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David & Bathsheba

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Published: 15May2008
Word count: 746
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... in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, ... David remained at Jerusalem.

... one evening ... David ... walked on the roof of the king's house. And ... saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.... "... Bathsheba, ... the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her ... And the woman conceived ...

In the morning ... David wrote a letter to Joab {the commander of the army} and sent it by the hand of Uriah.... "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die."... and Uriah the Hittite died ....

And when [Bathsheba's tine of] mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."

And the LORD struck the child ... and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.... Then on the seventh day ... the child died.

So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and ... he ate....

And [David] said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and ... lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon {lit: "peaceful," also called Jedidiah - "loved of the Lord"}. (2 Sam 11:1-5, 14-16,27; 12:13,15-18,20, 22-24, NKJV)

When David should have been going out with his troops into battle, he stayed behind and was tempted when he saw a beautiful woman bathing near his castle. Even though Bathsheba was the wife of a famous soldier, Uriah the Hittite, she apparently had no problem committing adultery with King David. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David sent for her husband, Uriah, in an effort to cover his sin.

Because Uriah was a man of great personal integrity, he refused to have intimate relations with his own wife, out of respect to his fellow soldiers, who could not enjoy similar privileges. Since David was unable to cover his sin, he made sure that Uriah would die in battle, a murder by proxy that could not be physically traced to him. However, nothing is hidden from the Lord, so the prophet Nathan confronted David, and David admitted his sin. However, even though David had repented, the child became very sick and died as a consequence of David's sin.

David had spent seven days lying on the ground, fasting, and praying, but when the child died, he rose from the floor, bathed, anointed himself with oil, changed his clothes, and then went to the tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. Afterward, he went to his own home and ate. When the servants inquired about his behavior, David explained that when the child was alive, there was a chance that the Lord would acquiesce to his pleas for mercy, but since the child had died, there was no longer a need to continue.

Even though there were additional consequences for David's sin, including Absalom's rebellion, the Lord demonstrated his forgiveness by enabling Bathsheba to give birth to Solomon, the next king of Israel.

So what can we learn about faith from David and Bathsheba? First, the Holiness of the Lord God demands that the faithful be faithful in all their ways, but the Lord is always willing to forgive those who lapse into sin. However, there may still be consequences of our sin. Second, even though we are encouraged to come before the throne of grace in faith in all situations, the Lord is sovereign and holy in all His ways, and will not compromise His own nature and character at any time. Third, whether the Lord grants our requests or not, He is still infinitely worthy of all praise and worship at all times, from all of creation.

Jon V Straumfjord III is the author of numerous articles about the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He is also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com , and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."

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