Life of King David: 2 Samuel 11

“He had written in the letter, saying, ‘Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die” (2 Sam. 11:15, NASB).

When I was growing up we had bible story books in our home. As children, my brothers and sisters often sat around together and read from these books. One of my favorite characters was David. David was a shepherd boy. He played the harp. The disturbed king, Saul, who had an evil spirit, had David to play for him so that the king would feel better (1 Sam. 16:23). David was young and brave. The Philistines and Israel were at war. The Philistines had this giant named Goliath. He was a very large man, much bigger than any of the soldiers in Israel’s army. This giant issued a challenge to Israel. He was over nine feet tall. He wore bronze helmet, and he was clothed with scale-armor. He had a very large spear (See 1 Sam. 174-7).

Goliath challenged Israel to send a man to fight against him. The winner would be servant of the god with the greatest power (vv. 8-10). No one in Saul’s army was brave enough to fight against the giant. However, when David, the little shepherd boy heard about the giant, he accepted the challenge. He used a sling shot and a stone and killed the giant. What a hero David was! The article is not just about David’s heroic acts. It is also about David’s sins. It’s about the total life of David, both the good and the bad. You see it’s important that we know the whole story. I hope to show that when we eliminate a part of a person’s story we do an injustice to that person’s life.

We first learn about David when the prophet Samuel was sent by the Lord to Jesse’s house (See 1 Sam.16). The Lord would show Samuel the next king of Israel who would be one of the sons of Jesse. Jesse brought his seven oldest sons before Samuel, but the Lord rejected these seven. Then, David, the youngest son who was attending the sheep was brought before Samuel. The Lord approved David and Samuel was anointed king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:13). However, Saul was still on the throne. When David led Israel’s army against the Philistines he was very successful. The people praised David and the women danced in the streets. Saul became jealous and sought ways to kill David, but David always found a way to escape the threats of Saul (See 1 Sam. 18)

In God’s own time Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in battle (See 1 Sam. 31). All the tribes of Israel came together and asked David to be their king. David accepted their offer See 2 Sam.5:1-5). He became king and was doing well in his reign. David even showed kindness to the family of Saul (2 Sam. 9). Although Saul had looked for ways to kill David, David never lost respect for the king. He was the anointed of the Lord. This ought to tell us something about respecting God’s chosen leaders; even when they do wrong. Additionally, David and Saul’s son Jonathan were friends like brothers. David had promised Jonathan that he would see to the welfare of his family.

David was successful in his reign of Israel. The Lord chose David to be king, saying, that he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). The numerous acts of David in his life give us a picture of a righteous man who sought justice for his people. The story of David begins in 1 Samuel 16 and ends with his death in 1 Kings 2:10. His reign is also recorded in 1 Chronicles 11:1-29:30. David organized the worship of the Lord. He wrote many of the Psalms recorded in the book of Psalm. He was a great warrior. We know David to be the standard by which all other kings of Israel were judged. However, we tend to not place much emphasis on the sins of David. People need heroes. They need someone to look up to; someone to be a model for their lives. Thus, people most often think about the positive things in the person’s life. This is also true about David.

In 2 Samuel 11 we read about David during one of the darkest periods in his life. This writer suggest that you read slowly and carefully this account of this period in David’s life. The first thing that we see is that David was not where he ought to have been. “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem (2 Sam. 11:1, NASB). Let us learn this lesson from David: Be where you are supposed to be doing what you ought to be doing and you can save yourself from a lot of trouble.

One day David went for a walk on the roof of the king’s house. There is nothing wrong with going for a walk. However, the song that says “temptations, hidden snares, often take us unawares” proves to be true for David. While walking on his roof David is met with an unexpected temptation. He looks down, and he sees a beautiful woman bathing. There was nothing wrong with David taking a walk on his roof. There was nothing wrong with the woman taking a bath. David saw something that he never expected to see. David was captured by the woman’s beauty. He asked about the woman. “So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, ‘Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite’” (v. 3, NASB). David is given sufficient evidence that he ought to leave the woman alone. However, we have seen that David is not always where David ought to be and doing what David ought to be doing. So, David continues to seek ways to be with a woman who is the wife of another man. We can be sure that David was well aware of the seventh (7th) commandment: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exod. 20:14, NASB).

So, David sends for the woman, and he has sexual relationship with her. Now, there are a lot of people that will blame the woman instead of David. Often times we make excuses for those who are in power and hold positions of importance. The Anita Hill case in 1991 in which she testified before congress about sexual harassment that she said that she had experienced at the hands of Supreme Court Justice Nominee Clarence Thomas brought to light that the use of power and position is one of the more serious forms of sexual harassment. The weaker and less important party may never complain or resist because of fear that they will suffer loss in some way. Notice the words of verse 4. “David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house” (NASB). It is obvious that the whole incident was a matter of David using his power and position as king.

Bathsheba learned that she was pregnant. The child could not be her husband because Uriah was at war with Joab. David needed to cover up his actions. He sent for Uriah. “Then David said to Uriah, ‘God down to your house, and wash your feet.’ And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and a present from the king was sent out after him” (v. 8). Uriah did not go home. He slept at the door of the king’s house. Uriah told David that it would not be right for him to go home and sleep with his wife while his comrades were on the battlefield.

Since Uriah did not sleep with his wife, David came up with another plan. He sent a letter by Uriah to Joab. “he had written in the letter saying, ‘Place Uriah in the front of the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die” (v. 15). Joab followed his orders and Uriah was killed in the battle. This dear friend is called conspiracy to murder. The king who was a righteous man approved by God had conspired to murder an innocent man. The king that had promoted justice was guilty of a great injustice to an innocent man and a good woman and wife in Bathsheba.

It seemed from outward appearances that David’s cover up had worked, but while David had the position and power of king, he would not escape God’s justice. In 2 Samuel 12:1-25 we have an account of the Lord sending the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin. Nathan told David a parable (vv. 1-4). “Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die’” (12:5, NASB). David condemned himself and the prophet gave David the Lord’s judgment and the consequences of his actions (See vv. 7-15). David was not removed from being king. His position was secure because God had promised him that he would be king and a descendant of his would always be king. However, bloodshed would be in his house. God always keeps His promise, but the justice of God will not allow anyone to get away with their wrongdoings.

So, what is the purpose of this article? As stated at the beginning of this article, I stated that it is important that we know both the good and the bad about a person’s life. We should not be trying to erase the memory of a person’s life that was not as noble as one would want it to be. You see, all of us have some things that we are proud of and at the same time there are some things that we are ashamed of. We have seen that God knows everything. Nothing is hidden from the Lord. The Lord always has the last word. When we look at David’s life we can learn some things about God.

First, God always keeps His promise. God is a God of mercy and grace. David wrote Psalm 51 as a confession of his sins and his plea to the Lord for grace and mercy. He prayed for restoration and compassion. Psalm 32 is a song of David that tells about God’s forgiveness. We may hide our sins from other people, but we cannot hide them from the Lord. Burdened by his guilt, David was living a miserable life until he confessed his sins. We do not need to erase the memory of people because they are unpleasant to us. We too, like David, need the love of God. We also need His grace and mercy. Finally, God can use a person to do great things in spite of their wrongdoings. We can learn from the life of David that God does not cast us away when we do something wrong. There is some David in all of us.