SIN’S SEDUCTIVE SNARE (2 SAMUEL 11)
When the 50-year-old former Haiti president Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled in 2004 after 13 years in power, he left 8.5 million Haitians more miserable and disillusioned than ever. Aristede was the nation’s first democratically elected president but he followed in the dictatorship of the Duvalier dynasty before him. But it wasn’t always like that.
When he was a young priest, Aristide spoke eloquently and passionately to the poor people of Haiti, long considered the Americas’ poorest country, where 50% of the population is illiterate, unemployment reaches 70% and malnutrition, HIV and AIDS are epidemic. He inspired them through radio to believe that they could overcome misery and oppression, but he was expelled from his order in 1988 from the order for excessive activism.
Power, wealth and success proved that he was no different from the dictatorships he had condemned. The Duvaliers’ secret police tortured and killed many of the family’s political opponents, but Aristide’s gangsters attacked protesting State University of Haiti students, smashed the university’s windows and computers and bludgeoned several professors, including the university rector, whose kneecaps were broken. Human rights groups accused him of pocketing a share of billions in drug money.
Former allies and admirers were still unable to identify when or understand why he abandoned the path to greatness. Father Joseph Simon, a former seminary teacher who taught the teenage Aristide at the Salesian Fathers Seminary said, “It’s part of the psychology of people from the lower echelons of society. Once they go up in the world, they forget where they came from.” (Los Angeles Times 3/1/04 “The Hope of the Nation’s Poor Became One More Autocrat.”)
David’s fall from grace began when he had nothing better to do with his time. At the time when kings were off to war, David was loafing around. After leading Israel to defeat the Edomites, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Philistines and the Amalekites (2 Sam 8:1-12), David left the rest of the job to his general and his men (1 Chron 20:1). By 2 Samuel 11, the king and his men’s struggles were so different. His men’s struggle was whether they could get out alive; David’s struggle was whether he should get out of bed (v 2). The soldiers wondered how long they could go on fighting; the king wondered how long he could go on sleeping. The men fought against fierce defenders, but the king flirted with beautiful women.
Why do powerful men like David go downhill when they are in their prime and at their peak? What do people stand to lose when they have nothing to gain?
Losing Your Self-Control Leads to Distorted Perception
11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” (2 Sam 11:1-5)
Lust has been called “wanderlust” for its restless heart, untamed passions and loose morals. Jan LaRue of Concerned Women for America explains, “Lust is the antithesis of true love. Lust is all about me.” Frederick Buechner says: “Lust is the ape that gibbers in our loins. Tame him as we will by day, he rages all the wilder in our dreams by night. Just when we think we’re safe from him, he raises up his ugly head and smirks, and there’s no river in the world flows cold and strong enough to strike him down.” Tim Stafford says lust “turns quickly to dissatisfaction; it results in fixation.” (“Getting Serious About Lust in an Age of Smirks” Tim Stafford, Christianity Today 1/10/94).
Woody Allen represented this so-called “disease of the heart” when the then 56-year old Allen defended his bizarre love for the 35 years younger adopted teenage daughter of his wife, saying: “The heart wants what the heart wants...there’s no logic in these things.”
The news of Bill Clinton and Kobe Bryant’s adultery and infidelity is not new to many married people. Peggy Vaughan, the author of The Monogamy Myth, estimates about 60% of both husbands and wives have had an affair in their current or a previous marriage, but a more accurate 1992 landmark study by Edward Laumann of the University of Chicago found 25% of men and 10% of women had strayed. (USA Today 2/26/04 “The State of our Unions”)
Dallas Willard, professor of philosophy at USC, says lust is “to use another person for my excitement.” But as Charles Swindoll said: “There is no sin in the bait. The sin is in the bite.” (Swindoll, Joseph 29)
Joyce Baldwin said that David’s glance became a gaze. I would add it became a gamble. David staked and risked all he had on a short fling, a sexual encounter, a one-night stand with a married woman. He went up, looked down and sought out. From two wives in Ziklag (2 Sam 2:2), he had tripled to six wives altogether in Hebron (2 Sam 3:3-5) and not only more wives but also more concubines in Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:13), but lust desires more.
