Sunday, December 18, 2016

WOMEN OF CHRISTMAS - BATHSHEBA - BATHSHEBA'S BATH LEADS DAVID DOWN SIN'S PATH


BATHSHEBA’S BATH LEADS DAVID DOWN SIN’S PATH

2 Samuel 11 (KJV)

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.

The time when kings went to battle would have been spring when there was ample food supply along the way, and the weather was better. David’s first mistake was not being at his post, leading his army as most kings would and as he usually did. This point is emphasized perhaps as a criticism of David’s lack of leadership. Rabbah was the capital city of the Ammonites to which they had retreated during the previous year’s battle. The Ammonites were descended from the incestuous relationship between Lot and his younger daughter and were the enemies of the Israelites along with the tribe descended from Lot’s older daughter, the Moabites. Now Joab was laying siege to that walled city.

2 Samuel 11:2 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.

If David had been at battle as he should have been, he would not have been home to see the woman. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time set him up for trouble. Looking out over the city from the vantage point of the palace roof, his eyes fell on a gorgeous woman bathing at her house below, perhaps in a courtyard.

2 Samuel 11:3 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?

David asked who the woman was and someone told him she was named Bathsheba whose name means “daughter of an oath” and was the daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah. The important thing to know about these two men is that both of them served as part of David’s famous Mighty Men, his A-team. They were loyal to him and trustworthy. Uriah was a Hittite but must have converted to Judaism as his is a Hebrew name meaning “the Lord is my light.” So, David should have stopped right there! But he didn’t. He betrayed their trust completely.

2 Samuel 11:4 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 sent for her and she came. This was not rape, because “she came in unto him” indicates willing participation in sexual union. Something that had totally flown over my head because of the delicate way most translations put it was that Bathsheba had just finished her cycle and her bath was the ritual purifying cleansing. Therefore, there is no way she could have already been carrying a child by Uriah. The baby conceived was definitely David’s.

2 Samuel 11:6-10 summary:

David sent for Uriah under the guise of asking how the siege was going and encouraged him to take a day or two of rest in his own home. He was hoping he would have relations with Bathsheba so everyone would think the baby was his. However, Uriah would not go to his home.

2 Samuel 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

Uriah’s integrity would not allow him to engage in leisure activities while the rest of the army was still in harm’s way. This was the very attitude the king was lacking!

2 Samuel 11:12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. 13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

David even resorted to getting Uriah drunk, but Uriah still held on to his conviction that he should not take pleasure in his wife while others were still at the front. He would not taste the delights of home while his men and his leaders were still engaged in battle with the Ammonites.

2 Samuel 11:14-25 Summary:

David sent Uriah back to the battle and to Joab carrying a letter. I’m sure it was sealed, but I feel confident Uriah would not have looked in it even if it were not. David instructed Joab to put Uriah in the hottest area of battle where the enemy’s best soldiers fought. Then Joab was to pull the rest of the men back, leaving Uriah to certain death! Had Uriah returned from battle and found his wife to be pregnant, he would have had every right under the law to have Bathsheba and whoever had impregnated her stoned to death, even king David. Joab loyally obeyed his king then sent a messenger to David. He instructed the messenger to give David details of the battle and the fact that many men close to the wall were lost but to emphasize the point that Uriah the Hittite was killed as well. This seems worse than a scene from the modern movie “The Godfather” as David had said, “Let me know when the deed is done.” David just added the sin of pre-meditated murder to the sin of adultery! One act of deceit leads to another. David was burying himself deeper and deeper in sin.

2 Samuel 11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.  27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

I believe Bathsheba had love for Uriah, but she lusted after the king. She mourned his death. Nothing is said about David mourning his death.

John MacArthur Study Bible:

11:26, 27 her mourning was over. The customary period of mourning was probably 7 days (Gen. 50:10; 1 Sam. 31:13). Significantly, the text makes no mention of mourning by David.

After Bathsheba mourned the required seven days, David took her into his home as his wife. The last sentence of this chapter seems to be an understatement. David’s behavior was abhorrent to the Lord, but God still loved him, a testimony to the grace of God.

1 Kings 15:5 (VOICE) David did what was good in the eyes of the Eternal, for he did not abandon the commands of the Eternal during his lifetime, with the exception of the incident with Uriah the Hittite.

Question: Have you ever felt that you have blown it so badly that God could never use you again? I know I have. David broke several of the Ten Commandments in this one incident –  
1.            He coveted his neighbor’s wife
2.            He committed adultery
3.            He committed pre-meditated murder
4.            He lied to Uriah by trying to trick him into sleeping with Bathsheba
However, the Lord still referred to David as “a man after mine own heart.”

Acts 13:22 (KJV) And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.


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