It has been said that this is the most tragic episode of David’s life. We shall spend much time on this chapter and the next because there are so many lessons to learn.
I’m indebted to my good friend David Fortune, Director of Christian Prison Resourcing, for his thoughts and outline on this chapter and the next. Chapter 11 shows the downward spiral and chapter 12, the upward spiral. The downward spiral is shown by sin and others that we involve in that sin. That is very useful in our consideration, however, I would like to look at it perhaps from another angle.
David the Shepherd King was one of the remarkable men of the Old Testament. He was a capable musician and beloved poet. He excelled as a military leader and king. And as “a man after God’s own heart” he was an exceptional religious leader. Yet, despite all this, Israel’s greatest king was not without some grievous faults – not the least of which was his shameful conduct with Bathsheba (v1-27). I love God’s word largely because it never paints pictures of people, however great they may be, as perfect, but it gives us ‘warts and all’. If they were ‘perfect’ it would be of very little help to you and me because we would have enormous difficulty in measuring up, and it would leave us in a state of helplessness, because we make mistakes.
It is clear from the previous chapters that David has fought and won many battles. 2 Samuel 8:14 says “The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.”
The problem seemed to begin in chapter 10 where we read that “he sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men” (v7) to defeat the Ammonites and the Arameans (Syrians) who were allied with them. Was this the first downward step by David in sending Joab and the army out instead of going with them? After this victory, Joab returned to Jerusalem (v14). But when the Arameans regrouped and attacked, David went out with the entire army of Israel and defeated them.
It happened again here – Israel is at war again with the Ammonites (v 1), the Ammonites had been defeated in chapter10 where we found David and the men of Israel deliberately insulted by Hanun, the king of the Ammonites.
It is so easy to sit back and have a rest (sometimes necessary), but we must beware that it could be the start of the slippery slope. When we have done it once it becomes easier second time and so on. We must be very careful that it doesn’t become a habit. The devil finds work for idle hands and idle minds. That’s the way it is with sin.
First time we may feel guilty but gradually our conscience becomes dulled, and we do it a second and a third time and eventually we don’t feel guilty at all. Many tragic incidents occur as the unexpected outcome of a sequence of events. Certainly, that is the case with King David. A day off from war leads to a day spent in bed, followed by a stroll along the roof of his palace as night begins to fall on Jerusalem. He may have been in bed during the day, resting like you do! We can convince ourselves that we need it. Tiring stuff this kinging and warring! When we can, it is easier to let someone else do it.
The writer informs us that it is spring, the time when kings go to war (v1). Wintertime is not favourable to war. It is cold and wet, and camping out in the open field (as those who are besieging the city of Rabbah must do – (see v11) hardly is feasible. The wheels of chariots get stuck in the mud, among other problems. And so, kings usually sit it out for the winter, resuming their warfare in the spring. It is spring, Israel is still at war with the Ammonites, and it is time to finish the task of subduing them. The army assembled, under the command of Joab and his officers, and “all Israel.” They all go off to complete their victory over the Ammonites, who seem to retreat in their capital and fortress city of Rabbah. Every man who is able to fight goes to war, except one – David. David, we are told, “stayed in Jerusalem” (v1). David’s decision to stay at home becomes a devastating one. The older versions and even the NASB begin – “Then it happened….” Almost as if it was inevitable.
What is evident from his staying at home was that more than one sin resulted. David’s whole mindset is affected. Not only was there the sin recorded in this chapter, but it precedes a serious sin of another kind in 1 Chronicles 21 which was numbering the people. Why was it wrong for David to stay home while the rest of the men of Israel go to war against the Ammonites? Leading the nation in war is one of the main tasks of the king. Up until now, David has been leading his men in battle, but now he seems to step back, sending others to fight for him.
What keeps David home in Jerusalem? Why doesn’t David go to the battle? I think there are perhaps several reasons.
(1) David’s arrogance. God has been with David in all his battles and given him victory over all his foes. He begins to feel he is invincible. David seems to have come to the place where he believes his abilities are so great, he can lead Israel into victory, even though he is not with his men in battle.
