It Didn't Have to Lead to That

There are many chapters of the Bible that stand out to us. Genesis 1, Genesis 3, Matthew 4, and Revelation 22 are just a few. One of the greatest, yet saddest chapters of the Bible is 2 Samuel 11. God chose to record David’s deeds in His Word, despite how discouraging they read from the page. David the king becomes David the slave. David the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) becomes David the man who had a lustful heart. David the bold became David the weak.

2 Samuel 11 teaches us about the progressiveness of sin. The Psalmist wrote, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1). Centuries later, the apostle James penned, “But 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). Sin left unchecked is like a snowball that rolls down a big hill. The longer it is allowed to roll, the bigger and more dangerous it becomes. This chapter records David’s biggest sin (1 Kings 15:5). He committed two capital offenses in less than 9 months! This chapter truly details David’s disastrous dilemma or as one would title it, “The Giant That Slew David.”[1]

The chapter finds its setting in the late 11th or early 10th centuries. David is no stranger to the throne, ruling for many years. Chapter ten begins with David’s kindness to Ammon (10:1-2) and then proceeds to Ammon’s belittling of David’s servants (10:3-5), only then to record Syria’s battle with Israel (10:6-19). Chapter eleven continues the flow of the previous chapter and it begins a chain of events that David definitely wished he had not done.

From David, we learn that sin is not a thing with which to be played. It is not a trophy to be stored nor an item to be chased. What do David’s actions teach us about the path sin travels?

DAVID'S REFUSAL TO GO LED HIM TO BE ALONE AT HOME (1 Samuel 11:1-2a).

Instead of going to battle with Joab, David “sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel.” While it was not likely that David was just being lazy, he did stay home and was unbusied. David may not have been needed yet on the battlefield; however, he was about to be needed on another battlefield: in his heart. Allen Webster noted, “Joab laid siege to Rabbah, but Satan laid siege to David.”

While there was nothing wrong with staying behind, if David would have another chance to go, he would have. A time with the brothers at war did not compare with the time at home with sin. David is said to have “tarried still at Jerusalem” and would one day arise “from off his bed.” Some believe David was idle. If he was, he had no time to give his soul a rest (1 Thessalonians 5:6). Sin often begins in the heart when men refuse to be busy. “We start on the path to sin when we neglect the path of duty.”[2] It are those idle hands that are not profitable (Proverbs 19:15) and those idle hearts that progress into other sins (1 Timothy 5:13). God doesn’t want idleness, He wants business (Romans 12:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-11). Idleness can often lighten the threat or perceived danger of sin, even if it is just a little bit, and because of that, the person finds himself ingulfed in the thing he thought was no big deal with which to begin. “Idle hands do the Devil’s work.”

David could have avoided his tragedy if he would have went to war. While staying home was not wrong, it could have been unwise at this moment. Often, practices may not have “Transgression of the Law” written on them, but it does not mean we should engage in them.
• The man could have avoided the drink if he didn’t go to the party.
• The unmarried couple could have avoided the pregnancy if they were not alone together.
• The man could have avoided the financial crisis if he didn’t go to the casino to eat dinner.
How many times in David’s older years may he have said to himself, “if I just would have gone to war.”

It didn’t have to lead to that. David could have been busy. Opportunities to sin dwindle when we grasp onto opportunities to work for God (cf. Matthew 12:43-45; Galatians 5:16).

DAVID'S UNBUSINESS LED TO HIS LOOKING (2 Samuel 11:2).

David’s action of being on the roof was not uncommon. It was a custom for people to be on their flat-roofed house and enjoy some rest and the air. While David may have just been resting and performing a common practice, we learn that sin can take innocent actions and turn them into spiritual collapses.

