*saul and david (circumstances vs truth)

Lesson: obey the Lord and seek to do His will; lead the way God wants us to lead; if our hearts and actions are
inconsistent with Gods nature and if we fully trust Gods timing then we will find ourselves fully supported by
Him.
Deception - the act of making someone believe something that is not true
Integrity the quality of being honest and fair
David and Bathsheba Bible Story: Summary, Lessons and Study
What can we learn from the story of David and Bathsheba?
Background:
David was a good king and made sure his people were treated right fairly. David was famous with the people
because of the victories God gave him over their enemies. These wars were not just fought for glory, though.
God was using his people to punish those who had turned away from him to worship idols. Finally the nations
nearby were conquered; Israel included all the land God had promised to Abraham. During one of the wars,
however, David stayed behind in Jerusalem when his soldiers went off to fight. It was at this time that David fell
into grievous sin, which would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Davids First Mistake
David was a good king and made sure his people were treated right fairly. David was famous with the people
because of the victories God gave him over their enemies. King David was the greatest of Israels kings. He ruled
over the largest territorial reign in their history. The kingdom prospered in his time like it did in no other. It is
said that right after great successes comes the greatest risk for a great fall and that is exactly what happened to
David. Davids fall from grace started even before he had seen Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop. His first mistake
was that he shouldnt have even been where he was to see Bathsheba. In 2 Samuel 11:1 we see that it was In
the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle that David was still in the palace. Now it appears
that there was nothing wrong in that except for the fact that the Scriptures said that the kings went out to battle
during that time of the year. So David was not really where he was supposed to be at a time, a time where kings
are supposed to go out to battle yet David remained in Jerusalem. That was mistake number one. All that
would follow may have never happened if David had been where he was supposed to be.
Davids Second Mistake or Bathshebas First?
We could say that this was Davids second mistake where It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose
from his couch and was walking on the roof of the kings house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and
the woman was very beautiful(1 Sam 11:2). Was this Davids mistake or was it Bathshebas? Some scholars
believe that Bathsheba should not have been taking a bath in the late afternoon, during daylight. She must have
known that she was visible to those who were in the kings palace. Did she know that the king was not in battle
and in the kings palace? You might expect that the residents in Jerusalem would know that. Besides,
Bathshebas husband was in the army and you would think that she would know that. Whether she was partly to
blame or not, David is the one that made the first mistake by looking at her and it would not be his last. He
looked at Bathsheba and didnt immediately look away. David must have read the Book of Job where he wrote
that Job had made a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1) but he still looked at Bathsheba and didnt turn
away. David may have actually committed adultery (literally, immorality) in his heart for Jesus said that if we
look at a woman or a man if youre a woman, with lust in your heart, you have already committed adultery with
them (Matt 5:28).
Davids Third Mistake
In 2 Samuel 11:3 David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter
of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? The man was trying to tell David that Bathsheba was already married,
indicating that the king was about to commit a huge mistake but David ignored him and sent messengers and
took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.)
Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant (1

Sam 11:4-5). Something else here to note is that she was still not fully done purifying herself from her
uncleanness so this was sin too. By the way, there is no indication that Bathsheba tried to resist or tell David
that she was married but this may not be her fault because this may have simply been missing in the
Scriptures. She may have done this but we can only guess as to whether she did or didnt, but the fact is that
David knew better and perhaps Bathsheba felt she had to obey the king. We will never know.
Davids Fourth Mistake
David should have confessed this sin right away and told Uriah what had happened. Instead he sent word to Joab
to have Uriah come to Jerusalem and have him be with his wife to thing that he got her pregnant instead of
David. The problem for David was that Uriah was a loyal man and instead slept on his own front porch since he
knew that the rest of the army was out in the fields and didnt feel it was right to have the comfort and
conveniences of his own home while his comrades slept in the open fields (1 Sam 11:9-11). When this didnt
work, he force Uriah to get drunk in the hopes that he would sleep with his wife but again, Uriah was an
honorable man and slept outside of his home (1 Sam 11:13).
