II Samuel 11-12
There was a season in King David’s life in which he gave in to the thoughts of his heart which ended up manifesting itself in his affair with Bathsheba. Let’s take a closer look and learn from this Biblical example.
A Little Background:
I Samuel 17:12(KJV) “Now David [was] the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem - judah, whose name [was] Jesse; and he had eight sons.” David was the youngest of Jessie’s eight sons. From a youth he tended his father’s sheep. He knew early in life that it was God who had given him the strength, power, and victory over his enemies, the lion and the bear. During this time in his life he learned to play the harp. The Bible tells us that David was a cunning harp player. It was also during this time that Samuel the prophet anointed David to be the future king of Israel. He did this without King Saul’s knowledge. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from this time on, though he did continue to tend to his father’s sheep. It was David’s musical skills that initially brought him into service for King Saul. David became known for his fighting skills when he killed a champion from the Philistine’s army, the giant, Goliath, from Gath. David then entered into King Saul’s service full-time. David became well known due to his victories in battle over the Philistines. King Saul wanted to kill David though because he had a growing jealousy toward him. David ended up having to flee from King Saul in order to save his own life. He had many followers and he became their leader. God was with him wherever he went and made him victorious in battle.
After King Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in a battle against the Philistines, David moved to Hebron and became king of Judah. About seven and one-half years later, after much warfare, David, with the help of Abner, the advisor to Saul’s house, became king over all Israel. David was known as a psalm writer. He also was known as a righteous man, a man after God’s own heart. The Bible records that David was very passionate about wanting to build God a house, but because he was a man of war and had shed much blood on the earth, I Chronicles 22:8, he would not be the one to build Him a house, but one of his own sons would be. David put lots of supplies aside for the future building of God’s house though. God made a covenant with David, telling him that he would be with him and his seed forever and would establish his kingdom. He would also cut off his enemies. All throughout David’s entire life, he truly had a heart for God and God was with him. Even when his heart strayed and he sinned, God’s love and mercy led him to repentance and David was fully restored. God continued to do great things through him.
II Samuel 11:1-2 (AMP) “IN THE spring, when kings go forth to battle, David sent Joab with his servants and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites [country] and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold.” Behold means “to fix the eyes upon, to see with attention, to observe it with care, to affix attention upon an object, to attend, to direct or fix the mind.”
After reading these scriptures, here are some of the thoughts that came to my mind. I wondered why King David stayed behind when it was springtime and kings went out to war. He was known as a mighty warrior and for going out to battle with his armies. He himself was famous in battle and had won some great victories. There was no mention of him being sick, tired, or just needing to regroup. The Bible says “David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house.” King David was a very intelligent and strategic man. He knew every angle of his kingdom, and he knew exactly what he could see from every angle and at what time he could see it. He could have gone anywhere and fellowshipped with whomever he wanted. – God is always faithful to provide a way of escape! But instead, David chose the roof of his house. I thought more than likely because he had walked on the roof of his house before, and now, his heart was being pulled in a certain direction. This became evident through his actions. Bathsheba was lovely to behold. King David, who already had a weakness for women which had not been repented of, allowed himself to look upon her in a way that he really shouldn’t have, which ended up manifesting itself in his affair with Bathsheba.
King David was known as a righteous man that walked closely with God. Why then didn’t he have the ability or the strength to resist this temptation? I believe that King David’s thoughts and the meditation of his heart caused him to step out of fellowship with God for a season. His desires, priorities, and actions were affected by it, which resulted in his inability to resist this temptation. He started to covet what was not rightfully his, and then he went into a plan of action to get what he wanted. .”
As we walk in close fellowship with God, He always give us the power to resist any temptation that we may face due to the thoughts we may have, the circumstances we may face, or any other situation we may find ourselves in. The Bible instructs us in James 4:7 (KJV) “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
It is when we choose to meditate on a particular thought that may be immoral or thoughts that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God that we are apt to fall into these very things that we are meditating on. This is why the Bible instructs us in II Corinthians 10:5 (KJV) “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” The Bible also says in James 1:13-15 (KJV) “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” The Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 10:12 (AMP) ”Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he fall [into sin].”
