Don't Steal Anothers Affections Series

We’re going to do something a little bit different this morning as we look at the seventh commandment. Which is Exodus 20:14 Be faithful in marriage.

I’m going to tell you a story. It all started with a man, figures doesn’t it? He wasn’t just any man he was the most powerful man in the nation, top political dog. He was it, he had arrived, he had it made and he was on the top of the heap. But he hadn’t done it by himself, he had a little help, you know what they say, “Behind ever great man is a greater woman, and a surprised mother in law.” This guy had a wife with political connections and political smarts, some might even say that she was the reason that he had gotten where he had. And that made it all the worse, because this story is a story of betrayal, a story of how a man betrayed his wife, his beliefs and ultimately his country. And some people were out raged and others, well he was doing a great job of running the country, so what’s a little hanky panky on the side. I’m sure you are familiar with the story, it’s pretty well known. A lot of people have talked about it, and it’s been the topic of a lot of sermons. I’m sure this guy wished that it would just go away. And you know if he had of just been Joe Blow off the street then maybe it would have, but that wasn’t who the story happened to, and if you are going to venture into public life and then play in the dirt you gotta expect people to take notice. Here’s a picture of the scoundrel here. Well actually it’s not a picture because they didn’t have cameras 3000 years ago. That’s right, it was King David. Who were you thinking about. No, what could possibly have made you think of Bill Clinton

The story is found in 2 Samuel 11, if you have your bibles then you’ll want to go there, and if you don’t have your bibles, then shame on you. This is church you oughta have a Bible here, if’n you don’t have a Bible then let me know and I’ll get you one. Deal?

Here’s what happened, it was the spring of the year. Now you and I know what spring means. It’s time to do yard work, clean up the property, maybe do a little painting, a little raking, I’ve got some burning to do this year. Those are spring things. But in a different time and a different place, well it was different. We read in 2 Samuel 11:1 It was now spring, the time when kings go to war. Ah, spring when the robins come back, the bulbs come up and kings go to war. Why spring, I don’t know, maybe in the winter it was too cold to go to war and in the summer everyone was at the beach.

Anyways here’s the story. It’s the spring of the year and the nation of Israel is at war with a couple of different factions, but the King, that would be David is not there. He’s at home, in Jerusalem. His troops are fighting the Ammonites in Rabbah and David’s in Jerusalem. Now today that might not seem all that strange, after all the heads of states only start the wars and keep them going, they don’t actually fight in them, and in most cases they don’t even send their children to fight in them, but that’s a different story. In David’s day and age Kings went to war, they lead the troops, but not David, not this time. This time he’s home and one afternoon just after he had gotten up, honest that’s what the Bible says: 2 Samuel 11:2 Late one afternoon, David got up from a nap So he gets ups from his afternoon nap, must be nice to be a king, and he’s taking a stroll around the flat roof of his palace and he looks over and this lady is out in her back yard taking a bath. And she’s not just any lady the Bible says that she was a beautiful young woman.

Now I’m not saying that she ought not to be bathing in the back yard starkers, but I would think that when you neighbour’s house is much taller then yours that the thought might possibly cross your mind, “Hey this might not be such a good idea.” Regardless as the story goes David sends a messenger to fetch Bathsheba, and she arrives at the palace.

Now I don’t know why David invited her up in the first place, it might very well have been an innocent gesture. Maybe he wanted to warn her about the dangers of bathing in her back yard, or maybe he wanted to compliment her on her beauty, maybe he wanted to ask her about her husband because by this time David already knew that she was the wife of one of his troops, or maybe he wanted to show her his etchings. I don’t know. What I do know is that what ended up happening. The CEV says that “He slept with her”, but there must have been more going on then sleeping because in the very next verse she discovers that she’s pregnant and sends news to David of the consequences of their actions.