2 Samuel 11:1-13 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 11:1-13. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
2 Samuel 11:1-4 (NIV)
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
On verses 1-4: Notice the factors that led to David’s fall into adultery:
1. David forgets his identity and neglects his responsibilities. At a time when kings were supposed to go to war, David sent all of his men to fight but he himself stayed home (v1). Forgetting, or neglecting, his identity and responsibilities as king, David was not where he was supposed to be. When we forget our identity and neglect our responsibilities, we can find ourselves in places we were never meant to be.
2. David was alone. Isolation can be dangerous. When we are isolated and alone, not connected to anyone who can hold us accountable, that is when we can be especially susceptible to temptation. That’s why it’s important to be connected to Christian community. Just the presence of Christian friends can help keep us in check.
3. David acts on his desire. From the rooftop of his house, David notices Bathsheba bathing, finds out who she is and has her brought to his palace (v2-3) where he sleeps with her (v4). Some try to place part of the blame on Bathsheba for allowing herself to be seen that way, but Scripture seems to place the responsibility squarely on David’s shoulders. Do not blame the people around you or the environment that surrounds you for your failures. While the people and environment around you can influence you, it is your choice whether to sin or not. As 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” When we are tempted, God always provides a way out. The question is: will we look to God and take that way out, or will we trust in our ourselves instead?
2 Samuel 11:5-13 (NIV)
5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
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.
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?”
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!”
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.
On verses 5-13: Bathsheba informs David that she is pregnant. To cover up his sin, David summons Bathsheba’s husband Uriah the Hittite to come home from the battlefield, hoping that he will sleep with Bathsheba and assume that the baby is Uriah’s. However, despite David’s efforts, over and over Uriah’s selflessness and love for king and country shine through. Uriah refuses to enjoy life with his wife while the armies of Israel are still on the battlefield. Compare this to David who was acting in the exact opposite way, living selfishly and sleeping with that same soldier’s wife while that soldier is risking his life to protect him. The irony was certainly not lost on David when Uriah spoke those words in verse 11.
Through Uriah’s refusing to sleep with Bathsheba at this time, God was trying to humble David, showing David how much more noble his soldier Uriah was compared to him in this season. Even more, I believe God was giving David multiple chances to confess his sin to God and to Uriah. What can we learn from this? God gives us chance after chance to repent. The question is: what will we do with those chances? Will we use those chances to courageously confess our sins and repent, or will we keep trying to cover up our sin?
Father, You see all things. Nothing is hidden from You. Thank You that whenever we are tempted, You always provide a way for us to stand up over that temptation. May we learn from David’s mistake. May we not fall down the slippery slope of sin by forgetting who we are, neglecting our responsibilities, isolating ourselves or acting on sinful desires. May we not be like David but more like Jesus the Son of David in how we fight temptation. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
opyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
