farce! What nonsense!
David and Joab are playing their little game to the hilt!
26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made lamentation for her husband.
That verse just drips with hypocrisy, doesn’t it? This whole passage does! Here is a woman who had betrayed her husband and shares in the guilt of his murder.
How long did she mourn for her husband? It doesn’t say, but we can probably bet that it was as short as possible, since it would be to the advantage of David's reputation to get her to the palace as soon as possible.
27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and took her home to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased Jehovah.
Perhaps the whole thing was not noticed by the general public, but someone else noticed it.
You see, even the most well executed cover-up is really no cover at all.
You can hide the sin of adultery from people sometimes, but you can never hide it from God.
God sees all.
There is a passage of scripture that all of us should have marked in our Bibles as a reminder of this…
23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against Jehovah; and be sure your sin will find you out.
The adulterer or adulteress will be exposed.
It is only a matter of time – time in which there will be constant worry that the truth will be known – time in which the spiritual life becomes a barren desert, void of any worthwhile meaning
David would keep this issue a secret for a full year after it happened until God would finally force him out into an open confession
Listen to what he wrote in the 32nd Psalm about his spiritual life during that time…
3 When I kept silence, my bones wasted away Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: My moisture was changed as with the drought of summer. Selah
It is thought that no psalms were written during the time that David covered this up.
CONCLUSION
I would like to leave you with two thoughts about what has been described in this passage
I would like to leave you with two thoughts about what has been described in this passage
The sin of adultery can happen even to people who seek after God.
There is not a character in all of the Bible who sought God like David did. Yet, he fell into sin. Why? How?
He did not control his lust in the times leading up to this event.
If you are feeding lust by not controlling your fantasies, by viewing illicit material, by spending time with someone of the opposite sex who is attractive to you but doesn’t belong to you, understand that you are setting yourself up for a fall
Some people have managed to avoid the sin of adultery, not because they are strong, but because the opportunity hasn’t presented itself.
Control lust in the early stages and you won’t need to fear the action later.
Secondly, God sees everything that is going on in your life
There is no effective cover up.
There is no way to hid our thoughts and actions from God
There is an “All-seeing Eye” watching us