Sunday: Worn and Weary
On a balmy spring evening, restless King David paced the roof of his palace. He should have been with his army on the other side of the Jordan. He should have been leading God’s people to defeat the Ammonites and finally bring peace to the kingdom.
Not being where he should have been opened the door to temptation for David. Read the story in 2 Samuel 11:1-5. What happened, and what great sin did David commit?
Image © Providence Collection at Goodsalt.com
From his roof, David saw a “very beautiful woman” taking a bath. His sinful impulses got the better of him that evening, and he slept with Bathsheba, the wife of a trusted army officer. Like all ancient kings, David had absolute power. As king he didn’t have to follow the rules that governed everyone else. And yet, the painful story of David’s family following this story-changing moment reminds us of the fact that, even as the king, he was not above God’s law.
Indeed, the law is there as a protection, a safeguard, and when even the king stepped outside it, he faced terrible consequences. As soon as David transgressed the limits of God’s law, he began to feel its effects on all aspects of his life. David thought that his passionate fling had gone unnoticed; yet, Bathsheba was now pregnant and her husband far away.
Read 2 Samuel 11:6-27. How did David try to cover up his sin?
Even David’s most intricate schemes to get Uriah home to his wife Bathsheba fail. Uriah was a man of stellar reputation who responds to David’s subtle hints: “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife?” (2 Samuel 11:11). Eventually a desperate David reverts to “remote-control” assassination to cover his sin.
| It is hard to believe that David, to whom God had given so much, could have stooped so low. No matter who we are, what warning should we all take from this story? |
(22)
Most of us take refuge in the fact that we are not as bad as David. On a scale of 0-10, adultery, followed by murder must surely rank a 10; whereas our little bit of selfishness or pride must surely rank a 3 or at worst a 4. We are very good at ranking. The problem is that we learn to be very devious about our own sins at an early age.
Parents and teachers are acutely aware of childhood deviousness. Little Sammy does something wrong, but when caught he shifts the blame onto Amanda. Or perhaps he knows that Amanda did something much worse and has saved that to the day when he could pay her back by telling on her.
As a teacher, I think most of the devious tricks were tried on me and sometimes the young scallywags managed to pull the wool over my eyes and the wrong child would be disciplined. Even my grandkids are not immune to devious coverups and have had a lot of attempts to shift blame and cover up their own sins.
And as adults are we any better? Sit on a nominating committee and listen to the reasons why Brother What's his name cannot take office. Some past event is brought up, "Just sayin' ...", and suddenly you find the long tentacle of deviousness and coverup has made its way into church politics.
David made a grevious mistake. He let his testosterone rule his brain. He sinned and then he added sin upon sin to cover it up. We take comfort from the fact that God can forgive, but I wonder if we are deviously hiding our own sins in the meantime.
Deviousness, blame-shifting and coverup started very early in the history of humanity. Note this:
...have we learned our lesson yet?
Good morning when you go against the grain and what the Word of GOD says the the consequences are on you.As David he knew what he had done disobey the Father. Two counts against him 1.Adultry 2. Murder.
I am adding sins he committed which we overlook in the story.
1. Selfishness - he still desired for Bethsheba even though has wives and concubines
2. Coveteuosness
3. He stole
4. Women took place of God
5. Pride
6. Betrayal
7. Conspiracy
Thank you Maurice for highlighting that these sins are rated below the two super ones.
A lesson well learnt. Happy Sabbath God's family.
This just goes to show that when we don't do right we can end up doing wrong. David should have been giving support to his men physically and prayerfully.
Instead he was at his rooftop walking around when he noticed a beautiful woman who was the wife of one of his faithful officers.
David stare led to a desire to possess her,
Which led to a host of other wrongs vs 4of second Sam chapter 11 says that David sent Messengers and took her (did she had a choice?)
Then he ended in the adultery with her which was followed by deceit betrayal and finally murder .
