Introduction:
A. Perhaps there have been times when you have felt like praying this prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, I think you’d be proud of me! So far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, lusted, lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, or selfish. Praise Your Name! I’m grateful for Your grace. But Lord, a few minutes from now, I’m getting out of bed. From then on I’m going to need a lot MORE of Your help!”
1. Temptation and sin are an ever present, on-going struggle for all of us.
2. None of us, are exempt from its powerful draw and terrible effects.
3. Of all of the temptations and sins, none perhaps are as strong and devastating as sexual lust and sexual sin.
4. The Bible clearly warns us about these temptations with explicit commands and personal examples.
B. Today we turn the attention of our sermon back to our series on the life of David and we come to one of the darker moments in the life of this man after God’s own heart.
1. One of the things that makes the Bible the perfect Word of God is that it doesn’t flatter its heroes.
2. All the men and women of Scripture have feet of clay, and when the Holy Spirit paints a portrait of their lives, He’s a very realistic artist.
3. The Holy Spirit doesn’t ignore, deny or minimize the darker side of each person, including David.
C. It is interesting to me that the two stories that David is most remembered for have to do with two people – Goliath and Bathsheba.
1. The physical forms attached to these two people could hardly be more different – Goliath was an ugly, cruel giant and Bathsheba was a beautiful, gentle woman.
2. But as different as Goliath and Bathsheba were in appearance, there is a similarity in the place they hold in David’s life – both present him with a serious test.
3. The giant and the woman enter David’s life at contrasting times.
4. In the meeting with Goliath, David is young, unknown, and in many respects, untested.
5. In the meeting with Bathsheba, David is mature, well known, and thoroughly tested and tried.
6. In the first meeting, David emerges triumphant; in the second meeting, he goes down in defeat.
7. We will discuss what factors led to the victory on one hand, and defeat on the other.
I. The Story – As the story begins, we notice that David is at…
A. A Vulnerable Stage
1. Verse 1 begins: 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 Sam. 11:1)
2. At this point, Davd was about 50 years old and had been king for two decades.
a. He has distinguished himself as a man of God, as a composer of psalms, and a valiant warrior and a powerful leader of God’s nation.
b. David was a man of passion and compassion.
3. Now keep in mind that we are not examining the life of a wild rebel or a sexual pervert.
4. David was a man who fell into a period of sin, and that sin will have devastating consequences for his family, his reign, and his nation.
5. David’s life at this point was like a neglected sea wall standing constantly against the barrage of the tide and the waves of the ever-pounding sea.
a. Unguarded and in a weakened state, it crumbled at his feet and he will pay a terrible price for his disobedience.
6. But we must realize that David didn’t fall suddenly; some chinks had already begun to form in his spiritual armor.
a. Back in chapter 5, verse 13, we notice that David was taking more concubines and wives, and more and more sons and daughters were being born to him.
b. This increase in the number of his wives and concubines was in direct disobedience to God’s commandments (Deut. 17:14-17).
c. David learned the hard way that having a harem of women doesn’t satisfy sexual passion it only increases it.
d. One of the lies of Satan that our society has taken “hook-line-and sinker” is that if you just give into your lustful desires, then they will be abated, but the opposite occurs.
e. One premarital hop in the sack turns into more; one affair turns into more than one; one glance at pornographic websites leads to an addiction.
f. Feeding the lustful appetite only intensifies it.
g. David’s lust and polygamy secretly began to erode his spirituality and integrity.
7. Another aspect of David’s vulnerability was his success.
a. In 2 Samuel chapters 5 through 11 we see nothing in David’s life except success.
b. David is at an all time high. He is fresh off a series of great victories on the battlefield.
c. He has reached the peak of public admiration – his approval rating is close to 100%,
d. David has ample money, incredible power, unquestioned authority and remarkable fame – you talk about a recipe for disaster!
e. Our most vulnerable times are not when things are going badly or when things are difficult, but when they are good.
f. Hard times cause us to draw close to God. The survival mode keeps us in a place of humility and obedience.
g. Pride goes before the fall, right? When everything is going our way, that’s when we are more likely to take our eyes off of the Lord and fall into sin.
