David And Bathsheba Series

According to the Hebrew Bible, David was the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel. In the Books of Samuel, he is described as a young shepherd and harpist who gains fame by slaying Goliath, a champion of the Philistines, in southern Canaan. David becomes a favorite of Saul, the first king of Israel; he also forges a notably close friendship with Jonathan, a son of Saul. However, under the suspicion that David is seeking to usurp the throne, Saul attempts to kill David, forcing the latter to go into hiding and effectively operate as a fugitive for several years. After Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle against the Philistines, a 30-year-old David is anointed King over all of Israel and Judah. Following his rise to power, David conquered the city of Jerusalem. He established it as Israel's capital, subsequently taking the Ark of the Covenant into the city to be the central point of worship in the Israelite religion.

The story of David and Bathsheba is one of the most dramatic accounts in the Old Testament. One night in Jerusalem, King David was walking on his rooftop when he spotted a beautiful woman bathing nearby (2 Samuel 11:2). David asked his servants about her and was told she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David's mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39). Despite her marital status, David summoned Bathsheba to the palace, and they slept together.

Bathsheba later discovered she was pregnant (2 Samuel 11:5) and informed David. The King's reaction was to attempt to hide his sin. David commanded Uriah to report back to him from the battlefield. Bathsheba's husband dutifully answered David's summons, and David sent him home, hoping that Uriah would sleep with Bathsheba and thus provide a cover for the pregnancy. Uriah did the same thing the next night, showing integrity sharply contrasting to David's lack. Instead of obeying David's orders, Uriah slept in the quarters of the palace servants, refusing to enjoy a respite with Bathsheba while his men on the battlefield were still in harm's way (2 Samuel 11:9–11).

It became apparent that David and Bathsheba's adultery could not be covered up that way. David enacted a second, more sinister plan: he commanded his military leader, Joab, to place Uriah on the front lines of battle and purposefully fall back from him, leaving Uriah exposed to enemy attack. Joab followed the directive, and Uriah was killed in battle. After her time of mourning, Bathsheba married David and gave birth to a son. "But," 2 Samuel 11:27 notes, "the thing David had done displeased the LORD."

When David and Bathsheba's child was born, the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to confront David. Nathan used a parable: a wealthy man took a poor man's only sheep and killed it, even though he had many flocks. David, a former shepherd, was so angered by this story, which he thought was true, that he responded, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over because he did such a thing and had no pity" (2 Samuel 12:5–6).

Nathan then pointed to David and uttered the chilling words, "You are the man!" (2 Samuel 12:7). David was the one guilty of this sin, and judgment would be upon his house in the form of ongoing violence. David repented (see Psalm 51), and Nathan said, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die" (2 Samuel 12:13–14). The child died a week later, and David's household experienced further hardship in later years. Four of David's sons suffered untimely deaths—the "four times over" judgment David had pronounced upon himself.

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

PSALM 51 - TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN NATHAN THE PROPHET WENT TO HIM AFTER HE HAD GONE INTO BATHSHEBA.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin!

3 For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.