The message for us today is ...sin is destructive and has great and deadly consequences
Look at David’s response to the Philistine challenge, its worth recognizing that as Christians today we have our own battles to face. Thankfully not physical battles with real weapons, but moral and spiritual battles. The Bible is clear that every Christian faces opposition on three fronts. We face an unholy trinity of opponents – the world, the flesh, and the devil. Secular culture, our fallen nature and Satan the devil all conspire against Christians.
All three tempt us to sin. All three are working to weaken our faith in Christ, and all three are trying to divide the Church. The agenda of the world, the flesh and the devil isn’t so far removed from the ambitions of the Philistines in David’s day. They too wanted to destroy the faith, unity and holiness of God’s people.
Vaughan Roberts, has written a great little book called “Battles Christians Face”. Here are some of his words from the book: “Both experience and the Bible are clear that the Christian life is a battle. While we wait for Christ’s return, we must live in this fallen world, with all its sin and suffering. Throughout our lives we will have to fight against the world, the flesh and the devil. We are not immune from the effects of the fall; Christians will face sickness, loneliness, depression, unemployment and death like everyone else. We can also expect extra hardships because of our allegiance to Christ in a world that rejects him.”
Vaughan goes on to describe some of the common temptations and struggles that many Christians face today. His list includes battles against low self-esteem, depression or physical suffering. He also mentions the dangers of pride, lust or doubt.Even today the battle is on.... And even if not, we should realize that they will come in one form or another, at one time or another. Just as David had to decide how to respond to the Philistine threat, we need to be ready to respond to trials and temptation in our lives today.
Search me Oh Lord and know my heart
When we dabble in grievous sins!!!
The Bible tells us about sins of Ignorance and sins of Presumption. Every sin that David committed were presumptuous sins. He mastered minded the plots thinking he had it all put together. Perfect like a chest master. Does his plot sounds like these modern days movies and books we read?
But wait, what about us SDA in our own lives. Do we have perfect plots in our plans? Are we writing out our Wills so as to left some out? Are we waiting for the right time to take revenge on a family member or a church member because they hurt us so much? Are we trying to maneuver our divorce in our likeness to benefit us?
What is our plans? Are our plans inline with the word of the Lord? If we compare ourselves with David we will say we are not so bad as David. Eh!! Many today are facing the consequences of sins from our fore-fathers just to be repeated in our own lives. Remember hatred equals murder. Envy and jealousy equal the sin of witchcraft. The penalty for Both sins were death.
How do we stand before a Holy Father.
Reality is we are living in this troubled world. So us to expect we might suffer sicknesses, loneliness, distress, not all are happiness in our life. Even christian children, trials comes to our unexpected moments... but thanks be to God, we have Jesus in our hearts, that invites us to come to Him, and He will give us rest. How I really wish to keep all our worries put to God and enjoy from Him his promises of comfort and rest.
What is meant by she was cleansed from her impurities?
See Lev 15 for the rules about a woman during and after her period.
The five senses, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch play a major role in every Christian's success in this life be it literal or spiritual. Our journey heavenward depends on how we use our five senses one of which is our sight ( eyes ). Eve saw that the fruit was pleasing to the eye and she plucked it and ate it and gave some to her husband and he too ate it and nakedness was the result. Samson fell by his look and today we are no exception. Look at what Television, mobile phones just to name a few though not sinful in themselves are doing to humanity due to how we allow them to control us rather than we controlling them? The tenth Commandment strikes at the very root of adultery and it says : Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife. Jesus said something in Matthew 5 : 27- 30 which I would humbly urge everyone to read, particularly men. The Spirit of Prophecy says : God intended the history of David's fall to serve as a warning that even those whom He has greatly blessed and favored are not to feel secure and neglect watchfulness and prayer. And thus it has proved to those who in humility have sought to learn the lesson that God designed to teach. From generation to generation thousands have thus been led to realize their own danger from the tempter's power. The fall of David , one so greatly honored by the Lord, has awakened in them distrust of self. They have felt that God alone could keep them by His power through faith. Knowing that in Him was their strength and safety, they have feared to take the first step on Satan's ground. Patriarchs and Prophets page 724.