David had married the prettiest women in the land and other lands, including the intelligent and beautiful Abigail (1 Sam 25:3), who was the most beautiful woman of her day, and Maacah, the daughter of the king of Geshur (2 Sam 3:3). Abigail was one of the six most beautiful women in their era. Others included Sarah (Gen 12:14), Rachel (Gen 29:17), Tamar (2 Sam 13:1), Abishag (1 Kings 1:3) and Esther (Est 2:7). Bathsheba could not hold a candle to Abigail. In Hebrew, Bathsheba was “very good looking,” not the traditional word for “beautiful, “but Abigail defined “beautiful” in Hebrew. The word for NIV’s “beautiful” (v 2) is an interpretation of two Hebrew words – “good” and “looking.” Bathsheba was attractive, cute, striking, shapely and stunning, but her beauty was in the eye of the beholder, while Abigail was truly the fairest of her era. If that was not enough, David could summon any sweet young thing from near and far to be his wife or concubine. God gave David everything and more except one, because Bathsheba was married to Uriah. Interestingly, David’s disobedience was compared to man’s disobedience in the garden when he picked from the one forbidden tree. In fact, the only other time the two words for Bathsheba’s beauty – “good” and “looking” – appear together in the Bible matched the description of the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God had made that were pleasing to the eye and good for food (Gen 2:9)
Stagnation, boredom, and listlessness were dangerous to David. David should be somewhere else, somewhere far, somewhere needed. Ironically, the battlefield was not as dangerous as the palace, the roof or the bed. The Hebrew word “remained” (v 1), also translated as “lived” or “stayed,” is a loud indictment on David. David was at his humble best when he “remained” in desert strongholds and in the hills (1 Sam 23:14, 25, 29, 26:3), in the caves (1 Sam 24:3-4), in foreign territory for a year and four months (1 Sam 27:7) and even during simpler days in Hebron (2 Sam 2:3) or Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:9). He was a godly king before he built and lived in the luxurious palace (2 Sam 7:1). It’s been said, “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.” David had everything to lose when he had nothing to do, nowhere to progress and nobody around him. He had reached a glass ceiling, he was in the retirement mode and he had a mid-age crisis.
The word “find out” or “inquire” (v 3) was another slap to David’s face. The word was only used three times in 1 & 2 Samuel and in the life of Saul and David. Its first occurrence marked the rise of Saul when he inquired of God when his father’s donkeys were lost (1 Sam 9:9). Its next occurrence signaled the downfall of Saul when he inquired his future from a witch (1 Sam 28:7). Its last occurrence compared David’s downfall with Saul’s. Just as Saul inquired of “her” – the witch, David inquired “of the woman.” The parallel couldn’t be any more striking. Bathsheba was David’s witch, bewitching, beguiling and bewildering him to his fall. David did not inquire of the Lord nor inquire of his men what to do. Even when his men hinted to him that she was taken (v 3), he sent messengers to take her (v 4). He did not send a note or a messenger but “messengers” to take her. David forcibly took Bathsheba, although she was no angel or blameless herself.
Losing Your Sanity Leads to Devious Practices
6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, “Uriah did not go home,” he asked him, “Haven’t you just come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. (2 Sam 11:6-13)
A young Hercules came to a place where two roads met. The road on his right was hilly and rough. The road on his left was broad and smooth. While the lad stood in doubt as to these roads, he saw two fair women coming toward him, each on a different road. The one who came by the flowery way reached him first, and Hercules saw that she was beautiful as a summer day.