(2) May be boredom. It is one thing to fight battles in which the enemy is quickly overcome. But the besieging of Rabbah is a whole different kind of war. This battle will not be won so quickly. It will take time to bring the Ammonites to the point of surrender. It is not a very exciting kind of war to wage. And while they wait, the Israelite soldiers must pitch their tents outside the city, living in the open field. This is no picnic, and David knows it.
(3) David may be getting soft. Let’s face it; David had some very difficult days when he was on the run from Saul. Now he has moved up in the world. He no longer lives in a tent (if he was fortunate enough to have one, sometimes he slept in a cave); he lives in a palace. Why would David want to stay in a tent in a field, outside of Rabbah, if he can stay in his own bed, in his own palace, inside Jerusalem?
David is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is in Jerusalem when he should be at Rabbah.
David stays in bed (v2-4), he does not stay home to write another psalm or two or even to pray for victory for his army; he just seems to stay in bed. It is very unlikely that David is doing any “kingly work”, David is simply indulging himself. But David can stand his bed no longer. Getting up, he goes for a stroll around the roof of his palace. The word for ‘walking’ gives the impression that he was ‘pacing about’. Maybe he couldn’t sleep, maybe his conscience was pricking him that he should have been elsewhere. Most certainly, his palace was built on the highest ground possible, so that it would afford him a commanding view of the city and the surrounding country and thus he would be able to see much that was out of sight for others.
David is like the simpleton in Proverbs 7:6-9 “For at the window of my house, I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple. I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness.” He was foolishly and yet deliberately in the wrong place at the wrong time. Something almost had to go wrong, and it surely did!
I am not suggesting that David deliberately set out to see something he should not. He is walking about, perhaps absent-mindedly, when suddenly his eyes fix on something that rivets his attention – a woman bathing herself and she was very beautiful.
If it had stopped there, it could have been fine.
David’s sin was not in seeing Bathsheba. It was unlikely that he expected or planned to see her. David’s sin was in choosing to keep his eyes on an alluring image after the sight came before his eyes.
Christians – men, especially – must learn to never let their eyes (or their mind) rest on alluring images except for what God has given to them in marriage. Our eyes must not remain on alluring images that come into sight.
For example, Joseph (Genesis 39) was more severely tempted to commit sexual immorality than David was here, but he fled that temptation.
Bathsheba is bathing herself. We tend to assume that this means she is exposed, at least partially. She is bathing herself in some place normally used for such purposes. Only David, with his palace vantage, would be able to see her and a whole lot of other folks if he chose.
Incidentally, Bathsheba is doing this in Jerusalem, from which all the men of fighting age have gone to war. (See verse 1) It is not as if Bathsheba is acting in an unbecoming manner, knowing that men are around. She has every right to assume they are not. David is around, but he should not be. On top of this, she is not bathing herself at high noon but in the evening. This is when the law prescribed (for ceremonial cleansing), and it is when the sun is setting. It is nearly dark when Bathsheba sets out to wash herself. David has to make an effort to see what he does. I assume Bathsheba makes every effort to assure her modesty, but the king’s vantage point is too high, and he is looking, because he wants to look.
We must never be an occasion for sin to others, even in how we dress. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:9 is relevant here: “…. the women should adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.”
Someone has said, ‘It is possible to be ‘very beautiful’ without taking your clothes off.’
It is sometimes thought that David saw Bathsheba unclothed as she bathed herself publicly, and that the sight of her body prompted him to act as he did. Virtually the identical words (“very beautiful in appearance”) are found in Genesis 24:16 of Rebekah, as she came to the well with a water jug on her shoulder. She was neither naked nor partially clothed. Similar (though not identical) descriptions are found, where no exposure of the woman is indicated at all (see Genesis 12:11; 26:7; 29:17; Esther 1:1).
In some instances, a woman may purposely or unwittingly encourage the one who assaults her. In this case, there is not so much as a hint that this takes place. In fact, it seemed that David’s “sighting” of Bathsheba is the result of her keeping the law, while David is failing his responsibilities as king.
