The story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 marks the beginning of King David’s compromise and failures, which echoed for generations to come. It is a narrative full of deceit, mounting tension, and irony that paints a vivid picture of the corrupt human heart and the devastation that can result when one of God’s followers turns his eyes from the Lord. While David was said to be a man after God’s own heart, his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and his deceitful attempt at covering up his sin, which eventually lead to the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, displeased the Lord and resulted in the demise of his family and death of his child.
Up until this point in the books of Samuel, David is spoken of very highly. He is said to be “skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” [1] It is also recorded that David “administered justice and equity to all his people.” [2] However, the narrator begins 11:1 with a statement that should instantly cause his readers to question David’s motives. He writes, “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.” [3] The question is raised, “If kings go to battle in the spring, then why is King David not going into battle now that it is spring?” The narrator never answers this question directly, but instead uses it to propel the story forward and introduce the object of David’s lust, Bathsheba.
While Bathsheba is a necessary character in this account, little is written to give the reader an idea of her character. Verse 2 makes mention of her particularly beautiful physical appearance and verse 5 records that she sent word to David of her pregnancy. Other than these two clues, the writer is intentionally vague in his description of Bathsheba.
While little is written of Bathsheba, much is written of her husband, Uriah. Unlike the vacationing David, Uriah is faithfully serving King David in battle against the Ammorites. In chapter 23, Uriah is included in the list of David’s mighty men who lead his warriors. As the narrator transitions from David and Bathsheba’s adultery into David’s attempt to conceal the sin, Uriah is portrayed as loyal, honorable, and committed to his obligations as David’s soldier. David calls him away from the battle under the guise of inquiring of Joab when David’s hope was that Uriah would have sex with his wife and conceal the king’s sin. When Uriah refuses and sleeps at the door of the palace, David becomes frustrated and makes one final attempt to get Uriah to sleep with his wife by getting him drunk. When that doesn’t work, David ironically sends Uriah back to battle possessing the letter that commanded Joab to send Uriah to the front lines and have him killed. Until his final day, Uriah remained faithful to the army and to King David.
The contrast between David and Uriah is both obvious and intentional. The narrator shows the irony of Israel’s spiritual leader needing to take lessons of loyalty and honor from one of his servants. The reader is left wondering how it is possible for such a God-fearing king to commit adultery and then stoop to such low levels in an attempt to hide his transgression, which only ended up bringing more judgment upon himself. David even caused Joab to sin by ordering him to put Uriah in a situation that would surely result in his death. When Joab obeyed David instead of God, Uriah’s blood was on his hands as well.
Another interesting contrast can be seen between David’s dishonest acquisition of Bathsheba as his wife and his honorable treatment of Abigail, Nabal’s wife, in 1 Samuel 25. In this earlier account, David cares for Nabal’s shepherds and later requests rations from Nabal. Nabal refuses to help David and his men, yet, at the request of Abigail, David is merciful and spares Nabal’s life, even though he was well within his rights to enact judgment on Nabal. God strikes Nabal, and, once he dies, David thanks God for His judgment and takes Abigail as his wife. The words of James “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” [4] seem to apply to these two narratives. In the first narrative, David was being pursued by Saul and was very apparent of his need for God. He was necessarily humble before God. Some time later, David was exalted as king and had no need left unmet when he gazed upon Bathsheba. He seems to have lost sight of his need for God as he reclined in his palace with walls of protection on every side. Even if there is no direct correlation, these narratives should cause all of us to consider how an abundance of material wealth could affect even the most faithful of God’s people and use caution ourselves when met with an abundance of material wealth.
There remains a question for me after reflecting on this narrative, and, while it cannot be answered decisively one way or another, it is worth considering. What is Bathsheba’s role in all of this? Is she simply an innocent victim of David’s abuse of power? Or does some guilt fall on her for accepting the king’s invitation to the palace and not objecting to David’s pursuit? Why is the narrator so intentionally vague about Bathsheba’s character throughout this story?
In the context of David’s culture, women were not always seen as men’s equal. Quite often they were seen as property. So perhaps Bathsheba really was just an innocent victim who was overpowered by King David and submitted to his authority. Maybe she truly had no say in the matter and that is why the narrator left out many details of her character. The narrator also could be so intent on highlighting David’s sin that he ignores Bathsheba’s role.
These remain valid possibilities, however, there is reason to believe that Bathsheba sinned along with David. The narrator has no issue recording the objections of a woman to the advances of a man, as the very next chapter shows. When David’s son, Ammon, tried to get his sister, Tamar, to lie with him, she replied, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing.” [5] If Bathsheba was innocent, why is there no mention of a similar conversation with David as he sought to do a similar outrageous thing? Why give such description to Tamar’s refusal while making no mention of Bathsheba’s? It seems likely from these two accounts that Bathsheba did not offer an objection but consented to the king’s desire.