Some blame David saying that he intentionally looked over the wall, while others say that David casually saw Bathsheba innocently at first. He was caught off guard like one would be with an ad on TV or a billboard on the road. Ultimately, David “saw” Bathsheba washing herself. If we take this as an innocent glance, then David did not sin yet. It is not sinful to be caught off guard with seeing a sin.
• Do we sin if we see someone drinking alcohol?
• Do we sin if we are confronted with immodesty?
• Do we sin if we see a curse word on a billboard?
While David may have had no intentions of seeing sin, it could have been avoided. Many times, men’s eyes are weary when lazy and women’s ears do not perk up as quickly when they are idle, being not as watchful for sin’s confrontation as they could be. Jesus reminded the apostles, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

Why was Bathsheba washing in the open? One observed that it could have been a custom during that time. Coffman believed: "Our text here does not indicate that there was anything improper about Bathsheba’s bathing in such a place which exposed her; but the suspicion remains that she was not nearly so discreet as she should have been. Most of the commentators blame David, pointing out that, "'In the East, it was improper for one neighbor to look over the battlements of his house into the inner court of the adjacent building.'"[3]
Perhaps Coffman has it right, but Winton gave a contrasting view: “Why did she take a bath in the open? Perhaps she had no inkling that anyone would be looking. She knew whose palace was next door; could it be that she thought the king was with his army? Or could it be that she intended to be seen by the king? When he invited, she came to him without any sign of hesitation.”[4]

No matter the intention or the custom, a lesson for all women would be to make sure they cover themselves in modest apparel (1 Timothy 2:9-10), for they could be the first step toward a young man’s journey into hell!

While David did not sin with a glance, it could have been avoided by being busy. It didn’t have to lead to that. David could have went to war which would have taken away his opportunity to look.

DAVID'S SEEING LED TO DAVID'S LUSTING (2 Samuel 11:2).

Although David may have innocently saw Bathsheba, this turned quickly into the sin of lust. Instead of going back to the bed he was on, he stayed at the edge where he was looking. The word “look upon” seems to indicate a continual glance. Here is David’s first sin.

Satan first used David’s eyes to tempt him to sin (Genesis 3:6; Matthew 4:8; 1 John 2:16). The eyes are usually the first things to sin, but they are sometimes not the last. The eyes are the windows to one’s soul and David should have recognized that his eyes cost him his soul. Lust is no accidental decision (Matthew 5:28). The Greek word translated lust is epithumeo and the word means to desire something, especially that which is forbidden.[5] Recognizing beauty does not fall into this category, but David went far from doing such. His mind went to other places perhaps such as
• “Look at how beautiful she is” (she is unclothed at this time).
• “I wonder what she would be like in bed.”
Bathsheba’s body was not to be looked upon by anyone else but Uriah (cf. Proverbs 5:15-20; 1 Corinthians 7:1-5). David had no right to even think about her (Exodus 20:17). Lust is a very dangerous sin.
• Pornography can create sex-addicts.
• X-rated movies fill young people’s minds with ungodly outlets for the sexual desire.
• Beaches and public swimming pools are filled with nakedness.
Lust has no business in the mind of the follower of God, especially in leaders like David. The Christian is admonished to watch where his eyes go so he doesn’t lust. He ought to:
• Make a pact (Job 31:1). The word “covenant” is the same Hebrew word used by God in many places in
reference to His covenant with His people.
• Flee instead of pursue (Genesis 39:7-12; Matthew 5:29-30).
• Understand that it is a sin against the Most Holy. Lust is no minor offense or a spiritual misdemeanor.
God condemns it to a devil’s hell.
• Recognize the harm it does to self and others. Humans act like animals and the one being lusted after is treated as an object.

It didn’t have to lead to that. David could have refused to lust and look away, but he chose to let his eyes take over. Jesus said, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22).

DAVID'S LUSTING LED TO ADULTERY (2 Samuel 11:3-5).

