David and Bathsheba Part 1
2 Samuel 11
One of my favorite characters in the Bible is David. Not because of our similar names (although kinda cool in my opinion), but because of how human David is. We can learn a lot by studying the life of David. We can easily see the things that David did right in his life. But, we can also see some things David did wrong.
David is known as the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). This is a lofty description for a man. Especially one who turns out to be an adulterating murderer. How could this possibly be the same guy? How can one minute you are said to have a heart like God’s, and then be considered a murderer? Those two descriptions can’t possibly be used to describe the same person.
In 2 Samuel 11 we see that David is King of Israel, having taken the place of Saul. David becomes king because Saul did not follow the advice of the prophet Samuel and follow the ways of God. So, in Saul’s place, God chose a man who we see later mentioned in Acts, is a man after God’s own heart. Does this mean that David was perfect? Of course not, but it does mean that David had a heart of repentance. When David committed wrong against God, he knew it and was legitimately sorry for it. David would seek forgiveness from God for the wrongs that he committed. Look at the book of Psalms. David had a reverential fear of God. David placed a high value on his relationship with God. David loved God and wanted to remain close to God. David had God in his heart. That is a man after God’s own heart. But, along with that, David is a sinful man like all of us. In 2 Samuel chapter 11, David let his guard down and Satan took advantage of the opportunity.
Verse 1 of chapter 11 gives us the background of what is going own in the life of David. The Israelites were in battle with the Ammonites. In the battle the Israelites conquered the city of Rabbah from the Ammonites. Pretty non-significant verse it seems. Just another verse about a battle in the Bible. If we have seen one, we have seen them all. Right? The key to this verse lies at the very end of the verse. It says, “But David tarried still at Jerusalem.” What is wrong with this picture? Considering the time in history, a lot. You see in David’s time the king was also the leader of the army. Not the Commander in Chief that we think of with our President today. The king was the field general. He was on the battlefield, not kicked back relaxing back at the palace. If he sent his army to attack someone, he was also sending himself. So, what is wrong with this picture is the fact that during a battle, David is at home. He is not where he is supposed to be. He has found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. What seems harmless on the surface will lead to disaster.
Isn’t that how we often find ourselves in trouble? It starts out as a harmless little thing. A little white lie. We think we are getting away with it. We think we have things under control. That’s when Satan swoops in. He knows that we THINK that WE have things under control. We also tend to get a bit lazy during these times. We get a little lax. Let our guard down. As we will see over the next few posts, that’s exactly what happens to David. We will see how one supposedly simple little sin will take David and his family down a long heart-breaking road. But, we will also see how God, in all His goodness, brings David out of it and actually blesses a sad situation with the ultimate blessing known to man.