8. Another aspect of David’s vulnerability had to do with indulgence.
a. David has begun to take life a bit easy.
b. He is becoming undisciplined and bored.
c. So while other kings were off at the battlefield and David’s men were out there fighting, David was lounging around at home. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
9. So it’s not hard from all this to see how David was ripe for a fall – his many wives, great success and incredible indulgence had eroded his spiritual focus and his strong character.
B. Next we notice…A Sensuous Scene
1. The story continues: 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, “Isn’t this 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…Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” (2 Sam. 11:2-5)
2. Eastern monarchs frequently built their bedchambers on the second story of the palace with a door to a rooftop patio.
a. Situated above the public demands and away from the streets, it was a perfect place to relax.
b. That’s where David found himself that tragic evening.
3. He couldn’t sleep for whatever reason, and decided to take a walk on the patio.
4. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful.
a. The Bible never pads the record – when it says a woman is beautiful, she’s lovely, and when it says she’s VERY beautiful, then she’s a knockout.
b. David saw her - he couldn’t keep from seeing her - but what he did next was the key to spiritual victory or defeat.
5. Unfortunately, David failed the test. He did not turn away. He did not run away. He did not turn to the Lord.
a. Rather, David stopped. He stared. He lusted.
b. He stood on the roof in the night air, with no one else around, and he lost all cognizance of who he was or what would happen if he followed that temptation and fell into that sin.
6. In his mind, fueled by lust, he envisioned the pleasure of having that beautiful woman.
a. He wanted that woman and he wanted her now.
b. Consider the fact that he had no idea who she was or what she was like – lust doesn’t care about things like that. “Hello I love you won’t you tell me your name.”
7. So David sent someone to find out about this woman.
a. The servant came back and reported to him, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (2 Sam. 11:3)
b. In that response, we see this servant trying to offer David a subtle warning.
c. Normally in Israel they would give the genealogy of a person without relation to their mate. They would give the name of the person, the father’s name, and the grandfather’s name.
d. But this servant added, for no extra charge, the fact that she was the wife of Uriah.
e. In other words, “King David, the lady’s married” and not only married but to one of your mighty men, and she is the daughter of another of your mighty men, and the granddaughter of one of your most trusted advisors. “Danger! Danger! – the warning sounds were blasting.”
8. I believe that the servant knew exactly what David was thinking.
a. He knew his master. He’d seen the harem.
b. He’d watched David operate with women.
9. Unfortunately, none of that mattered to David at the time.
a. At that moment God was quite unreal to him. David was out of control.
b. His desire for sexual pleasure with that woman was paramount.
c. He moved quickly, ignoring any warning and all consequences.
10. He was the king and he could have and do whatever he wanted.
a. So David sent messengers to get her, she came to him and he slept with her.
11. Now, let’s be realistic here – we would be foolish to think that there was no pleasure in this encounter between David and Bathsheba.
a. This act must have carried with it an enormous amount of sensual excitement – for stolen waters are sweet.
b. Sin certainly can be fun and pleasurable, but it is a passing pleasure, and eventually the pleasure turns into pain – the pain of guilt or heartache or other consequences.
c. Satan never tips his hand in temptation – he shows us only the beauty, the ecstasy and the fun.
d. He doesn’t tell the drunkard about the hangover.
e. He doesn’t tell the drug user that this is the beginning of a long, sorrowful, dead-end road.
f. He doesn’t tell the thief you are going to get caught and end up in jail.
g. He doesn’t tell the one immorally involved sexually that pregnancy and life-threatening disease are a real possibility.
h. Are you kidding? When the sin is done and all the penalties of that sin come due, the devil is nowhere to be found – like the slick used car salesman who skips town after the sale leaving you with a real clunker.