Davids Fifth Mistake
When this didnt work, David finally conspired to have Uriah killed by sending a letter to Joab, the commander of
the forces, to have Uriah placed in the forefront of the battle and then have the forces drawn back to ensure
Uriah would be killed (1 Sam 11:14-15). Imagine the gall of David sending by Uriahs hand orders to have him be
killed. Naturally, Uriah was a loyal soldier and never opened the letter to Joab. This seems incomprehensible
for the king of Israel but that is how sin isone sin leads to another greater sin in an effort to cover up the first
sin. The plan worked perfectly and Uriah died but it was really by Davids own hand (1 Sam 11:14-17). David
had committed adultery, conspiracy to commit murder, and then finally and essentially, premeditated
murder. What is even more tragic, some of the servants of David among the people fell which resulted in
more innocent men dying (1 Sam 11:17) and not just Uriah. This shows that when someone sins, more people
suffer than just the one who has sinned. Now David was not only responsible for Uriahs death but several other
mens death too. How many? We dont know but it is likely there were at least several dozen. Listen to Davids
cold-blooded response to Joab about the death of these men when he replied, Do not let this matter displease
you, for the sword devours now one and now another (1 Sam 11:25a). How callous can a man be?
Conclusion
All of this murderous sin came out of David not being where he should have been, with the army in battle during
the spring. Then it was David seeing Bathsheba bathing and not immediately looking away. Next it was David
inquiring about her and then ignoring the fact that she was married. After this he sent for her and committed
adultery with her. He then committed conspiracy to commit murder and then had Uriah and several others
killed, all of whom were innocent. Then callously saying to Joab in effect, Oh well, thats war for you. Dont
worry about it. Sin has a paralyzing effect on our commons sense. When we sin, we try to cover it up with yet
another sin. The result was that David and Bathshebas baby died. So there is yet another innocent victimthe
baby.
God does not hesitate to show us how even the heroes of the faith make huge mistakes and then reveal the
consequences of these mistakes so that we might learn that sin comes at great costthe blood of innocent
people. Jesus too was innocent and had to die for the guilty. If you havent repented and trusted in Him, then
you will have to pay for your own sins. Without Christ, that payment will be for time without end (Luke 3:17;
Matt 3:12; Jude 1:6-7, 13; Heb 6:2; Rev 14:11).
NEXT
Rather than guarding what is entrusted to him, David lusts after that which is not his. He takes Uriahs wife for
himself and from there things just get messier. Sin, regardless of the form, can be devastating if it is not dealt
with in Gods way. Sin happens. Even Gods good people do bad things. Theres no sense trying to hide it. Our
sinful actions cause pain in the greatest of families. And whether its moms sin, dads or that of the children it
makes no difference. It is painful. And it can get really messy. Tears flow on earth and also in heaven.
The only one smiling is Satan. His game is enticing people with promises about greater happiness and
satisfaction. But his words are lies. He tells us we deserve better or he whispers, It isnt so bad. He did it with

Adam and Eve and hes still doing it. And after we listen to him, we find that sin has consequences we werent
counting on. Satans promises of happiness are lies.
It would be nice if we could blame Satan for it all, but sin is our choice. And thats why we must also choose how
to deal with it. In todays Scripture, David must decide whether to come clean or white wash his affair with
Bathsheba! Be honest and confess his sin or try to cover it up. David chooses deceptiona cover-upin an
attempt to save his good name.
We read the story: he calls Uriah home from the war so that hell sleep with his wife and then she can say that
the baby is from him! But Uriah won't even go into his house to sleep with his wife. He refuses to enjoy the
pleasure of his home while all of his fellow soldiers are risking their lives at the front line. Even after David gets
Uriah drunk, Uriah wont change his mind. His integrity stands in sharp contrast to David's lack of it.
Then in a desperate attempt to cover up his sin and protect his name, David arranges to have Uriah killed. Then
he marries Bathsheba. Uriah is not around to argue whether the baby is his or not. DNA tests arent available. So
David breathes a sigh of relief. The sin is covered up. Mission accomplished. No one will ever know about his
adultery!