Abstain from all appearances of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:22.
Amen Bro John. None of us is immune to sin. We are warned to keep away from what appears like sin, you know, those where the gray lines come too near. Our senses can deceive us into committing sins.
Why did David a man after God's own heart lust after another woman, he had so many?
We need to look back at the instruction the LORD gave in Deut 17:17 - a king was not to take many wives or his heart would be led astray.
But David ignored or forgot that warning!
When he ruled in Hebron he married 6 wives in 7 years, why? Was it political, was it for power, was it for love? All of the above? 2Sam 3:2-5
Then when he came to Jerusalem he took more wives and concubines. 2Sam 5:13
David had carved out an area of compromise in his life that had never been submitted to the Lord. And that area of compromise lay at the root of his sin.
David clearly had a problem with lust, and the more he gave way to it, the more it controlled him. The sin he accommodated in his life grew until one day its power overwhelmed him.
The Bible makes it very clear that this is how sin works. It builds a position in your life over time as you compromise with it. “Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15).
So guard your heart, because if you allow sin to capture your imagination, it will not be long before it masters your soul. God has preserved this story for us in the Bible as a warning, so let’s apply this to ourselves.
Today’s lesson states “even as the king, he (David) was not above God’s law.”
Why was David not above God’s law? Or, what is it about the nature of ‘God’s law’ that means it is impossible for David to be above (exempt from) it?
Phil – taking a moment to answer your question, my thoughts go first to God not being a respecter of persons; His law does not change whether it effects a king a pauper, the sick or healthy, young or old, of Jewish heritage or heathen, friend or foe.
I do not see any ‘existence of life’ possible outside the laws which govern all of creation; even inorganic matter, energy etc. follow His laws.
I am not certain what it is about the nature of God’s law that makes it applicable equally to everyone, other than that His Law was designed with preservation of life in mind. Therefore, whatever is missing or too much of will need to be made right to establish the balance reflecting His Law.
David is a human being like all of us who have been given the breath of life, his life is therefore subject to the same law as ours.
No creature, however honored and exalted by fellow creatures, could ever be above the law of the Sovereign Creator, by which His government is to be ruled, and finally judged, and no one will escape this judgment, whether the highest, the lowest, or anywhere between(Eccl 12:13,14, Rom 14:10). God's Law is simply the revealing of His will, as the Sovereign LORD over all(Ps 40:8).
This is simply the unequivocal truth, which the repentant King David acknowledged(Ps 51:4).
A great question, Phil!
I find it interesting that explanations for why David was not above God's Law do not take into account God's design of His creation.
As I see it, God designed the universe to run on the principle of self-giving love, the principle of service to God and others. While the plant and animal kingdoms cannot be said to intentionally relate in self-giving love, they nevertheless operate on this principle in that in the cycle of life, each creature fulfills its part of the whole design and serves to make the ecosystem function optimally. Nothing but the selfish heart of man lives for self alone. (Admittedly, sin has marred this design, but it is still evident for those who seek.)
The corollary to this overall design is that there are built-in consequences for breaking the Law God designed into the universe. It is not possible for any creature, including humans, to be "above" this law of life. This law is deeper and wider than often understood - as the enunciation of the Ten Commandments. Those Commandments are adaptations of God's universal Law of self-giving love to sinful humanity in a way easy for the most simple to understand. (They are not the Law of God.)
Wherever or whenever selfishness is indulged it is the antithesis of God's universal law of life.
For those interested in the subject, I suggest reading the first chapter of the Desire of Ages, called "God With Us," particularly the early paragraphs that explain how Jesus came to reveal God's universal law. (You can read it online by opening the link above.)
A corollary question would be this:
What is the fundamental difference between human law and God's law?