12. David gave in to temptation and sin with Bathsheba, and perhaps she slipped back to her own home during the night, hoping that no one noticed.
13. Then several weeks later, Bathsheba sent David the shocking news, “I’m pregnant.”
C. This leads to…A Panic Plan
1. When David got that news, he had a decision to make – he could take one of two courses.
a. He could openly confess his wrongdoing before God and the nation – “Come Clean.”
b. Or he could go the route of deception and hypocrisy – “Cover Up.”
2. We all know what he should have done, and we all know what he did.
a. Sadly, David chose the route that took him even further into sin.
b. Let’s not forget, David’s choosing to lie and deceive set in motion an endless series of heartaches within his immediate family for years to come.
c. Unfortunately, when we are in the midst of panic, we usually don’t make good decisions.
3. David had had his night of passion and now it was coming back to haunt him.
a. He has made the wife of another man pregnant.
b. What should he do?
c. He came up with an idea that would eventually backfire on him.
4. So David had Joab, the army commander, send Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband back home to Jerusalem.
a. So David had Uriah over for a steak dinner with all the trimmings and asked, “So how is the war going?”
b. We don’t know what Uriah was thinking about all this, but he must have wondered “what’s this all about?”
c. He knew he should be back at the battlefield, not sitting there chatting with the king.
5. Then David sent Uriah home, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” In other words, “go home and enjoy yourself. Spend some time with your wife – you deserve it.”
a. He wanted Uriah to spend the night with his wife. Then when people find out that Bathsheba is pregnant, they will remember that Uriah came home on leave around that time.
b. But Uriah was too faithful a soldier to allow himself such pleasure when his fellow comrades were at war, so he did not go home, rather he slept at the entrance to the palace.
c. David must have been frustrated, thinking why hadn’t he slept with the wife of some dud.
6. Then David tried plan “B” – David invited him for another steak dinner, but this time he was intent on getting Uriah drunk, thinking that in his drunken state, surely Uriah would go home.
a. Keep in mind that this is the same David who was the man after God’s own heart.
b. Even drunk Uriah was a better man than David at this point.
c. Uriah did not go home, but slept a second night on David’s doorstep.
7. David must have been panic-stricken at this point – no matter what he does, he can’t pull off his strategy of deception.
a. David decided if he could not fool Uriah into thinking Bathsheba was carrying his baby, then he would make Bathsheba a widow and quickly marry her.
b. So David did the unthinkable, he sent a man off with his own death warrant.
c. The Bible says: In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 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.” (2 Sam. 11:14,15)
d. Thus it happened, and the lives of a number of others were needlessly spent in the process of the cover-up.
8. When the report of Uriah’s death reached David, David sent a message back to Joab telling him, in essence, “Don’t let this thing bother you, for the sword devours one as well as another.” In other words “you win some…you lose some.”
9. I’m sure it didn’t take much figuring on Joab’s part to put the pieces together – you don’t get to be a general by being stupid. But he also knew who was in charge and how to keep his job, and his life.
10. So to everyone else everything appeared to be normal.
a. A soldier had died…There was a funeral…some mourning…then David graciously married the widow and she later bore him a son.
11. The chapter ends with these words, “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.” (v. 27)
a. You talk about an understatement!
12. Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the rest of the story.
II. The Application – What important lessons do we learn that we need to apply to our lives?
A. #1 - We are all vulnerable to temptation and sin.
1. No one is too young or ever gets too old to fall.
2. No one will ever be too spiritual to fall.
3. That’s why the Bible tells us “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor. 10:12)
4. We must be ever vigilant, because any of us can fall into sin – that’s true for elders, deacons, preachers, teachers, moms and dads, - anyone and everyone.
