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Bible
Understanding
Made Easy
David Page Three
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In 2 Samuel 11, we start to see the low point in David’s life.
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The Bible says that David was attracted to a woman named Bathsheba.
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There is nothing wrong with attraction as long as it is not to a married woman.
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Unfortunately, Bathsheba was a married woman.
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So, the attraction was forbidden by God as this will amount to the sin of adultery later on in the story.
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The Bible shows us that David was spying on her while she was bathing (2 Samuel 11:2).
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What was the first mistake David made that we can learn from?
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What David was doing was no different than pornography today.
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Pornography does nothing but build up lust in the one looking at it.
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It creates wicked thoughts and intentions in the mind of the participant.
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Eventually, the things seen are the things one desires to do.
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Pornography is also an addiction just like a drug.
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It holds one captive and causes one to forget about the priorities of life.
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As a result, in order to please God, avoid addictions, and not feel dirty, a Christian should never participate in any type of pornography.
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It is dangerous no matter what people may tell you to the contrary.
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Moving on with the story, after seeing Bathsheba bathing, he inquired as to who she was.
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He was told her name and that she was married to a man named “Uriah.”
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However, David’s lust for the woman was so strong that the knowledge of Bathsheba’s marriage did not stop him from pursuing her.
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As a result, he set up the meeting with her.
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Unfortunately, they had sex and she was impregnated by David (2 Samuel 11:3-5).
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What was the second mistake David made before sleeping with Bathsheba?
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Well, it is the mistake of selfishness overruling one’s love for God and his/her fellow man.
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The Bible says the following, “34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:34-39 New International Version).
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David’s love for God should have stopped him.
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He should have thought before sleeping with Bathsheba, “This is not something God would be pleased with. So, I will not do it!”
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David’s love for Uriah should have stopped him.
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He should have thought before sleeping with Bathsheba, “I am also a married man. I would never want another man to cheat with my wife. So, I will not treat Uriah that way!”
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Before we do anything wrong, we should think about how we would offend God and our fellow man.
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If we do, then we would make far less mistakes in life!
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Unfortunately, David tried to cover up his wicked deed of adultery.
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He summoned Uriah.
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He tried to act as if he was Uriah’s friend by allowing Uriah to have a night away from the war that was going on.
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Remember, Uriah was a soldier.
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David sent Uriah home to Bathsheba and a gift was sent to Uriah’s home.
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However, Uriah did not go home to Bathsheba.
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Instead, he slept at the entrance to the palace.
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This meant that there was no chance of Uriah going home to have sex with Bathsheba so that the pregnancy could be blamed on him instead of David (2 Samuel 11:6-9).
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Remember, this was before DNA testing data was available.
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It was a lot easier to blame a pregnancy on someone else in those days!
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David asked Uriah why he did not go home to Bathsheba.
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Uriah did not believe it would have been right for him, as a soldier, to leave his fellow soldiers out in the battlefield while he was in the comforts of his own home (2 Samuel 11:10-11).
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Uriah stayed with David two more days.
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David was very friendly to Uriah; even feeding him and getting him drunk.
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However, no matter what, Uriah would not go home to Bathsheba, but stayed at David’s palace (2 Samuel 11:12-13).
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Instead of confessing his sin of adultery, David’s wickedness became worse.
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He ordered that Uriah be put in the worse point of the battle and then abandoned by the rest of the army so he would be killed.
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This is exactly what happened!
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Uriah was killed.
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Bathsheba mourned over her husband.
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However, in time, she became David’s wife and their child was born.
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The Bible says that God was upset with David for his sins (2 Samuel 11:14-26)!
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What do we learn from David’s actions in having Uriah murdered?
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We learn that when we do not repent of our sins, we become worse and worse.
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Remember, in order to gain the forgiveness of our sins as a fallen Christian, we must repent (i.e. change) of our sins, confess our fault to God, and ask for forgiveness (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:7-10).
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David did none of these things.
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As a result, he was a servant of the devil and was persuaded by Satan to try to cover up his sins more and more.
