2 Samuel 11:1-27

Note: David’s sin with Bathsheba is a lesson in temptation. The earlier we can detect and respond to temptation, the easier it is to change direction. After all, God promises to give His children a way out of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). David ignored his place (11:1), indulged his passion (11:2), initiated the proposition (11:3), and ignored the prohibition (11:3).

11:1-4 | David’s sin occurred because he ignored his duty and indulged his desire. Had David been leading the troops as a king should, he would never have found himself in this moment of enticement. Also, he literally presided over a harem despite God’s command to refrain from multiplying wives and concubines (Deut. 17:16-17). So that moment on the rooftop was part of a pattern: sin is never satisfied. It gets more and more daring as it opposes God. It was simply a matter of time before David’s sins would catch up with him.

11:2-5 | Nowhere does Scripture implicate Bathsheba in this event. She was innocently taking a bath, as she normally did within the supposed privacy of her courtyard. David saw her and he coveted her; then he sent for her and took her. She was a subject of the king and was required to do his bidding.

11:3 | Caught in the passion of the moment, David ignored the question of his servant. That query was his way out – if only he had heeded it. Uriah was one of David’s elite soldiers. To pursue Bathsheba would be not only foolish but also unjust.

11:6-13 | Hebrew law required that anyone caught in adultery should be stoned (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-24). While it was improbable that the people would insist on such punishment for their king, his actions would have discredited him had they been known, so David tried to cover up his adultery and make it appear as if Bathsheba’s child belonged to Uriah. There is no limit to the depths of sin a person is capable of once he or she starts to walk away from God.

11:13 | Uriah’s sense of duty, even when he was drunk, contrasted with David’s failure to even show up for battle.

11:14-25 | David was so anxious to cover up his sin that he was willing to commit murder, an act he had vehemently opposed regarding Saul, Abner, and Ishbosheth. Committing just one sin often makes people callous to bigger sins, until they find themselves doing things they never imagined they would do.

11:15-17 | Joab did not exactly follow David’s instructions, which were to have his men retreat from Uriah. Perhaps this maneuver would have been too difficult to explain to veteran soldiers. Instead, Joab sent a group of men close to the wall, resulting in the unnecessary death of more soldiers.

11:27 | The literal rendering of displeased the Lord is : “was evil in the eyes of the Lord” (12:9; Ps. 51:4). David had urged Joab not to be displeased, but the Lord’s perspective mattered most. David’s actions concerning Uriah were premeditated. His was a sin of the mind and of the will as well as a sin of passion.