We are in the third week of our study of 2 Samuel 11:1-27. We are at the point of David’s futile attempts to cover up his sin of adultery with Basheba, starting with verse 11. The events of our study began after Bathsheba sent word to David that she was pregnant in verse 10. It is important to note the opportunities David had to resist temptation in the short time that transpired in verses 2 to 4a before he sinned. As well, after David sinned, we see the amount of time, possibly many weeks he had to repent to God of his sin, verses 4b to 5, but he did not. Why are these two points important to notice? They give us a good example of what temptation and sin did to the spiritual state David’s heart and how that can be similar to what happens to our hearts when we are tempted and or sin. What we can learn from David’s experience is what he did and did not do and how it applies to our lives which will be very helpful when we are tempted and or have sinned.
It is pertinent at this point to remember the following important verses from the New Living Translation that relate to what was stated in the previous paragraph.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13, 12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
James 1:13-15, 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
James 4:7-8a, 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8a Come close to God, and God will come close to you.
1 Peter 5:8-9a, 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9a Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.
What temptation and sin did to David’s heart caused him to totally disregard what he knew God’s word said concerning adultery and its consequences, Leviticus 20:10, “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife — with the wife of his neighbor — both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”. What David knew of God’s word and did not do is what sin always does to our hearts, it causes us to ignore the Word of God we know very well and ignore what we need to do to reestablish our relationship with Him.
As we continue in our study, we read how David now with an unrepentant attitude of his heart, influenced his thinking or reasoning and planning to cover up his sin which was reflected by his actions. This is how unrepented sin affects everyone. With an unrepented heart, what we say and or do are symptoms of the spiritual state of our heart. We disregard what we know what God’s Word says and how our words and actions will affect and or harm others.
David’s first futile attempt to cover-up his sin.
2 Samuel 11:6-11
6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
In verses 7 and 8 we see David’s false motives in his inquiry to Uriah concerning the state of the troops and the war. As previously stated, when a person is living with unconfessed sin it is not a problem to lie in order attempt cover up the sin and or to draw attention away from that sin. Notice to what extent David was willing to go to try to cover up his sin that resulted in Bathsheba’s pregnancy.
Sin that has affected a person’s heart many times clouds their common since and ability to discern another person’s good character, honor and personal commitments as we see by what David said to Uriah and what he did for him.
As saw last week, what is stated in verse 8b, “and a gift from the king was sent after him.”, was very probably food and wine because David wanted to make sure the Uriah would have a good (romantic) night with Bathsheba.
Verses 9 and 10 is the good example of how a heart with unconfessed sin will cause someone to incorrectly believe some things concerning a person’s character and actions. David incorrectly thought that Uriah was going to spend the night with Bathsheba and was astonished that he did not. “9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, “Uriah did not go home,” he asked him, “Haven’t you just come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?”
Uriah was a man of integrity and honor, characters traits David once had. The modern definition of honor and or integrity “Doing the right thing when no one else is looking.”, this is what we see Uriah exactly did and expressed to David. 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” In spite of what David thought Uriah would do indicated by the gifts David sent (verse 8), Uriah displayed his honor and integrity to his duty as a soldier by his actions which we see in verse 9 and his answer to David in verse 11a. Even though Uriah was ignorant of David’s motives to cover-up Bathsheba’s pregnancy, Uriah was not naive to David’s intentions as he clearly states in verse 11b, “How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
David’s second futile attempt to cover-up his sin.
2 Samuel 11:12-13
12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
It was a total of three days that Uriah stayed in Jerusalem at King David’s request with the intentions to cover up Bathsheba’s pregnancy. What was stated in an article in the previous weeks concerning 2 Samuel 11:12-13 bears repeating. “David said these things and did this to Uriah hoping that being drunk Uriah would forget about his morals and honor and spend the night with his wife Bathsheba. When one is trying to cover up unconfessed sin it doesn’t matter that you bring others down to the low level of morality and lack of integrity that you are in. David’s two attempts to cover his sin failed which were an abuse of the authority that God had given him. David’s sin and deceit could not be overcome by Uriah’s integrity, honor and responsibility to duty to do what was correct. What David was actually doing was exposing how low and immoral his heart was by the extent of his actions. What David was really telling Uriah was, “Go ahead and go home and spend the night with your wife, I the king give you, my permission. Anyway, who on the battle field is going to find out?” David wanted Uriah to think and act with the same level deceit and lack of integrity as he was displaying.”
David’s final act of lack of integrity and dishonor
2 Samuel 11:14-15
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
It is obvious that Uriah did not know the content of the letter he was carrying to give to Joab which was his death sentence. In David’s mind, because his two failed attempts to get Uriah to go home and sleep with his wife, the only way out of this predicament was to marry Bathsheba. However, this was impossible because she was married. David’s solution was to marry Bathsheba as a widow which was also the solution to her pregnancy. As we clearly see that when we commit a sin and do not confess, repent and ask God to forgive and cleanse us, it can become increasingly difficult to cover it up.
Verses 16 to 25 is a very detailed description of the events that lead up to the death by murder of Uriah. David’s plan to murder Uriah required Joab’s unknowingly involvement, in addition as stated in verse 17b to accomplish Uriah’s murder others also were killed, “…some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.” The Spirit Filled Life Bible For Students best summarizes these events concerning the damage that unconfessed sin causes in one’s heart as seen by their actions.
“Since sin deceives and David gave in to sin, he began to walk down sin’s slippery slope of destruction that began with giving in to lust, plots, lies, schemes, trickery, cover–ups, and finally murder! This single act of sin began the unraveling of David’s great kingdom and serves to warn all that playing with sin can quickly pollute the heart of even the most noble of God’s people.”
Pastor John
