... in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go
out to battle, ... David remained at Jerusalem.
... one evening ... David ... walked on the roof of the
king's house. And ... saw a woman bathing, and the woman
was very beautiful to behold.... "... Bathsheba, ... the
wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers, and
took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her ... And
the woman conceived ...
In the morning ... David wrote a letter to Joab {the
commander of the army} and sent it by the hand of Uriah....
"Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and
retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die."...
and Uriah the Hittite died ....
And when [Bathsheba's tine of] mourning was over, David
sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife
and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done
displeased the LORD.
So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
And the LORD struck the child ... and it became ill. David
therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted
and went in and lay all night on the ground.... Then on the
seventh day ... the child died.
So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed
himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the
house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own
house; and ... he ate....
And [David] said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and
wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the LORD will be
gracious to me, that the child may live?' But now he is
dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I
shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and ... lay with
her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon
{lit: "peaceful," also called Jedidiah - "loved of the
Lord"}. (2 Sam 11:1-5, 14-16,27; 12:13,15-18,20, 22-24,
NKJV)
When David should have been going out with his troops into
battle, he stayed behind and was tempted when he saw a
beautiful woman bathing near his castle. Even though
Bathsheba was the wife of a famous soldier, Uriah the
Hittite, she apparently had no problem committing adultery
with King David. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David
sent for her husband, Uriah, in an effort to cover his sin.
Because Uriah was a man of great personal integrity, he
refused to have intimate relations with his own wife, out
of respect to his fellow soldiers, who could not enjoy
similar privileges. Since David was unable to cover his
sin, he made sure that Uriah would die in battle, a murder
by proxy that could not be physically traced to him.
However, nothing is hidden from the Lord, so the prophet
Nathan confronted David, and David admitted his sin.
However, even though David had repented, the child became
very sick and died as a consequence of David's sin.
David had spent seven days lying on the ground, fasting,
and praying, but when the child died, he rose from the
floor, bathed, anointed himself with oil, changed his
clothes, and then went to the tabernacle and worshiped the
Lord. Afterward, he went to his own home and ate. When the
servants inquired about his behavior, David explained that
when the child was alive, there was a chance that the Lord
would acquiesce to his pleas for mercy, but since the child
had died, there was no longer a need to continue.
Even though there were additional consequences for David's
sin, including Absalom's rebellion, the Lord demonstrated
his forgiveness by enabling Bathsheba to give birth to
Solomon, the next king of Israel.
So what can we learn about faith from David and Bathsheba?
First, the Holiness of the Lord God demands that the
faithful be faithful in all their ways, but the Lord is
always willing to forgive those who lapse into sin.
However, there may still be consequences of our sin.
Second, even though we are encouraged to come before the
throne of grace in faith in all situations, the Lord is
sovereign and holy in all His ways, and will not compromise
His own nature and character at any time. Third, whether
the Lord grants our requests or not, He is still infinitely
worthy of all praise and worship at all times, from all of
creation.
----------------------------------------------------
Jon V Straumfjord III is the author of numerous articles
about the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He
is also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com
, and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."
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