Thanks for the inputs…
I would propose that, as Inge has raised, David was not above God’s law because God’s law - from a functional perspective - is both (a) the reality that underpins and therefore enables life to be and (b) a description of that reality. As such, the nature of these ‘laws’ is inherent cause and effect. Consequently, they are self-enforcing. Live in harmony with them and a constructive/beneficial outcome will result. Attempt to be out of harmony with them and a destructive/detrimental outcome will result. The effect is inherent to - and therefore produced by —the cause.
Human ‘laws’ (though in actuality ‘rules’), by nature, are not embedded within reality and therefore must necessarily be enforced by someone who has sufficient power to do so. If no-one catches you breaking a man-made law, you can ‘get away with it’. There is no inherent consequence. This is precisely what Satan falsely insinuated God was doing when Satan suggested that eating of the tree would not in fact inherently result in death (Genesis 3:4,5) - thereby implying that it would only result in death at the hand of God. It was Satan that re-framed God’s authoritative informing of the inherent danger awaiting Adam and Eve at the tree (Genesis 2:16,17) into authoritarian forbidding/prohibiting. If God’s laws are in fact no different to human laws, Satan’s insinuated allegations would be truth.
I believe this distinction is what the first Angel’s message is aiming to draw our attention to - because awareness of this casts God in a completely different light.
Phil, please explain and provide Scripture reference for your statement that God's laws are "self-enforcing".
My understanding is that the LORD is personally involved in the world and our lives on a moment by moment basis, revealing His Will, protecting and guiding, putting His Principles into effect, enforcing His Laws.
Hi Shirley
Thanks for your invitation.
As you yourself correctly refer to God's Principles for Life and Living, what happens when anyone lives in harmony with those principles? Do they experience constructive or destructive outcomes? What happens when anyone violates those principles? Do they experience constructive or destructive outcomes?
If I violate the principles of respiration, what will happen? Will my condition get better or will it deteriorate? What will be the causative agency of my outcome? Will it be God punishing me or will it be the violation of that which is necessary for life that will put me in a state that initially compromises and subsequently ultimately precludes life?
Biblical references (that are succinct summary rather than proof-text) that are in harmony with these principles are Romans 6:23, John 10:10 seen though the lens of Galatians 6:7,8 and James 1:14,15. Paul also refers to this in Romans 8:2. The law/principle of the Spirit of (ie which leads to and maintains) Life vs the law/principle of sin/lawlessness (which leads to and produces) death.
To illustrate that I am not proof-texting, the very first insight we get into the notion of the 'self-enforcing' nature of being in harmony with the laws/principles that govern life and living (which is frequently referred to as God's laws) or out of harmony with those same laws/principles is Genesis 2:16,17 in conjunction with the 'spin' that Satan cast in Genesis 3:1,4-5.
God was outlining that Adam and Eve were free to eat from every (Hebrew: kol, meaning the whole, in totality: ie, without exception) tree. However, if Adam and Eve exercised their freedom to eat from one particular tree they would die in that day. What is going on here - is God contradicting Himself?
There were 2 ways Adam and Eve could exercise that freedom - one would be in harmony with the principles of life and living and lead to and maintain abundant life. The other would out of harmony with the principles of life and living and therefore inherently lead to and produce death. However, in each case the outcome would arise from the Principles that Adam and Eve, by their choice, would align themselves with.
Note that God does not say He will be forced to kill them. By what means then would the death arise? By the principle/mechanism spelled out in Galatians 6:7,8 and James 1:14,15 and therefore summarised in Romans 6:23.
But what was Satan's take on what was going on? Note carefully that it was Satan that first introduced the notion of God as restrictive/prohibitive (Genesis 3:1). That notion is absolutely opposite to everything that has been revealed about God's nature and character in the previous 2 chapters prior to this point.
And Satan then goes on in Genesis 3:4,5 to further insert the insinuation that there is no inherent connection between eating from the tree and death. Satan instead (falsely) claims that eating from the tree will result in Adam and Eve achieving a superior state of existence - which allegedly God does not want.