It needs to be said though that the days in which we live, the way some females dress leaves very little to the imagination and can cause men to lust after them and look again. The late Derick Bingham once said, “I am not an authority on female fashion, but I would say, Dress attractively but not seductively! I feel sorry for many young men and the way females dress, or do not, as the case maybe. Girls, ladies, be very careful. The guideline is “Would God be happy with me dressing like I do?” And the same goes for males.”
David does not know who she is or whether she is married. We cannot be certain how much David sees. But David notes her beauty. Thus, we do not know for certain whether he has yet sinned. If David saw more of this woman than he should, then he surely should have diverted his eyes. It was not necessarily evil for him to discretely inquire about her. If she were unmarried and eligible, he could have taken her for his wife. He had more than one. His inquiry would make this clear.
Word comes back to David about this woman’s identity: And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (V3)
The answer comes to David in the form of a question. It is almost as though the person is asking “Why do you want to know?” I take it that no one else actually saw this woman. The identification of this woman depends then upon David’s description of her and location and no one could be absolutely certain whether this is the woman or not — except for David, of course, who would recognize her.
The information David receives should be sufficient for him to end the matter right there.
If it had stopped there, it could have been fine!
If this woman is married, he has no business going any further. No matter how great his position and power, nothing gives him the right to take another man’s wife. The pattern for David’s actions is clearly outlined by Joseph, who was hotly pursued by his master Potiphar’s wife: “…. And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.” (Genesis 39:7-10)
David is given all the information he needs, and more, if he is intent upon doing what is right. He knows Bathsheba is married and thus out of the question. He also knows Bathsheba is married to Uriah the Hittite, who is named in 2 Samuel 23:39 as one of David’s mighty men. He was a brave, courageous soldier. This is no unknown soldier, David must know Uriah, even if he does not know his wife. Uriah was loyal to David. There were 37 mighty men in all, who didn’t come to David as mighty men in the Cave of Adullam. They came as men in distress, in debt and discontented (1 Samuel 22), but he transformed them into a courageous group of men. Surely the mention of Uriah, who was away with the mighty men fighting the Ammonites, should have dissuaded David of what he was doing about Bathsheba.
However, despite what he was told, David ignored all that and was carried away by the beauty of this woman and was determined to have his own way and satisfy his lust. It was sin and nothing else. We tend to call things by other names – ‘love’ but it is ‘lust’. He now knows she is someone else’s wife, but he ignores it and proceeds to satisfy his lust.
David chose to ignore Uriah’s military record and to fix his attention upon his racial origins. It is obvious and noteworthy that David refers to Uriah as “Uriah the Hittite,” while the author of the book of Samuel refers to him only as “Uriah.” The expression, “Uriah the Hittite” is a term of derision.
In passing, the Hittites were mentioned in Genesis. Abram was promised that his descendants would inherit the land of the Hittites (Genesis 15) Esau married several Hittite women (Genesis 26 and 36). The Israelites were told to destroy the Hittites (Deuteronomy 20) and the Hittites opposed Israel’s entrance to the Promised Land (Numbers 13 and Joshua 9 and 11). Israel had some victories (Joshua 24), but they did not totally remove them, hence they lived among them (Judges 3). Uriah had left his own people and gods, and chosen to live in Israel, marry an Israelite, and volunteered to fight in David’s army. Despite all this, David looks down on him.
David ignored every warning and way of escape God set before him. God always gives us a way of escape (See 1 Corinthians 10:13). David sends messengers to her, who take her and bring her to him. When she arrives, David seemed to waste no time, he goes to bed with her, they have sexual intercourse together and when she is purified from her uncleanness, she returns to her house. That is that. Well, it might have been, if she had not become pregnant, I have little doubt she would never have darkened the door of David’s house again. David does not seek a wife in Bathsheba. He wants one night of sex with this woman, and then he will let Uriah have her. But of course, it wasn’t as simple as that, and it certainly wasn’t ok. It was sin!
From this evil act, a child was conceived. When David was informed of Bathsheba’s pregnancy (v5), he determined to conceal the sin. David would have known that the law required that both the adulterer and adulteress should be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). So, he had to act quickly. Accordingly (v6-13), Uriah was summoned from the battle front under the presumption that, while on furlough, he would visit his wife, and thus when Bathsheba’s child was born, it would appear to be the child of Uriah.