Joseph refused to sin day by day (Genesis 39:10) and did not give in once, yet David was confronted once and sinned minute by minute! Lust is the gateway to many sexual sins (Proverbs 6:25). Note some of the phrases that help us key in on the situation.
David “sent and enquired.” Not only did he use his eyes to look upon Bathsheba, but he used his mouth to ask about her. This is lust on his way of fulfilling its desired action. David would not stop until his lust was fulfilled and yet his “target” was “the daughter of Eliam.” David’s lust made Bathsheba an object. Women are NOT play things.[6] They are not objects to be taken, but treasures to be valued. She was a daughter and a wife, yet David bypassed those truths for his desire.
David “sent messengers and took her.” After enquiring, David involved himself in sending and taking. He did not go fetch her himself (for it would make him look bad perhaps), but he involved other people in his sin. No man will be guiltless who involves another in his sinful schemes (cf. Matthew 18:7; 1 Corinthians 8:9, 12). Some wonder if he took her by force, but others have noted that she willingly came in, which is likely hinted at by the next phrase.
Bathsheba “came in.” David ordered his sin, and it came right to his door! Unlike Vashti (Esther 1:12), we find no indication that she refused (unless it was not recorded).
• Did she feel obligated to come because he was the king?
• What if she said no?
• Did she feel honored to come?
Interestingly, Uriah was gone at battle away from home (2 Samuel 11:6-7) when she went into the king’s house. Did she take advantage of his absence to fulfill her desire? Many are the modern Bathsheba’s that sin behind their spouses back when on business trips or when alone with another person of the opposite sex. Husbands and wives should NEVER be alone with someone else of the opposite sex who is not their spouse! Maybe Bathsheba thought, “He will never know,” “it will be just for one night,” or “he will understand because it is the king.” Even if Uriah would have consented to her action, God would not.
David, “lay with her.” David fulfilled his sexual desire through the maximum sexual act. While lust is sinful, sexual touching is atrocious, it is fornication that is disastrous. David’s sexual desire alone was not wrong, but he had no right to fulfill it with Bathsheba. He should have fulfilled such from his own cistern and well (Proverbs 5:15-17). He should have remembered he had his wives to share this act with (1 Corinthians 7:2-4). While David may have reasoned with “I’m bored,” “she doesn’t please me,” or “we (me and my wives) do not fulfill this desire together anymore,”[7] Jesus would have condemned David (Matthew 19:12).
Bathsheba “returned home.” “He was through with sin, but sin was not through with him.”[8] While a night of pleasure may have seemed worth it to David, when he received the news of conception (2 Samuel 11:5) his heart may have stopped. Like many today, surely David and Bathsheba never meant for this to happen.
• “We didn’t mean to go that far.”
• “We never intended it to happen to us.”
Yet, it all began with David’s look!

It didn’t have to lead to that. David could have confessed his lust to God and been forgiven; however, sin is a deceiving monster and tricks the sinner into wanting more. “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

DAVID'S ADULTERY LED TO MURDER (2 Samuel 11:6-27).

We wonder what David did after hearing about Bathsheba’s conception. Did he pace the halls of his house? Did he punch his pillow in anger? Did he faint because of the news? No, it was worse. He attempted to cover up his sin by going to Uriah.
• The first was deceitful (6-11).
• The second was dirty (12-13).
• The third was criminal (14-17).[9]
David could have confessed his sin to God; however, sin progressed even farther, taking him to another level.

The first coverup was deceitful (2 Samuel 11:6-11). The first attempted coverup was to attempt to make it look like their sin was Uriah’s doing. By smoothly asking about the battle, David’s true intentions were to get Uriah to go home. However, Uriah would not go. Instead, he slept at the door of same palace his wife had just gone into to commit sin against him. Faithful Uriah would not forsake his national duty for a pleasurable one, yet the king he served forsook his spiritual duty for a pleasurable one! When this did not work, David had another trick in his hat.
The second coverup was dirty (2 Samuel 11:12-13). The second attempt to eradicate guiltiness on the part of the adulterous couple was to get Uriah drunk and go to his house. The past man after God’s own heart gave a man alcohol to cover up his own sin (Proverbs 20:1; 23:31-34)! Despite his attempts, David was unfortunate, for Uriah would not go to his residence. Truly, this action on David’s part showed that even, “A drunk Uriah was more disciplined than a sober David.”[10]
The third coverup was criminal (2 Samuel 11:14-17). When all else fails, sin will do what it takes to keep fighting. David reasons with the unthinkable and thought that murdering Uriah would do the trick. We wonder what David was thinking as he wrote this letter. David handed it to faithful Uriah to carry to Joab, but Uriah did not know he was carrying his own death warrant. What if he had opened it up? Uriah eventually died in the battle when it should have been the two adulterers that faced that fate (Leviticus 20:10). What an act by the previous man after God’s own heart. O, how far sin will go when it is given a little spark.

