2 Samuel 11
1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
David was a hero of heroes. When Goliath challenged Israel, David didn’t fear like the rest of Israel, but said, “how can this man blaspheme the God of Israel?”, and he slew him.
The Philistines fled and Israel conquered them with a great slaughter. The people sang in their songs, “Saul had slain his thousands but David ten thousands!”
But here we find David being conquered by his own lust. And from this time David’s life was a struggle. In Hebrews we are warned of the sin which so easily entangles us. David repented from his sin and God forgave him. But God said because he gave the enemies of God to speak evil he will have trouble from that time.
Woe to you as a Christian if you give God’s enemies to rightfully point a finger at you.
God said that because of his sin, worse will happen in his own house with his own wives and children.
Men, do you hear that through your sin you make your wives and daughters to indulge in the most perverse things.
James 1
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
God will never tempt you to be a homosexual. You’re only enticed by your own evil desire. When you are tempted flee from it and cry to God that you do not bring dishonour to God’s name.
The praiseworthy thing about David is that he truly repented. We see how deep it went in the psalms after the prophet Nathan came to him.
2 Samuel 12
1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
The prophet Nathan had godly wisdom, to show the king his sin? May we emulate him and be able to help others who have sinned, in stead of spreading their sin abroad by slander.
After the child was born, it was sick and David mourned and fasted for the child. When the child died, his servants were afraid to tell him for they didn’t know how he would react. But when he saw them whispering he realised that the child had died, and he bathed and dressed himself and ate, for he said, “While he was still alive, I thought perhaps God will have mercy on him. I shall go to him but he will not come to me again.”
How did David’s sin start? It was the time when kings went to war, but David stayed at home, and had little to do. There’s a saying that an idle mind is the workshop of the devil.
The Bible says, “flee from youthful lusts”, and this applies even to older people. Older people sometimes experience youthful lusts more than young people.
David should never have stayed at home. Learn from David and stop sin in the bud. Don’t let it grow.
David was a true man, a man after God’s heart. He truly repented and didn’t just cry crocodile tears. He didn’t play the fool.
The Bible says that when David was old he was cold and they looked for the most beautiful girl in Israel to keep him warm. But he didn’t touch her. He was totally cured from that sin.
People like to speak about David’s sin but they don’t talk much about his repentance and how deep it went.
Do you see what true salvation is like, how it saves you to the uttermost!
Bring your sins to the light. If you don’t do it in secret in counselling then one day God will reveal it to the whole world on Judgement Day, and the consequences will be far reaching.