What We Can Learn from David and Bathsheba by Myra Kahn Adams for Town Hall
Thanks for joining us, and a special welcome to first-time readers.
Today we study 2 Samuel 11, the story of David and Bathsheba, one of the most famous and dramatic chapters in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). The chapter has a movie-worthy plotline involving murder, sexual submission, royal power, deceit, and evil intentions. The main characters are brave, loyal, beautiful, selfish, and sinful.
Ultimately, the Lord had a starring role concerning the consequences of sins committed in chapter 11 by King David, as reflected in the last verse:
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“But the thing David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). (Note important Bible lesson warning: If that “thing” you are doing displeases the Lord, stop doing it. Then pray and ask forgiveness. And how do you know that the Lord is not pleased? Trust me, you’ll know.)
Now, let’s learn about that “thing” King David did. Due to space limitations, I combine paraphrasing with Scripture from 2 Samuel:11.
Springtime was battle season, and King David sent General Joab to war. The Israelite army destroyed “the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.” (Cue ominous music.)
One night David had insomnia. (Perhaps feeling guilty that his men were at war without him?) The king got up, walked around the roof, and spotted a “beautiful woman” taking a bath. Feeling hot, hot, hot, “David sent someone to find out about her.” He learns her name is Bathsheba and that she is married to Uriah the Hittite — a soldier in David’s army. “Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.” Later, she “sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant.’ ” (Cue “Jaws” shark attack music because you know this will get bloody.)
Next, David sent a text message to General Joab with the order, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Bathsheba’s husband appears at the palace before David, who makes nice, nice military conversation, asking about Joab, the soldiers, and “how the war was going.”