No one, except God, that is. Chapter 11 ends with these words: But the things David had done displeased the
Lord.Sin cannot be hidden from God. Yet so often thats our first line of defense because we dont want people
to think we are as bad as we really are. We dont even want to admit that we are that bad.
When we try to hide our sin, Satan laughs because it just leads from bad to worse. When David tried to cover-up
his sin with Bathsheba it led to conspiracy and death. And that pattern repeated itself in some of Davids children
if you read further into the book. When we do not deal with sin it begins a vicious process of growth. We may
foolishly try to hide sin, keep it quiet, or pretend it never happened but Davids life shows us in a very real way
that our sin, particularly when it is unconfessed, can do all kinds of damage to ourselves, our families and our
community.
So while David was able to conquer his Syrian and Ammonite enemies, the enemy within himself proved to be
his downfall. And Satan laughs. But sin is no laughing matter. It needs to be dealt with according to Gods
righteous demands, not our own standards. Thats the problem with the slogan of The Simpsons Movie. It might
make you feel a little better about your family or your life when you see the mess at the Simpsons home, but sin
is sin and comparing yours to someone elses doesnt make yours go away.
So, finally, we need to see the Lords call to deal with sin and see how He deals with it. The Lord shows us that He
takes sin seriously because He loves His children. In chapter 12, the Lord sends Nathan the prophet to David,
Nathan exposes Davids sin and David quickly confesses it. He says, in v.13, like he does in Psalm 51,
2SA 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
[And] Nathan replied, The Lord has taken away your sin.
That is the right way to deal with sin. David found out that covering it up doesnt work, even though shame and
pride may lead us to try that route time and again. Dear friends, sin needs to be confessed to the Lord.
While God did punish David, he also gave him signs of hope. Sin does not have the last word for Christians. The
hope for the Christian comes in knowing that God promises to forgive our sins through Christ. Davids moral
failure occurred when he became too comfortable in his life. When he thought he had it made in this life, he
began to neglect his God-given calling as king. He sent his army out to battle without him while he stayed home
in the palace in Jerusalem . And in the ease of life in the palace, he dropped his guard against Satan the deceiver,
and he fell.
Our Lord Jesus, on the other hand, gave up the comforts of heaven to take on a battle on earth for our souls. He
never dropped His guard against Satan but always sought the power of the Holy Spirit to stand firm in the battle.
For Jesus knew that winning the battle had eternal consequences. And Jesus did win for us!
And He won for David too. God doesnt share the brokenness of Davids life and home so that well think our
family isnt so bad, the way the producers of the Simpsons try to entice us to watch their movie. God allows us to
see into Davids hometo see the sin, the cover-up, the deceit and the sorrowin order that well also see
Gods grace.

God does not give up on us. The Lord looked with favor upon David and Bathsheba again. After their first son
dies, we read,
2SA 12:24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son,
and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through
Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.
Jedidiah means the darling of the Lord.
But still more amazing is that our Lord Jesus was born from this line of David and Bathsheba, showing that God
can still use us for His purposes after we sin. David, the man after Gods own heart, falls into great sin. Even he
cannot do without a greater King, Jesus Christ the Son of David. Only Jesus can lead Gods people into the
glorious kingdom where God dwells among His people and they live lives that honor Him. Our spiritual health as
individuals, families and churches depends on Jesus forgiveness and restoration.
Because of Jesus we have hope for salvation which includes renewal in our sin-broken lives. God is a God of new
beginnings and grace. Because of our Lord Jesus, God still manages to do good things through His broken people
today. But He doesnt call us to compare ourselves to the Simpsons or anyone else in order to feel better. He
says, instead, that we must look to His Son who provides us with grace that is greater than all our sin, grace to
forgive and to overcome, and the Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our daily battles against sin and Satan.
Prayer of Response
Dear Father in heaven, forgive us for seeking salvation in ourselves. Forgive us for trying to cover our sins up and
hide them for others and even from you. Forgive us for trying to look better than we are. Help us instead to rest
in the completed work of our Lord Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Grant us the full measure of your Holy Spirit so
that we will have your power at work in us to help us honor you in all we do. We ask this in Jesus powerful
name. Amen.