Covering up sins like David is never good. Adam and Eve tried that, but it did not work (Genesis 3:12-13). Saul must have had “memory loss”[11] when he was recounting his battle against Amalek for he did not include himself in his words to Samuel (1 Samuel 15:15, 21). The Proverbs’ writer says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Lies will not cover them (Genesis 4:9), no distance is too far to erase them (Jonah 1:3), and time cannot cause God to forget them (2 Samuel 11:27-12:1). Instead of being covered with God’s forgiveness, about Uriah’s death, David reasoned, “Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him” (2 Samuel 11:25). The man who treated his target’s death as trivial would soon find out how detrimental death would be (2 Samuel 12:14).

It didn’t have to lead to that. David could have repented of his adultery, but he became the man on God’s most wanted list.

DAVID'S MURDER LED TO DEATH (2 Samuel 11:27-12:14).

While God’s ears will hear some blood from the ground with acceptance (cf. Genesis 8:20-22; Romans 13:4), He hates to hear the blood of the innocent (Genesis 4:10; Proverbs 6:17). God was displeased with David’s sin (2 Samuel 11:27) and He was determined to do something about it. About David’s taking Bathsheba to wife, Coffman noted: "We have called this marriage, “Cover-Up No 9.” And that is exactly what it was. However long the `mourning’ lasted, as soon as it was over, ‘David took Bathsheba as his wife, so that she might be married to him as long as possible before the child was born. He hoped thus to forestall any suspicion of premarital relations that might otherwise arise.’(F22)”[12]
While David thought Uriah’s death made his situation appear, God had something planned.

God doesn’t forget sinful choices, even after many months. Nathan the prophet sent David a message in order that David might repent. He also warned him of what was to come (2 Samuel 12:1-14). David was the perpetrator in the story (2 Samuel 12:7). Note the charges.
• Despised the command of the Lord. Scriptural mistake.
• Killed Uriah the Hittite. Moral mistake.
• Taken Bathsheba to be his wife.[13] Marital mistake.
Such an action on the part of David caused the enemies of God to blaspheme. Like David, Christians’ sins hurt God’s name (Romans 2:21-24; Titus 2:8). Although we read of David’s repentance (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 51), David’s actions still required a sacrifice. He would face three consequences for his actions (2 Samuel 12:11, 14), although he himself would be spared.
• Evil would be against him from his own house.
• His wives would be humiliated.
• His son would die.
Consequences for one’s sin can often inflict others who are not even involved. Death to David seemed as just another body when it was Uriah on the toll, but when it was his precious baby, everything changed (2 Samuel 12:14-18).

It didn’t have to lead to that. David could have went to war, refused to lust, besought the Lord instead of besought Bathsheba, and could have burned Uriah’s death warrant. Instead, the progression of David’s sin cost him his confidence, his reputation, and ultimately his son.

If only men would see what their sin could lead to, they would truly think again before they committed the first act. David deserved far more than what he received but thankfully we read, “And the Lord sent Nathan.” Grace surrounded the lips of the preacher of God and thankfully grace and mercy were given after David’s repentance. Sin is a heavy debt, a costly debt, and a deathly debt. When it knocks at the door dear reader, beware!

Endnotes
[1] Allen Webster, “2 Samuel 11,” MSOP, 2022, Notes.
[2] Ibid.
[3]https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/2-samuel-11.html
[4] https://gbntv.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Textual/7-Winton-2Samuel.pdf
[5]Strong’s Concordance.
[6]Allen Webster, “2 Samuel 11,” MSOP, 2022, Notes.
[7] Although no spouse has a right to divorce his or her spouse because of the lack of sexual intimacy, the other spouse is under obligation to fulfill this desire (1 Corinthians 7:2-5).
[8]Allen Webster, “2 Samuel 11,” MSOP, 2022, Notes.
[9] Ibid.
[10]Ibid.
[11]Used sarcastically. Saul HIMSELF sinned here.
[12]https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/2-samuel-11.html
Bob Winton would note that this would be a reference to their adulterous action. Truly, after Uriah was dead (although the action of David was sinful) they could marry (Romans 7:1-4).