So there are two propositions being outlined to Adam and Eve. God is outlining that sin/lawlessness is self-destructive. Satan is proposing that this is not inherently the case and therefore any destruction that comes about must necessarily be because it is inflicted by God.
No wonder Genesis 3:1 highlights the 'crafty' nature of Satan that is later reinforced by Jesus characterisation of Satan as a liar/misportrayer in John 8:44.
Shirley, I love what you say when you write
But you conclude that God is "enforcing His Laws" on a "moment by moment basis."
Wow! That sounds for all the world like an arbitrary ruler! And it makes no more sense to me than Phil's declaration of God's laws being "self-enforcing" and for the same reasons.
If God were "enforcing His Laws" on a "moment by moment basis," the wicked would not prosper, and the righteous would not suffer and die cruel deaths. Worldly despots would not get away with murdering millions of innocent people.
Please think again!
I propose that the principles of God's Law are embedded in the very fabric of His creation and, without special intervention, the righteous prosper not just now, but for eternity, and the wicked perish. (John 3:16) But things are complicated by the controversy between Christ and Satan. Christ has to allow Satan enough freedom to demonstrate the natural consequences of his principles of government, the principle of survival of the "fittest." (See the story of Job, for instance.)Thus God extends probationary life even to those who do not choose to follow Him. It makes for a messy world, but in the end, God will be justified in the eyes of the onlooking universe. Harmony will be restored and will not be broken again, because all will have an intelligent understanding of the results of the law self-forgetful love versus the law of self-elevation.
Inge, you are correct, I used the wrong word. I was thinking about the laws of nature that as you said were embedded at creation in the flora and fauna to operate automatically. However the Word of the LORD gives us insight that even there the LORD is continually involved. He upholds, sustains and maintains his creation. He sends the rain and the sunshine.
Heb 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word.
Col 1:16 for through him (Christ) God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
You wrote
I believe your term "self-enforcing" regarding God's law(s) is unfortunate. While, as a general rule, the consequences of violating God's laws are negative, both in the physical and spiritual realm, the reality is that many people appear to "get away with" violating both the laws of the physical realm and the spiritual realm. That's why David often complained about the apparent prosperity of the wicked (see Ps 73:3) and Jeremiah made a similar observation. Jeremiah 12:1
And that's not all: While living in harmony with God's laws results in good, as a general rule, God's people do suffer from terrible diseases and die cruel deaths at the hand of Satan's agents.
If God's laws were "self-enforcing," none of this would happen. I suggest you try a better explanation.
On the other hand, what is true is that sinners perish when they willingly disconnect themselves from the Source of life - kind of like a light going out when unplugged from the source of power. (See Acts 17:25, Heb 1:3 for evidence that God continuously and actively upholds life and matter. Thus, disconnection from Him naturally results in instant annihilation. For that matter, the computer I write on exists only because God supplies the energy to keep the electrons spinning in the molecules that make up its matter, as I recall from my elementary physics.)
But annihilation as a result of disconnection from the Creator refers to the final annihilation of life, the second death, not this temporary probationary life granted by God's grace. (David recognized this in some of his psalms.) Furthermore, Bible prophecy seems to indicate that God has reserved for Himself the manner of sinners' annihilation with a bit of drama. It is, indeed, a "strange act" (Isa 28:21) but necessary for the final eradication of sin and the eternal harmony of the universe.
Thanks Inge.
I can appreciate your concern over my usage of the term "self-enforcing". Note that I specifically used inverted commas around these words - indicating a more colloquial use of the term. Perhaps I could have used the word self-governing or self-regulating - or maybe there is another self-? term that I can't think of. This is why I tend to use strings of terms at times when trying to unpack concepts differently than they are typically understood. But that makes my sentences potentially more cumbersome. Once again I run into the inherent limitations of human language and communication when exploring its limitations in the course of exploring God's "higher ways" (Isaiah 55:6-9).Believe it or not I actually take quite a bit of time trying to select the best words I can. But it is a process that is going to be 'hit-and-miss' no matter how much I try otherwise. However, it is a price I'm prepared to pay...