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This sinful mentality went from lust to adultery to lies via a cover up to murder!
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As you can see, sin multiples itself.
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This is why it is important to change immediately and come clean with God before we get worse and worse in our evil deeds!
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We also learn that we must watch out for the flattery of others.
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David was acting as if he was Uriah’s friend, but this was far from the truth.
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Be careful in believing what everyone says!
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Instead, watch out for everyone and everything carefully in life and then time will tell if someone is a genuine friend or not!
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As we transition into 2 Samuel 12, we find Nathan coming to David to let him know of his offense to God.
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As you will see, God will be highly upset with David.
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David would have to pay a steep penalty for his sin.
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The Bible says, “12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity” (2 Samuel 12:1-6 New International Version).
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As you can see from the reading of 2 Samuel 12:1-6, the hypocrisy of David came forward.
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He was angry over the rich man who took the poor man’s lamb and had no compassion for the poor man.
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David was angry to the point that in his heart, he believed the rich man in the parable should have been put to death!
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As we discussed earlier in this lesson, we should have a love for God and our fellow man that prevents us from sinning!
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Did David have compassion on Uriah who had Bathsheba for a wife while David had many wives in his harem?
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The answer is “no.”
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David was worse than the rich man in the parable told by Nathan!
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He took a woman, which is way more valuable than lamb!
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David must have been shocked to find out that Nathan was actually talking about him in the parable!
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The Bible says, “7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel’” (2 Samuel 12:7-12 New International Version).
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As you can see in 2 Samuel 12:7-12, God would punish David for the murder of Uriah and for the adultery committed with Bathsheba.
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His punishment would include the sword never departing from his household.
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This means that God would allow his own sons to be killed by the sword later on in Bible history.
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The two sons of David who were murdered were named “Amnon” and “Absalom.”
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David would experience the pain of having a loved one murdered as he caused pains to the relatives and friends of Uriah!
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David’s punishment would also include someone else committing adultery with his wives as he did with Bathsheba.
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This would occur later in Bible history when David’s son Absalom slept with David’s wives!
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David’s punishment would also include the baby that he and Bathsheba conceived in adultery would die (2 Samuel 12:14).
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It died as told in 2 Samuel 12:14-31 as God said.
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The good part about David’s story in 2 Samuel 12 is that he still received the mercy of God as the Lord forgave him of his sins.
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After David heard of God’s punishment, the Bible says, “13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” 15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate. 19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” 20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate” (2 Samuel 12:13-20 New International Version).
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God also blessed David and Bathsheba with a child named “Solomon” later on in Bible history (2 Samuel 12:24-25).
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What do we learn about the punishment and blessing that God put upon David after he sinned by murdering Uriah and taking Bathsheba for his own wife?
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Notice, David confessed his fault to God and from all recorded Bible history, he never committed adultery with another man’s wife again.
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This means that he repented (i.e. changed) and confessed his fault to God.
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It is also known that in Psalm 51, David’s prayer for forgiveness to God is recorded.
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As we studied earlier, for anyone today to be forgiven of his/her sins, repentance, confession, and prayer is necessary to get back in favor with God (Acts 8:22; 1 John 7:10).
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However, we must also know that sin has consequences and although we are forgiven by God, He still punishes for our sins in this life (Hebrews 12).
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For example, we may commit a crime that forces us to be incarcerated in our nation’s prison system.
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We may be forgiven by God so that our soul does not have to go to eternal punishment, but God still may allow us to go through our prison sentence because this is the punishment we have made come down on ourselves.
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Lastly, we must also keep in mind that after we sin and are forgiven by God, God still will bless us with some things to enjoy.
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Yes, David and Bathsheba were completely wrong in committing adultery, but He still blessed them to have the gift of a son named “Solomon.”
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God could have made them both infertile where they could have never had children.
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Remember, it is God who gives life (Deuteronomy 32:39).
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Thus, the gift of the life of Solomon to David and Bathsheba was a blessing from God.
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Be very thankful for everything you have.
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All of our blessings come from God (James 1:17).