Her cheeks were red, her eyes sparkled; she spoke warm, persuasive words. “O noble youth,” she said, “be no longer bowed down with labor and sore trials, but come and follow me. I will lead you into pleasant paths, where there are no storms to disturb and no troubles to annoy. You shall live in ease, with one unending round of music and mirth; and you shall not want for anything that makes life joyous - sparkling wine, or soft touches, or rich robes, or the loving eyes of beautiful maidens. Come with me, and life shall be to you a daydream of gladness.”
By this time, the other fair woman had drawn near, and she now spoke to the lad. “I have nothing to promise you,” said she, “save that which you shall win with your own strength. The road upon which I would lead you is uneven and hard, and climbs many a hill, and descends into a valley and quagmire. The views which you will sometimes get from the hilltops are grand and glorious, but the deep valleys are dark, and the ascent from them is toilsome. Nevertheless, the road leads to the blue mountains of endless fame, which you see far away on the horizon. They cannot be reached without labor; in fact, there is nothing worth having that must not be won by toil. If you would have fruits and flowers, you must plant them and care for them; if you would gain the love of your fellow men, you must love them and suffer for them; if you would enjoy the favor of heaven, you must make yourself worthy of that favor; if you would have eternal fame, you must not scorn the hard road that leads to it.”
Then Hercules saw that this lady, although she was as beautiful as the other, had a countenance pure and gentle, like the sky on a balmy morning in May. “What is your name?” he asked. “Some call me Labor,” she answered, “but others know me as Virtue.”
Then he turned to the first lady: “And what is your name?” he asked. “Some call me Pleasure,” she said, with bewitching smile, “but I chose to be known as the Joyous and Happy One.” (William Bennett, ed. The Book of Virtues 390-92 NY: Simon and Schuster, 1993)
Corrupted by power and passion, David was blinded in his eyes, cruel in his heart and ruthless in his actions to cover his tracks. When he decided to kill Uriah after he had failed to pass the responsibility for baby and fatherhood to his soldier, he killed a man more righteous than him. Uriah was a no-nonsense, an award-winning and a die-hard David loyalist, military man and fellow comrade. He was a soldier’s soldier, a man’s man and a friend’s best friend, the type you want to fight along, cover you and die for. Not only did Uriah refuse food, wine and sex, he didn’t even go down to his house or wash his feet (v 7). The trusted warrior refused to accept any comfort, take any advantage or receive any benefit. His conscience and guilt wouldn’t allow him. He couldn’t fatten, warm, entertain or enjoy himself as long as his brothers were in the fields, in the line of fire and in the battle of life and death.
Three times the Hebrew text recorded that Uriah “did not go down to his house” (vv 9, 10, 13). He would not be a part of David or Bathsheba’s house or sin. On their second meeting, Uriah was more blunt, obstinate and annoying before his king (v 11): Home was where the ark of God was, where his field commander was and where his fellow soldiers were. Here was a Hittite (v 3), a non-Israelite, who loved the Lord, loved the king and loved the Israelites, the culture, the friendship and brotherhood. According to 2 Sam 23:39, Uriah was one of the elite 30 fighting men in Israel. Uriah’s passion was for king and country, but David’s passion was for women and sex. He had proven his worth to the king, risked his life in the battlefield and earned the respect of hardened fighters, but he chose to lie in a crowded room than to lie in his warm bed and lie besides lowly servants, not even macho warriors, than by his wife’s warm body. The only promotion Uriah allowed himself was to sleep on a mat (v 13) instead of sleeping at the entrance door (v 9). That ought to bring a tear to David’s eye, but he was in too deep and over his head to see. In a touch of irony, the rich man David had wanted the ark of God to join him in the warm indoors (2 Sam 7), but the poor man Uriah preferred to join the ark of God outside in the freezing night, when winter barely passed (v 1).