This is so relevant for us today. How often are our hearts being pulled on or led astray by private struggles or un-repented of sin? It’s seems to be easier at times to repent of - or even avoid the more noticeable sins. As Christians, we normally do not go out and commit the more noticeable sins like ‘robbery’ or any other sin that openly draws attention to ourselves. The main reason being; we do have a revelation of Christ and a basic knowledge of His word. In most cases we will put forth the effort to walk the walk faithfully. We also truly care about what others may think about us. We don’t want to damage our reputation, our integrity or have some one look at us in a bad light. Because of this, it’s so much easier to be accountable to one another with these more visible sins. But sometimes, we as Christians sincerely do struggle with unseen forces that seem to demand our attention. The secret sin’s of the heart are usually less noticeable and therefore can go unseen or undetected for some time. For this reason, I believe these sins can pose even more of a danger for us and because they are hidden, they can go undetected, giving them much more time to fester and grow in strength. The person who struggles with secret sins often feels shame, embarrassment, and isolation in this part of their life. It is truly a work of the devil to bring shame. He works his best in darkness and tries to deceive us into believing we are the only ones dealing with this type of sin. This is one of the tactic’s he uses to keep us bound like a prisoner to a particular sin and often with success. He works through the ‘spirit of pride’ to keep these private struggles or secret sins covered up or hidden. Pride says “I don’t have any problems-everything is fine with me.” And it tries to block us from getting the help we may need and thus keeping the sin from being brought into the light. Therefore these sins are not always dealt with until they eventually manifest themselves. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV) “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:” The Bible also says in
I Corinthians 10:13 (GNB) “But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.”
David, through a servant, inquired of Bathsheba and found out that she was married to Uriah the Hittite. Even though he knew that what he was about to do was wrong, he sent for her anyway and was intimate with her. David was in no way sexually deprived. He had many wives and concubines even though the Bible says, in Deuteronomy 17:17 that the kings of Israel were not to take for themselves multiple wives.
I wondered if Bathsheba would have had a choice in all this. Could she have said ‘no’ and lived? Did she feel violated? What was he doing looking at her like that anyway? David was her trusted king! I believe she may have been attracted to King David as her leader because of his outstanding qualities, but she loved her husband. In II Samuel 11:26 the Bible says that she mourned when her husband died. I also thought of how adultery was looked at during that time of history. It was in strong violation of God’s word with some very serious consequences that followed if you were caught, usually the death penalty by stoning. Deuteronomy 22:22 (KJV) “If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, [both] the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.”
Bathsheba had sent word to David that she was with child. Now David was seeing the results of his actions. Instead of repenting right away, he moved quickly in an attempt to hide or cover up his sin. II Samuel 11:6 (KJV), says “And David sent to Joab, [saying], Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.” He even managed to pull Joab in on his sin by having him take an active part in it. Once we transgress God’s written law and sin, the enemy will try to ensnare us into the bondage of continuous sin. This is a good example of why it is so very important to quickly repent once we are aware that we have sinned. Otherwise, our natural tendency will be to try to cover up our actions or figure out a way to justify them. David found out later after much heartache and having to pay the consequences for his actions that only true repentance from his sin would break its power off of his life.
David sent for Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba’s husband, calling him home from the war with one motive in mind. He wanted him to go home and sleep with his wife ‘Bathsheba’ so that men would think he was the father of the baby. Instead, Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house. When David asked Uriah why he didn’t go down to his house, Uriah answered him in II Samuel 11:11 (AMP). Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah live in tents, 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 drink and lie with my wife? As you live and as my soul lives, I will not do this thing.” Uriah the Hittite was passionate about the ark of God and the armies of the Lord. He had been taught well by his leader, the king. At this time, it appears that Uriah is more righteous than David, and when you compare where the two of them were in their thinking, there is a vast difference. Uriah was more concerned with the ark of God and his fellow soldiers. To him it would have been a sin to even think of going home and sleeping with his wife at a time like this. Uriah’s testimony to David should have provoked David’s heart to jealousy since this is where David’s heart once was. It should have caused him to see that his priorities were off and his heart was astray, leading him to repentance. But because of his sin, his heart had become hardened and he couldn’t hear God’s voice when spoken through Uriah. Unlike Uriah, David couldn’t even think of the ark of God or the soldiers. He had lost his focus and had become entangled in his sin. Uriah could represent the common things that God places in our lives in order to help us see our need for repentance. In Nathan’s parable to David, he likened Uriah to a poor man. Though later in II Samuel 23:39 he is named as one of David’s ‘mighty men’.