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Often times, we have not lived in such a matter where we deserve His blessings, but He often does so despite the evil deeds we have done.
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This is an example of grace in one’s life, which means unmerited (i.e. undeserved and unearned) favor from God!
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Of course, the greatest example of God’s grace given to us is the gift of His Son for our eternal salvation (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8).
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In 2 Samuel 13, we see a very low point in the family life of David.
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The Bible says he had two sons named “Amnon” and “Absalom.”
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He also had a daughter named “Tamar.”
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Amnon and Tamar were half brother and sister.
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Unfortunately, Amnon fell in love with his own sister, Tamar.
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The Bible says that his feelings were so strong that he was making himself sick over her.
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The good part about Amnon is that he had respect for Tamar at first.
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Unfortunately, the power of negative peer pressure victimized Amnon.
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The Bible says that he had a cousin named “Jonadab.”
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Jonadab was a very devious person.
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He advised Amnon to fake an illness and call for Tamar to make food for him.
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Of course, we can safely infer that Jonadab was telling Amnon to get Tamar alone so that he could take advantage of her.
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To Amnon’s shame, he took Jonadab devious advice.
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David sent Tamar to take care of him.
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She cooked the food and all of a sudden, Amnon had all others sent out of the room (2 Samuel 13:1-9).
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Unfortunately, Amnon forced Tamar to sleep with him.
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Tamar’s full brother, Absalom found out about what Amnon did and said nothing to him, but was plotting deep within his heart to kill Amnon
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The Bible says that David knew about this shameful incident, but it does not say he did anything about it (2 Samuel 13:10-22).
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The Bible goes on to show us that Absalom took justice into his own hands.
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We, as Christians, cannot take revenge as you know (Romans 12:19).
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However, Absalom did just that!
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He made a secret conspiracy to kill Amnon unawares.
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He ordered his men to attack Amnon when Amnon was drunk.
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They waited for the right time when Amnon was drunk, Absalom gave the order, and they killed Amnon as planned.
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Absalom came to a town named “Geshur” and lived there for three years.
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The good part about David is that although Absalom killed his brother, David still loved Absalom and wanted to see him (2 Samuel 13:23-38).
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What do we learn from the story of Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom?
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Well, young ladies, what happened to Tamar was not her fault at all.
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However, it is always wiser to date in public surroundings instead of being alone with someone.
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Not everyone can be trusted and thus, you do not want to be alone with someone before you really know him.
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Be careful all of your days in this area.
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What happened in Tamar’s day is happening this very day and it is a shame!
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We also learn to be a leader and not a follower.
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Remember, Jonadab’s advice planted a bad seed in the mind of Amnon.
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Thus, we must not be around bad influences in our lives (1 Corinthians 15:33).
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Some people are not really friends.
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In order to be a successful Christian, unfortunately, you will often have to change the friends you hang around so they do not mislead you.
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Learn to think for yourself!
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Be a leader and not a follower!
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In 2 Samuel 14, the Bible shows Joab using an ingenious way of telling David to allow Absalom to come back to Jerusalem.
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The Bible says Joab put a woman from the town of Tekoa up to the task of delivering a fictional story to David.
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This story was designed to move David’s heart of compassion toward Absalom.
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At Joab’s command, the woman pretended to be in mourning.
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She pretended to have had a son murdered by her other son.
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She begged that the living son would not be executed for his crime.
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She stated that the living son was her only heir and this would be a bad thing to have him executed.
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David swore to protect the living son in the story from being executed.
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However, the woman convicted David’s heart with the story when she revealed that the king had a similar story and he should bring Absalom back to Jerusalem.
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David agreed and brought Absalom back to the king’s palace from Geshur.
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Nonetheless, Absalom was brought back, but David refused to see him for 2 years (2 Samuel 14:1-23, 28-33)!
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Finally, after the 2 years was over, David finally allowed Absalom to see him face to face.
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He kissed Absalom out of love for his son!
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What do we learn from David and Absalom in 2 Samuel 14?
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We learn that family will have disputes one with another.
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However, everyone must forgive.
