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. 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, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 2 Samuel 11:1-5 NIV
David made 3 key mistakes that led him into sin:
- David wasn’t where he was supposed to be. David should have been off to war, but instead he remained in Jerusalem. Whatever task the Lord has placed before you today, be sure you are focused and intentional in doing it. Don’t allow yourself to be side-tracked. Had David been leading his troops, as he should have been, he would not have fallen into sin with Bathsheba. How you choose to spend your time will have a direct correlation on your weakness to sin.
- David did not honor the boundaries God had placed on him. According to the law, (Deuteronomy 17:17), David should not have had more than one wife, and he was already married. When he saw Bathsheba bathing, he should have simply turned away. He should not have continued to watch and he should not have pursued her in any way. It’s no accident that David was on the roof the same time she was bathing. When you are not where you should be and your focus is off, Satan will go out of his way to be sure you are attracted by something, or someone, that has potential to draw you into sin!
- David ignored the information that should have caused him to put the brakes on. God is faithful in confronting us with the truth when we are struggling with sin. David was told that she was married. She was off limits, period, and David knew it. He was even reminded that she was someone’s daughter. Two men could lay claim to this woman, her father and her husband, but not David, he had no right. Have you noticed, in your experience, that when you are contemplating sin, or when you are in sin, there is no shortage of sermons on the topic. God is faithful to remind you that you are heading in the wrong direction, but He will not force you to yield to Him. You must choose to do so.
So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 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. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 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. 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 Samuel 11:6-13 NIV
David’s elaborate plan to cover his own sin by making it appear that the baby was Uriah’s failed because Uriah was a man of integrity. Ironically, he was acting the way God desired David to act. So in his desperation, David chose to take his sin to the next level. That’s the way it is with sin. Once you ignore the boundaries that God has placed on you in one area, it becomes easier and easier to cross them in all areas. Sin is like a slippery slope in that once you start falling, it’s very hard to regain your spiritual footing. If David had simply put on the brakes when he was confronted with the truth, he could have avoided the downward spiral, but David was slipping fast, and unfortunately, the consequences for all involved were going to be very painful!
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 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. Joab sent David a full account of the battle. He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 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? Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop 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, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’” 2 Samuel 11:14-21 NIV
David was supposed to be a Godly king, but how well was he representing God in this account? When you ignore the boundaries and proceed into sin, what kind of example do you set for those around you? Your kids? Your co-workers? Your neighbors? Those who know you are a Christian? Don’t be foolish enough to think your sin does not effect other people! More often than not, your sin will hinder the spiritual success of those closest to you. It places a stumbling block they must get past to continue on their own spiritual journey. Some, especially kids, may never recover. Think about the ripple effect of David’s sin and the pain it caused. Uriah was not the only one who died in that battle. The pain and heartache of sin is never contained to just a few people. In your weakest moment when you desire to justify a sinful decision, don’t buy the lie that you’re not hurting anyone. Sin is destructive and it’s damage always reaches farther than you believe it will!