David had lost his mind, head and marbles. He was cold, calculated and cunning. The king made sure he asked about how everyone and everything in general was doing and not Uriah in particular (v 7) and was careful not to mention the words “wife,” “bed,” or “sleep” or “sex” in all his words (vv 8, 10, 12). On the third day, the sober king brought out strong sprits and comfort food to make Uriah long and lust for his wife, but Uriah had the discipline and strength of a determined combatant. Unlike David, his head, heart and even body were in the right places. The Hebrew word for “sleep” that occurred four times in the chapter contrasted how classy, dignified and sober Uriah was but how crass, depraved and shameless David was. David slept with another man’s wife (v 4), but Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants (v 9), turned down sleeping or lying with his wife (v 11) in such times and slept on his mat among his master’s servants (v 13). Sadly, the drunk Uriah was sober, but the sober David was drunk - with lust and murder!
Losing Your Scruples Leads to Due Punishment
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’” 22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” 25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. (2 Sam 11:14-27)
Bill and Steve are discussing the possibility of love. “I thought I was in love three times,” Bill says. “Thought?” Steve asks. “What do you mean?”
“Three years ago, I cared very deeply for a woman who wanted nothing to do with me,” Bill says. “Wasn’t that love?” Steve asks.
“No, that was obsession,” Bill explains. “Then two years ago, I cared very deeply for an attractive woman who didn’t understand me.” “Wasn’t that love?” asks Steve.
“No, that was lust,” Bill replies. “And just last year, I met a woman while I was on a cruise. She was gorgeous, intelligent, a great conversationalist and had a super sense of humor. Everywhere I followed her on that ship, I would get a very strange sensation in the pit of my stomach.” “Well, wasn’t that love,” asks Steve.
“No. That was motion sickness!” Bill replies.
Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) said, “Lord, before I commit a sin, it seems to me so shallow that I may wade through it dry-shod from any guiltiness; but when I have committed it, it often seems so deep that I cannot escape without drowning.”
The heinous things David did include borrowing his general’s hand, sacrificing his men’s lives and employing the Gentiles’ arrows. Commentators agreed that he made Uriah carry his death warrant to Joab. David broke at least three commandments (adultery, lying, murder and coveting another’s wife). He ordered Joab to send Uriah to the front line of the hottest fighting zone and to withdraw his troops, leaving Uriah defenseless (v 15). Striking down Uriah was not enough; taking him out was the plan (v 17). Uriah did not even have the option to be MIA or to be a POW. David did not want him injured, impaired or imprisoned. If Uriah won’t drink, he’ll die.
The way Uriah the fierce warrior died was a further indictment on David. In his madness, David sent other fighting men to their death (v 17), because of the fierce war that raged that day, and they died without burial.
Back at the palace, David put on a monkey show but did not even cry crocodile tears for one of his most loyal and renowned fighting men. The messengers were reminded to say two times “your servant Uriah” (vv 21, 24). David, who cried till evening (2 Sam 1:12) when Saul died at the hands of archers (1 Sam 31:3), did not shed a tear, blink an eye or ask for details about the latest arrow casualty (v 20). David mourned for Saul who hated him but not for Uriah who loved him. Instead, he said calmly and consolingly: Don’t feel bad or “evil” - literally. The sword has no eyes, pals or feelings (v 25).
David thought that was the end of that - but not the Lord. Even after Uriah’s death, the text still insisted that Bathsheba was his wife (v 26). People didn’t say anything when Uriah died, when David and Bathsheba suddenly married and when parenthood quickly arrived, but the matter did not die, they were not at bliss and judgment was at hand. The last sentence of the chapter and the first word of the sentence in Hebrew sought justice for Uriah: “But evil the thing David had done in the eyes of the Lord.”
Conclusion: Oliver Stone observed at the height of the O.J trial: “The line between thinking murder and doing murder isn’t that major.” (8/2/94) The line between lust and adultery is also a thin one, so is from having everything and being somebody to loving nobody and enjoying nothing. Do not satisfy your passions, silence your conscience or sell your soul. Do you give in to the cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes and the pride of the flesh? Are you jealous and envious of what others have and not thankful and appreciative of what you have? Are you humble, honest and helpful?
Victor Yap
Other sermons in the series and other sermon series:
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