So what can the reader take from this narrative? What are the universal principles of God and man that can be gleaned from this text? How can one apply this text to his or her life?
First of all, this narrative teaches us much about God. God utterly abhors sin and has zero tolerance for sin in the lives of His people. The writer of Hebrews describes God’s character by saying, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.” [6] We also see that God will bring swift and harsh discipline upon His people who disobey. God disciplined David’s sin by determining that the sword would never leave his house, which led to the violent deaths of three of his sons, and that his illegitimate child would die as well.
Gloriously, however, no matter how awful the sin or harsh the punishment, God’s grace removes the penalty of sin from us just as it did for David. This is seen through Nathan’s words to David: “The Lord also has put away your sin.” [7] We can be assured that God’s grace is sufficient to save us and remove our guilt as far as the East is from the West. The experience of God’s grace goes far beyond that of a mere feeling or emotion. Through Jesus Christ’s atoning death on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead, God’s grace becomes an objective reality that all God’s people can anchor themselves to with confidence and joy.
This narrative also tells us much about ourselves as humans. First, the writer illustrates a prime example of how sin that is not confessed but concealed will lead to more sin. David’s concern for his own image prevented him from repenting and stopping the pattern of sin from continuing. Instead, by attempting to conceal it, he went to greater and greater lengths, which brought about more and more sin. Second, we must guard our hearts against idleness. If David was doing what he was supposed to be doing where he was supposed to be doing it, he would not have had the opportunity to commit adultery. Instead, he was idle and lazy. Likewise, we must not become idle, but take the New Testament writers’ advice to be watchful and sober-minded, to set our minds on things above, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Lastly, and most importantly, we must acknowledge that sin is a heart issue. In Psalm 51, David’s response after Nathan confronted him about committing adultery with Bathsheba, he cries out for God to create in him a clean heart. Jesus offers a similar statement by saying that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. We need to understand this, and we need to seek God’s grace to combat this heart problem. It is never sufficient to change external behaviors while failing to address the root of the problem, the human heart.
Applying these principles to our lives as Christians is often easier said than done. It is never easy to confess our sins. We first must recognize that confession restores and purifies. John writes, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [8] D.L. Moody says it this way: “if I am too proud to confess I need expect no mercy from God and no answers to my prayers.” [9] Therefore, in light of what confession brings about, we can find humility to be transparent about sin before God and others. We need to be reminded of the truth that sin loses its power when it is brought into the marvelous light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In addition to confession, we need to guard ourselves, and others, against idleness. The New Testament writers often exhort us to be watchful so that we do not become idle or complacent. Additionally, Paul tells the church at Thessalonica to “admonish the idle,” [10] so the responsibility extends to others as well. Personally, I have found the best means of battling idleness to be making a schedule or “to-do” list. When my days are mapped out, I don’t find much time to be idle. Furthermore, I find it helpful to always have a book nearby to read if I find myself getting bored or complacent. Developing and cultivating a hunger for knowledge, especially knowledge of God, is the best remedy for idleness.
Thirdly, Christians need to continually remind ourselves and each other of God’s grace as it is prominently displayed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is our only hope of transforming our sinful hearts into the image and likeness of Jesus. Our greatest reminder of this comes from God’s written Word, and we must make daily devotional time with God of top priority. We must taste and see through the Word that the Lord is good as the Psalmist says. We must seek God with abandon, for, as A.W. Tozer says, “God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is.” [11]
Ultimately, this narrative teaches us of our need for God’s Anointed One, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins and reconcile us to God. We see the corruption of David’s heart and can associate well with his sinful nature. We see in our own hearts a desire to forsake God and exalt ourselves. We see a problem that we cannot fix ourselves. We, like David, are adulterous people who have turned away from the God who created us and loves us in order to indulge our fleshly desires. We need Jesus Christ more than anything or anyone else. David realized his need for mercy and cried out to God. We should do likewise knowing that grace saves us and reconciles us to God through Jesus Christ.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Moody, Dwight L. The Overcoming Life. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010.
Tozer, A.W. The Pursuit of God. Camp Hill: WingSpread Publishers, 2006.
[1] 1 Samuel 16:18 (ESV)
[2] 2 Samuel 8:15
[3] 2 Samuel 11:1
[4] James 4:6
[5] 2 Samuel 13:12
[6] Hebrews 1:9
[7] 2 Samuel 12:13
[8] 1 John 1:9
[9] Dwight L. Moody, The Overcoming Life, (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010), 64.
[10] 1 Thessalonians 5:14.
[11] A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, (Camp Hill: Wing Spread Publishers, 2006), 40.
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