With respect to your observations that we don't see the pure self-governing/regulating nature of the inherent 'cause-and-effect' nature between Genesis 3 and Revelation 21, you are correct. This is because God is intervening to (a) provide a period of 'second chance/probation' whilst simultaneously (b) maintaining commitment to freedom of choice and (c) bringing about revelation of the true nature of the Kingdom of Darkness and its leader amid a sin-infected context.
So we don't see the pure nature of cause-and-effect in operation at this point. However, that doesn't change that such is there. And Satan is not lost to using the 'noise' generated by the existence of sin to try and get us to misperceive the true nature of what is actually going on. As a consequence, God's reputation has suffered and is suffering badly in the course of His negotiation of the above situation.
With respect to the concept of annihilation, there is at the same time a 'macro' and 'micro' level at work. The 'macro' level is the annihilation that results in either first or second death - with second death being the ultimate macro level. And then there is the micro level that impacts day-to-day health functioning - be it physical, emotional, spiritual, interpersonal, etc.
So, I agree with the points you have raised and would propose that what I am referring to does in fact incorporate those points - but language and attempted brevity of correspondence risks misunderstanding along the way. But that is just the inherent nature of the conversation process...
So, till next interchange...
I attempt to comment on the topic of ‘Worn and Weary’ being careful not to sound ‘judgmental and self-righteous’. Indeed, God’s laws guide man in the ways of life; expressing His Will. What really was the sin David committed?
Did David’s *sin(s)* expose the underlying condition of the heart not to have faith and come to God to seek His forgiveness if we fail?
Yesterday’s lesson was about trusting God to ‘create a clean heart and a steadfast spirit within us’, and about that ‘if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
Yes, David was ‘worn and weary’ from fighting the kings of all the neighboring countries the previous year. But it was God who ultimately gave them into his hand – 2Samuel Chapter 10.
2Sam.12:7-10KJV reports how God blessed David and provided His watch care over his life, and how David ‘despised’ the commandment of the LORD not ‘to do evil in His sigh', in order for God to continue to bless him.
v.7 - “… I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
v.8 – And I gave thee thy master’s house, and they master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Juda; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such[many more like] things.
v.9 – Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, [not]to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.”
2Sam.11:27 - ….”And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the *thing* that David had done displeased[was evil in the eyes of] the Lord.
God sent Nathan to talk of the *thing(s)* he committed against the Lord.
I think this incident shows how crucial it is that we trust the wisdom of our loving, just, and merciful heavenly Father. It also exposes a great weakness we all have – self-reliance, using our own wisdom to deal with temptation and adversity. David, the warrior and 'man after God's heart', neglected the faith and used his strategic skills to scheme his way out of trouble; using the sword to kill an innocent man.
Would God not have forgiven David's decisions born of unfaithfulness - sin, neglecting to trust Him who had already done so much for him that He would respond with fair justice and mercy?
No matter who we are or the depth of iniquity we commit when we grow weak in our faith, we can always trust God to be faithful and deal with our shortcomings with understanding justice and mercy.
Esther and Brigitte- the thing about sin is, breaking commandment 1-10. David broke several, but I am not stoning him. Neither I am not condoning or excusing sins. In our times it would have been a white collar crime David committed but I took the position of Jesus with the woman caught in adultery. How many sins her accusers had committed that was in secret? If the law says he deserves to die well be it.
What about our present day congregations? Do we have grievous sins being committed. I do hope we don’t have ‘white collar and blue collar’ crime in our mists. Help me Father.
At first I answered "adultery" to the question "what great sin did David commit?"
However, as I sit with this story, I'm pretty sure a better answer would be "abuse of power and abuse of a woman". David here has control of the entire situation. He is in a privileged position as king, and he uses this power to objectify and commodify a woman.
(As sister Shirley pointed out, David had started a habit of "collecting" women - at least half dozen wives before Bathsheba, plus concubines and servants. The roots of indulging his sexual appetite were being laid before this sin.) Maybe he even went up on the rooftop at this time of day hoping to see a woman, or this woman, bathing?