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It is not always an overnight thing to restore a relationship with a family member.
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However, we must stay open to forgive and restore the relationship no matter how long things take to happen.
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If Absalom and David can do it, so can we!
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Remember, without forgiveness for others, God will not forgive us of our own sins (Matthew 6:14-15).
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Unfortunately, in 2 Samuel 15, we see Absalom undermine David’s authority.
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The Bible shows us that Absalom used a lot of charisma to sway the children of Israel to his side.
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For instance, he was telling people that if he was in charge, they would all receive justice.
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He would also kiss them as they complained to him.
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So, his charming ways stole the hearts of the people.
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In other words, he used political savvy to turn others against David in order to gain many followers (2 Samuel 15:1-12).
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The Bible shows us that David found out about the large following that Absalom had obtained.
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As a result, David and his followers fled from Jerusalem.
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However, he left 10 of his concubines back at the palace to take care of it.
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He sent Hushai back to Jerusalem to serve as a spy (2 Samuel 15:13-37).
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Moving on to 2 Samuel 16, we see Absalom in charge back in Jerusalem while David was in hiding.
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Upon the advice of Ahithophel, Absalom slept with David’s concubines who were left in Jerusalem.
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Ahithophel reasoned that sleeping with David’s concubines would win over the Jewish people more because it would prove that he and David were truly enemies.
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Absalom was so cruel that he made sure all Israel knew he was sleeping with David’s concubines by pitching a tent on the roof of the palace so that the children of Israel could see this evil deed being done (2 Samuel 16:20-23).
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What do we learn from this story?
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Again, we learn that God’s Word is always true even when it relates to punishments He promises to the disobedient.
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Remember, Absalom sleeping with David’s concubines was part of the punishment God put on David for his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband (2 Samuel 12).
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This is why we must reverence everything God says.
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In other words, we must believe and obey the Word of God.
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He is a God of love, but He is also a Father to His children.
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Since He is a Father to His children, which are all Christians today, He will punish us for our deeds (Hebrews 12).
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The worst punishment we could ever face would be eternal punishment of the soul if we do not repent (i.e. change) when we know we have done something wrong and die in an unrepentant state (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:7-10).
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In 2 Samuel 18, we see David organizing his troops for battle with Absalom.
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David desired to personally go to battle with his men, but his men convinced him to stay back in Jerusalem.
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They were loyal to their king and did not want to lose him as he was very valuable to them (2 Samuel 18:1-4).
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However, David strictly commanded his men not to hurt Absalom (2 Samuel 18:5).
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Although David knew that Absalom would have killed him, he would not have harmed his son.
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Again, this is a great example of forgiveness we must all learn from David.
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We are required by God to forgive those who mistreat us (Matthew 6:14-15).
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If David can do it, so can we!
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Next, the Bible shows us the battle between David’s army and Absalom’s army in the forest area of Ephraim (2 Samuel 18:6-18).
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Men were dying everywhere, but David’s men prevailed.
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Absalom actually was in the battle while David was back at Jerusalem.
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He was riding a mule.
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However, Absalom’s hair was caught in a tree, which lifted him off the ground.
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The mule he was riding kept going and left Absalom in the tree.
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This was bad news for Absalom, because Joab came and killed him while he was stuck in the tree!
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As you know, this was against David’s orders, but Joab murdered Absalom anyway.
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He even murdered the young man after his soldiers reminded him of David’s orders!
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David mourns greatly when he hears the news of his son’s death (2 Samuel 18:19-33).
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He loved Absalom, but could not prevent his death.
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He would have wanted to die instead of Absalom.
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What do we learn from Absalom’s death?
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First, God foretold that the sword would not leave the house of David due to his sin of adultery and murder.
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This was another fulfillment of the punishment God put upon him (2 Samuel 12).
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Thus, again, God’s Word is always true.
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Second, we learn that parents never want to lose a child.
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Unfortunately, rebellious actions by children cause them to be severely hurt or killed like Absalom.
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This is why the Bible says, “1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:1-3).
