David Playing the Fool

 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth 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 still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, 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 washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 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.
​ 2Sam 11:1-4 (it's recommended to read the entire chapter)

David's life was one of many paradoxes, many flaws, imperfections, many tests, trials, and yet God called him a man after his own heart. 
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In chapter 11 of 2Samuel we are given the account of his fall with Bathsheba. Some important points in this story are:
It happened in the spring 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 people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. In this region wars weren't normally fought in the winter, cold weather made travel too difficult.

David should have been out at the battle but he remained behind. This opened the way for Satan's trap to unfold, and take root. Laying idle on his bed, he rises and wanders to his roof, and sees in full view Bathsheba bathing. This was all the spark the devil needed to get the fireball of sin rolling.

However, this was not the beginning of David's history of events with numerous women in his life, long before Bathsheba. David had shown no regard for fidelity in marriage years before when he took more than one wife. (1Sam 25:42-43, 2Sam 3: 2-5) He had shown no restraint when it came to his passions and indulgences with women, and it proved to produce a lifetime of trouble, both with the women, and the children he produced with these various women. 

As David watched this woman bathing, he committed adultery in his heart on the roof. When he had her brought to the him, he committed adultery with her in practice-which is much worse.

David could have ended the temptation with Bathsheba if he had fled the roof, and gotten away from the sight of her, and gotten his hands busy doing the Kings' business. But, he didn't, he pursued it further and sent and inquired about her. From here, David's heart turns very dark, and the plot to kill Uriah develops in his mind. One sin, gives birth to another, and more wicked, and more vile than the first. In this, he totally abandoned everything he knew of honor as a King-lust was now ruling his heart and soul. He ignored every warning and way of escape God had set in front of him. 

The unfortunate pattern of unchecked passions, indulgences and descent into wickedness and murder of Uriah can be seen as a climax of things going on in David for over 20 years. David had 8 wives: Michal Ahinoam Abigail Maachah Haggith Abital Eglah Bathsheba. No one knows how many concubines he had, 2Sam 5:13 reads "And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, and after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David; and 10 are mentioned in 2Sam 15:16. In 2Sam 16, we see the root of rebellion in his son Absalom when he takes David's concubines, and lays with them:
2Sa 16:22  So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. 

This principle is shown again in the life of his son Solomon, who had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Like father, like son-only worse. It can be seen, what the obvious influence David had on Solomon. He followed in his father's steps, and lusts; which ultimately destroyed Solomon. The life of these men teaches us if one woman isn't sufficient, 1000 wouldn't be enough.

If David had known the cost of his lusts, acting on impulses and feelings instead of sound godly thinking, he may well have averted many sorrows, some in this list:
• An unwanted pregnancy
• The murder of a trusted friend-trying to cover up the sin of laying with Bathsheba, and her pregnancy. Trying to cover his sin, instead of repentance. He wanted to draw Uriah back home to have relations with Bathsheba to give a reason for her pregnancy. But, when this didn't work, he orders him in the frontline of battle, knowing he would be killed.
• A dead baby
• His daughter raped by his son
• One son murdered by another son
• A civil war led by one of his sons
• A son who imitates David’s lack of self-control and it leads him and much of Israel away from God

The same kind of ruin comes of adultery today. Many children go to bed every night without daddy in the house, because of adultery.

David learned the hard lesson that trying to cover one sin, leads to deeper sin, more treacherous deceptions and disaster. David's life continued to spiral out of control, and blind to his own darkness, until God sent Nathan the prophet to him, and confronted David, forcing him to see what he had done and that he had sinned greatly in the eyes of the Lord. Psalm 51 gives us David's prayer of humble repentance, and restoration. But, it didn't exempt David from living the rest of his life with many consequences of his actions. 

His life is an example, many down through the ages, and today live out similar scenarios, with the same ruined lives, and constant turmoil. The wages of sin is a very high price to pay. Ultimately, the wages of sin is death.

GIVING REIN TO SELF-INDULGENCE

​This was not an isolated sin. For some time, backsliding had been eating out David’s heart. The cankerworm takes its toll before the noble tree crashes to the ground. See Psa_51:8. Joab and his brave soldiers were in the thick of a great conflict. Rabbah was being besieged and had not fallen. It was a time when kings went out to battle, but David tarried at home. It was a fatal lethargy. If the king had been in his place, this sin would never have besmirched his character.
A look, as in Eve’s case, opened the door to the devil. “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity.” However great our attainments and however high our standing, we are all liable to attack and failure; but when we abide in Christ, no weapon that hell can forge can hurt us. When we have sinned, our only safety is in instant confession. This David delayed for a year and till forced to it. He was more eager to evade the consequences than to deal with his transgression. Sober David was far worse, here, than drunken Uriah. The singular self-restraint of the soldier threw the sin of the king into terrible and disgraceful prominence. F.B. Meyer

The important points we can glean from this is, what God's view of the unrepentant sinner is, and how he deals with us. Some important quotes that give good insight are:

“The real question for us all is: Are we prepared to face sin? Not to discuss someone else’s sin, but to face our own.” (Redpath)

The answer to hidden sin is confession and repentance. To whom should we confess? The answer is in the question, “Whom have we sinned against?” “If you sin secretly, confess secretly, admitting publicly that you need the victory but keeping details to yourself. If you sin openly confess openly to remove stumbling blocks from those whom you have hindered. (J. Edwin Orr)

“As soon as ever we are conscious of sin, the right thing is not to begin to reason with the sin, or to wait until we have brought ourselves into a proper state of heart about it, but to go at once and confess the transgression unto the Lord, there and then.” (Spurgeon)

Over the years, as I've studied this account of David's fall with Bathsheba I've thought, what would the churches, the religious leaders, and the world do with David today if he was here, and lived like this, and fell like this?  Think about it.
Lorna Couillard