“And David sent and inquired 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. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. 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 meat from the king. 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. And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine 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. 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. 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” (2 Samuel 11:3-13).
Introduction
Sin is never content with a mere sample but grows until it saturates the soul. It may begin as a slight offence but will spread like a cancer. No matter how much David tried to contain his sin, it would not submit to him but instead became his master until it dominated and ruined his life. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof … Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:12, 16).
Bathsheba was probably a Jew even though she was married to a Hittite, for :4 of our text speaks of her fulfilling the purification law of Leviticus 15:18 and 18:19.
The inquiry
David saw Bathsheba bathing, and he obviously watched her for some time, so he made an inquiry of how he might put his sin into action. We notice in passing how he immediately involved other people in his sin. “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” (James 1:14-15). The moment David determined to sin it took control of his life and he was no longer able to think right, for his adultery did not begin in the act but in the thought of it. “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). He had broken the Seventh and Tenth Commandment that state, “Thou shalt not commit adultery … Thou shalt not covet … thy neighbour's wife” (Exodus 20:14, 17).
David was told that Bathsheba was a married woman. He ought to have left the matter there, but chose to ignore God’s word and common decency. He was determined to add her to his harem which would not only increase the number of women in his life but his sin of polygamy too. After learning that she was the wife of a Hittite, who was on the battlefield, maybe he thought Uriah was of no consequence because of his nationality. Once he knew her husband was not at home, David sent for Bathsheba.
The iniquity
Did David force himself upon the woman or did she
willingly submit to him? There are arguments for and against regarding
Bathsheba’s compliance to king so here we will limit ourselves to David’s
sin, but does seem that she was not innocent for she told him that she was
purified. According to Leviticus 20:10 both David and Bathsheba deserved the
death penalty, “The man that committeth
adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his
neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to
death.”
David’s iniquity included his total disrespect of two for his mighty men who were directly connected with Bathsheba. Eliam her father and Uriah her husband (2 Samuel 23:34, 39). They were loyal to him, but he was disloyal to them both.
“Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). It seems that David’s sin was kept secret by himself, Bathsheba, and the servants until it was found that a child had been conceived. We wonder if David felt any conviction for what he had done in the meantime. Instead of repenting and owning up for his evil, David attempted to cover it up with more of the same, because it would soon be obvious to all that Bathsheba was pregnant, and it was an unwanted pregnancy.
The intrigue
David used Uriah’s wife and now he was using him to cover his sin. He plots to get Uriah to sleep with his wife so that everyone would think that Uriah was the father of the child, but the scheme did not work out in David’s favour. The king tried to cover his intrigue by calling Uriah into a private discussion about how the war with the Ammonites was going. There must have been big smiles and a large pat on the back for Uriah as he sent him off to his wife. The mess was sorted as far as David was concerned.
Morning light revealed that Uriah had not gone home to be with his wife but was found sleeping at the palace doors. His speech revealed him to be a very loyal servant of David and nothing could persuade him to relax while his fellow soldiers were on the battlefield. David then tried to use alcohol to get him to go home, but the intoxicated Uriah still do not do as was requested of him. “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken” (Habakkuk 2:15).
Conclusion
David’s hopes and plans were dashed. “"The
best laid schemes o' mice an' men” often come to nothing in the end (Robert
Burns). Even if Uriah had gone to be with Bathsheba, David’s sin and the
consequences of it would have remained, and in addition to this the continued
deception would have ruined the lives of all eventually. David’s initial sin
of lust set in motion a chain of events that would lead to dishonour and death. “Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that
doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his
reproach shall not be wiped away” (Proverbs 6:32-33). God was determined
that David was not going to get away with his iniquities.
© 31/5/2010