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Children, cherish the advice your parents give you, because they are not being mean to you when they forbid you from doing certain things that are dangerous to you.
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You may not understand the dangers that await you, but your parents do and this is why they want you to avoid certain behaviors.
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They want to keep you safe from any hurt, harm, or danger they can.
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This is why they forbid you from taking drugs, engaging in criminal activities, fighting, hanging with the wrong crowd, drunkenness, rowdy behavior, and so on.
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They are trying to make you pleasing to God by your good behavior and many times, to keep you out of the grave yard as immorality can literally kill you!
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In 2 Samuel 19 and 20, we see the restoration of the throne to David.
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All of the people received him back as their king after the death of Absalom (2 Samuel 19).
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However, trouble would soon appear to David in 2 Samuel 20.
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A man named “Sheba” of the tribe of Benjamin rose up to lead a rebellion against David.
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David’s army confronted Sheba and his men at a town called “Abel Beth Maakah.”
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This was a walled city.
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So it was well defended.
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Joab, David’s military commander, made a deal with a woman from the town to not destroy this city if they would surrender Sheba.
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The woman went to the people of the town who cut off Sheba’s head and threw it over the city’s walls (2 Samuel 20:1-22).
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What do we learn from David, Absalom, and Sheba?
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We learn that whatever God decides to do is sovereign and unchangeable.
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This means that since God said David would be king, ultimately, there was nothing Absalom and Sheba could do to change it.
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God is too powerful for man to stop His plans.
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Always remember that!
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In 1 Kings 1, we start to see the last years of David’s life.
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He is still king in Jerusalem, but has not named a successor to his throne.
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Unfortunately, Adonijah made himself the successor to David.
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Nathan and Bathsheba told David the news of Adonijah’s actions.
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As a result, David had Solomon appointed king instead of Adonijah.
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When Adonijah heard that Solomon was made king, he feared Solomon.
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The great thing about Solomon is that he promised Adonijah that he would not kill him if he bowed down to Solomon’s authority.
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He did so and Solomon allowed him to live.
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This is another example of forgiveness.
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Can you forgive someone who tried to take what was rightfully yours as Solomon did to his brother Adonijah?
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Of course you can.
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If Solomon could do it, you can too!
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In 1 Kings 2, we see the last days of David and his preparing Solomon to lead the people as their king.
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The Bible says, “2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel…” (1 Kings 2:2-4 New International Version).
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Notice, the goal of parenting is to prepare a child for life without you.
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Lord Willing, you will become parents one day and this will be your responsibility.
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However, the most important thing to prepare your children for is to obey God without your assistance.
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That is, the whole goal is to help your children build their own relationship with God independent of you.
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The same holds true for your own relationship with your parents.
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Listen to them as they are trying to prepare you for a godly, righteous life of your own.
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They know more than you and can help you through spiritual difficulties in your life if you will truly listen to their godly instruction.
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Lastly, in this same chapter, we see the passing of David in death.
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He had been king over the children of Israel for 40 years (2 Kings 2:10-12).
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In conclusion, we have learned several things from the story of David. First, we learn that God can use flawed people like David and us to do powerful things as King David did! Second, we learn that sin does have consequences, but does not necessarily mean that God will take His love and compassion from us! Third, God remembers the good things even flawed children of God do as He compared the kings who ruled after David to the heart of David. God would say something similar to the following about the kings who ruled after David, “…but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father…” (2 Chronicles 28:1). So, be encouraged! We can recover from our spiritual mistakes by repentance (i.e. change), confession, and prayer; causing God to forgive us of our sins as His children and restore a peaceful relationship with Him once again (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:7-10)! God bless!
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REFERENCES
Barnes, A. (1870). Barnes’ notes on the whole Bible. Retrieved June 20, 2013 from http://www.studylight.org/com/bnb/view.cgi?bk=9&ch=7.
Coffman, J. (n.d.). Coffman commentaries on the Old and New Testaments. Retrieved June 24, 2013 from http://classic.studylight.org/com/bcc/view.cgi?book=2sa&chapter=009.