The result of David’s adultery was great. One sin led to another. When he saw that his plan for Uriah to sleep with his wife didn’t succeed, he planned Uriah’s death. The shedding of innocent blood had always grieved David’s heart. There was usually a death penalty from David for those who did it. Joab, who was David’s advisor and his army commander, had in an earlier chapter killed Abner, the adviser to King Saul’s house and the commander over Saul’s armies. Joab killed Abner to get revenge because Abner had killed Joab’s brother during war time, even though he killed him in self defense. This grieved King David greatly. He wept, fasted, mourned, rent his garments, rebuked Joab, and spoke curses over him. He made sure everyone knew it was not him who had killed Abner. But, he kept Joab in his position of leadership even though Joab showed no signs of true repentance. In fact, in chapters later, David sought Joabs assistance in killing Uriah. The very thing that he detested in men! So, even though David mourned Abners death in earlier chapters, his own sin of adultery and keeping Joab in his position, caused David to come into an unspoken agreement with Joab and ‘the spirit of murder’, a transfer of the ‘spirit of murder’ by association. He had no problem getting Joab who had killed before to help in the shedding of Uriah the Hittite’s innocent blood. The Lord then sent Nathan the prophet to address David’s sin and to pronounce the judgments for them. David listened to Nathan because he knew Nathan spoke the word of The Lord. David confessed his sins and repented. The Lord did restore him, but, there were still consequences to his actions. Two scriptures in particular really stand out. II Samuel 12:12 (KJV) “For thou didst [it] secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” II Samuel 12:14 (KJV) “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme.”
The only ones that knew of David’s sin of adultery were David, Bathsheba, and possibly the servant that he sent to bring her. The only ones that knew of the murder of Uriah the Hittite were David and Joab. The Bible says, “For thou didst [it] secretly.” In these scriptures it really does show that he did do these things secretly, yet the Bible says that because of David’s deeds, he had given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. These scriptures show that nothing is ever really done in secret because God sees it all. Not only does God see it, but the enemies of God see it - evil spirits and the spiritual realm. So, even if we sin in the privacy of our own homes and we think it’s done in secret, we can see from the Biblical example that our secret sins could still possibly bring great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Luke 8:17 (KJV) “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither [anything] hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.” Also, just like King David, we reap what we sow! What he did in secret was permitted to be done to him in broad daylight in the presence of all Israel and the sun. God’s mercy allowed David’s sin to be exposed through the prophet Nathan so that King David would repent. It was recorded as an example to us so that we might learn from it. When we are involved in the ministry, it is very important to keep these things in mind. Sin within our ministries affects us all as a whole! What David had done not only affected him personally, but also affected the whole nation of Israel. We are many members but one body.
The Lord showed me this picture. I saw this big, beautiful puzzle, and every piece had its place. But from time to time I would see a puzzle piece that had a sore, rough edge that was sticking up a little bit. Even though it was still a part of the puzzle, the piece looked as if it wasn’t sure that it actually belonged! It also appeared to be a source of irritation for the other pieces surrounding it. Just like the puzzle with all of its many pieces, we also have a place where we fit in; our place is in the Body of Christ. I Corinthians 12:20 (KJV) “But now [are they] many members, yet but one body.” Sometimes though, due to the attitudes of our heart or our sinful actions, we can become restless and irritable; no peace from the inside out. Our outward man can become sore, irritable, and rough and we may feel as though we don’t fit in. We also may become a source of irritation for those around us and can end up saying or doing things that we really shouldn’t. Even if we can’t see the things that would cause us to be rough with the natural eye, it is often felt by the person experiencing it and also by those around us. But, if we will truly repent of our sins, The Blood of Christ Jesus will cover our sins and there will be a healing that will begin to take place in us, a healing from the inside out -- healing that will smooth out those sore irritable edges. A healing that will help us to know that we know that we are a part of the body of Christ and that we do fit in.
It’s a part of our human nature to look at or set our thoughts on things that we know we really shouldn’t; but God does give us a way out when it comes to these things. We must be diligent about guarding our eyes and our thoughts, setting them on things above, always remembering to look up because there is a much higher purpose for our lives. Sin never causes us to ascend, it only pulls on us and destroys our lives.
We may look at King David’s life and say “but he was a leader of such great magnitude”, and we are right, he really was!
But in a sense, the same is true for us as well. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, that we should show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light: We are God’s people and in God’s Kingdom. We are ambassadors for Christ. In this day, we are getting ready to see such a tremendous engrafting of souls into the kingdom of God’s dear Son and people are definitely watching us and will follow our example.
I Peter 2:5(MSG) “Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.”
Written by: Joany L. Aquila
Psalm 19:12-14 Who can understand [his] errors? Cleanse thou me from secret [faults]. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous [sins]; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Read and pray: Psalm 51:1-19