Uriah, being the patriotic warrior that he was, refused to indulge in matrimonial pleasure so long as his comrades-in-arms were “encamped in the open field,” and thus deprived of similar domestic enjoyment. Frustrated, David then sought to intoxicate the soldier, to break down his resistance, that he might go down to his wife and so cover the illegitimate conception. But, again, Uriah “did not go down to his house.” The interaction between David and Uriah seems to indicate that David was puzzled as to why Uriah would not enjoy the good life in Jerusalem if he had the opportunity to do so, especially with such a beautiful wife. Uriah, on the other hand, chose to live as he would have on the battlefield.
Finally, in a truly desperate measure, the king sent him back to the battlefront; and by his hand he sent a message, his own death warrant, to Joab, his captain. Uriah was to be placed in “the forefront of the hottest battle.” The troops were to withdraw from him that he might be slain. Uriah, the courageous warrior dies, apparently never knowing of his wife’s infidelity with the king of Israel. He showed his absolute loyalty to the king and to God and lost his life as a result (v18-25).
When Bathsheba heard of Uriah’s death, she went through the usual period of mourning; afterward, “David sent and took her home to his house; she became his wife and bare him a son.”
No doubt, David became a hero in the eyes of the people, taking this poor widow as his wife. But they did not know what had really gone on. That is, apart some of his servants, having reported to him when he asked who the woman was, and any who knew that Bathsheba had been brought to his palace and bedroom, and Joab, who had been instructed to manufacture Uriah’s death.
He may have thought that his sin was hidden, but it wasn’t hidden from someone – the inspired writer adds this telling phrase: “But the thing that David had done displeased The LORD” (v27).
Not only that, but David knew what he had done and it ‘haunted him’, he was a broken man. Psalms 32 and 51 tell us of his state of heart and his deep conviction. He had lost his joy, and he found no relief until he had confessed his sin to God. (See chapter 12)
Some have thought that Bathsheba was just as guilty as he was. Does Bathsheba share David’s guilt? It seemed that Bathsheba came willingly (v4). He was, after all, the king and must be obeyed. The phrase “…. For she was cleansed from her impurity.” Indicated that she had previously had her menstrual period and, therefore, was not pregnant before this, and her bathing (washing) (v2) was probably ceremonial after such period.
It is clear from the words of God through Nathan (chapter 12) that David sinned in a grievous manner. The problem is that many wish to view it in a way that forces Bathsheba to share David’s guilt by assuming that she somehow seduced him. The inference is often drawn that Bathsheba should not have been exposing herself as she did, and that it was her indiscretion which started this whole sequence of events. Some think her actions may have been deliberate. However, Nathan, pronouncing divine judgment (Chapter 12), does so upon David for his sin. Bathsheba and Uriah are depicted as the victims.
When we read of this incident, we may do so through Western eyes. We live in a day when a woman has the legal right to say “No” at any point in a romantic relationship. If the man refuses to stop, that is regarded as a violation of her rights; it is regarded as rape. I understand that it didn’t work that way for women in those days. Lot could offer his virgin daughters to the wicked men of Sodom, and there was not one word of protest from his daughters when he did (Genesis 19:7-8). These virgins were expected to obey their father, who was in authority over them. Michal was first given to David as his wife, and then Saul took her back and gave her to another man. And then David took her back (1 Samuel 25:44; 2 Samuel 3:13-16). Apparently, Michal had no say in the matter.
To approach this from the opposite perspective, think about the Book of Esther. When the king summoned his wife, Queen Vashti, to appear (perhaps in a way that would inappropriately display her to the king’s guests), she refused. She was removed (see Esther 1:1-22). She did not lose her life, but she was replaced. Then, we read later in that same book that no one could approach the king unless he summoned them. If any approached the king without his act of raising his sceptre, they were put to death (Esther 4:10-11). Does this not portray the way of eastern kings? Does this not explain why Bathsheba went to the king’s palace when summoned? Does it help to explain why she seems to have given in to the king’s lustful acts? We don’t know what protests she may have made, but we do have some sense of the powerlessness of a woman in those days, especially when given orders by the king.