B. #2 - The mind will either be the pathway to or the prevention from sin.
1. Jesus taught us this truth – sexual sin happens in the mind long before it ever happens in the flesh.
2. In Matthew 5, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mt. 5:27,28)
3. This is why there is such an emphasis in Scripture on guarding our hearts and thoughts.
4. The battle first must be won in the brain.
5. We must do our best to keep our minds as pure as possible, which is difficult with the barrage of images that hit us through advertizing, programming and all that is so readily available on the internet.
6. And then when we find ourselves being tempted in any way, whether visually or otherwise, we must do something to break the cycle.
7. If we flirt with temptation long enough, it will result in sin.
8. If we find ourselves drawn to someone or something that is forbidden, our best response is to flee – that’s what Joseph did and that’s what Paul told Timothy to do, and that’s what David should have done.
9. We must take captive every thought – casting off the sinful ones, holding on to the holy ones.
10. Philippians 4:8 is a great verse for this subject, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8)
C. #3 - Repentance is the right thing to do along the way to stop the progression of sin.
1. One of the things that David didn’t do along the way was repent, something he could have done at any step of the way.
2. When he saw Bathsheba, he could have turned away immediately.
a. Not having done that he could have turned away after lusting for a minute.
b. He could have repented after inquiring about her.
c. He could have repented after having sent for her.
d. He could have repented after having slept with her.
e. He could have repented after having heard she was pregnant.
f. He could have repented after having tried and failed to set up Uriah.
g. See, he could have stopped the progression of sin by repenting at any step along the way!
3. The best time to repent is now, wherever we are, however far into sin we are.
4. The best time to stop is before we start, but once we have started into sin, the best time to stop is now.
5. Peter preached, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” (Acts 3:19)
D. #4 – We learn that “Just this once” is once too many.
1. How often does Satan try to fool us into thinking that just once won’t hurt us.
2. The truth is that it sometimes only takes once.
3. Certainly it only takes one sin to separate us from God, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
4. But with some sins it only takes once to have some difficult long term physical consequences.
5. That’s the case for some with alcohol and other drugs – just once and they are hooked.
6. That’s true with stealing or letting anger get out of control – both can land you in jail.
7. That’s certainly the case with pregnancy – it only takes one sexual encounter to become pregnant.
8. That’s also the case with sexually transmitted diseases – it only takes one sexual encounter and a person can contract a disease that is incurable or that can lead to infertility or cancer or death.
9. Let’s not let Satan pull that one over on us – Just this once is once too many!
Let’s conclude on a positive note with the last three lessons…
E. #5 - We learn from Scripture that we can win the victory over temptation.
1. 1 Cor. 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
2. Our God is faithful and He will provide the way out and the power to overcome.
F. #6 - We learn that the best safeguard for sexual purity is a healthy, faithful marriage.
1. Scripture says, “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer - may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.” (Prov. 5:18-19)
2. Scripture also says, “But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” (1 Cor. 7:2-6)
3. Marriage is God’s perfect plan for secure love, blissful sex, and happy family.
G. #7 - We learn from Scripture that God offers forgiveness for our sins.
1. We are going to focus on this truth next week, so I will not elaborate on it today.
2. God wants us to know that even if we have blown it and given into sin, all is not lost.
3. God forgives and allows us to start over.
4. God welcomes back the prodigal sons and daughters.
5. And once we have messed up we are not beyond God’s use.
6. There is no sin so bad that it cannot be repented of and forgiven.
7. Ultimately, the only sin that can’t be forgiven is the one that a person won’t repent of and seek forgiveness for.
8. Let’s end with these verses from James, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:7-10)
Resources:
David – A Man of Passion and Destiny, by Charles R. Swindoll, Word Publishing, 1997.
David I, by W. Phillip Keller, Word Books, 1985.
I and II Samuel, David F. Payne, The Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster Press, 1982
First and Second Samuel, J. Carl Laney, Everyman’s Bible Commentary, Moody Bible Institute, 1982.
First and Second Samuel, Eugene Peterson, Westminster Bible Companion, Westminster John Knox Press, 1999.
First and Second Samuel, Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, John Knox Press, 1990.