At first I wondered, was it consensual? Did Bathsheba play a temptress knowing the king was watching? Some artwork makes it almost appear that way. But I think evidence shows not. Bathsheba was in her rightful place (on her own roof) doing what she was supposed to be doing under the law (having a ritual bath). If anything, in going up above the roofline she was probably seeking privacy from neighboring windows. She was following rules. Verse 4 says that David sent messengers to "get her" (NIV), or KJV more ominously says the messengers "took her". Also, we know that later Nathan the prophet does not reprove Bathsheba along with David. It seems pretty clear that Bathsheba was raped. Then it says she simply went home after. Painful.
This woman became a further victim when, learning she was pregnant, with her husband away, felt she had to share the news with some palace worker, maybe even multiple relay messengers, who would go tell the King. She felt she had to turn to her abuser for help, as happens so often even now when the innocent are victimized. (Maybe this also shows that David was generally known as a kind king, a man after God's heart. Maybe she felt he would now do the right thing by her?) But then she is further victimized when her husband is murdered. And again, when her baby dies. And then she has to marry and sleep with her rapist and bear him at least 4 more children (1 Chron 3:5).
I know we are looking at David and how he had to learn about God's rest the hard way. Yet as a woman myself, and able to relate to this Biblical #MeToo story, I'm still thinking of Bathsheba and the rest God offered her. It seems God honored her in several ways. Her name is mentioned in Scriptures, not many women are personally named in the Bible. At the end of David's reign she reappears in the narrative and is rewarded when Nathan helps her put her son Solomon on the throne. Solomon seats Mom Bathsheba at his right-hand side and bows before her. And most importantly, through her lineage Jesus came.
Uriah, also, is honored in the telling of this story and stands out as a man who was loyal to his king and country, in contrast to David who in this event was disloyal to his Heavenly King and Heavenly Country.
For David, as our lesson says, we know this moment began a downward spiral from which he could not recover. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house. 2 Samuel 12:10 The events in this chapter show David acting in such a cold and calculated manner! Being a man after God's heart, do you think there must have been an inward war going on throughout these verses? Do you think David felt remorse or guilt before Nathan shows up at his door? Or was he living as if nothing had happened? If it was accepted culturally as a royal privilege for kings to take whichever women they wanted, why was he trying to cover up the pregnancy?
Hi Esther
When you asked the question what great sin did David commit - and then sat with the story (and likely also with your awareness of human experience), you correctly identified the core of the 'great sin' when you referred to David's "indulging his sexual appetite".
All sin has self-indulgence at its core (James 1:14,15 reflects this awareness). In fact, self-indulgence motivated by self-seeking is the very foundation and nature of sin. While self-indulgence comes in many flavours, the underpinning nature is the same across all flavours.
The "desire" for self-indulgence typically originates in the subconscious - and in the form of an emotional state. People don't typically consciously choose in-the-moment to self-indulge. Rather, self-indulgence typically starts out as an impulse (a subconsciously-generated tendency). This 'impulse' is a response generated by the subconscious that the subconscious sees as the solution to an undesirable emotional state that is already being experienced. The subconscious then takes that supposed 'solution' and injects it with Dopamine (a neurotransmitter that motivates/drives us to achieve a particular goal - such as feeding of sexual appetite) to produce an impulse. And because anything that is repeated grows stronger, repeated indulgence of that impulse makes that impulse VERY powerful.
In the context of David's experience with Bathsheba, it is quite likely that David was experiencing the emotional state of 'weary and worn' - and perhaps even 'bored' or restless. In such a situation, the subconscious considers what it has previously experienced that can instead produce a more desirable emotional state - typically in a 'quick-fix' form. The subconscious typically (unless trained otherwise) only considers the benefits and ignores consideration of the costs associated with that selected option.
As indulgence in sexualised activity provides a 'quick-fix', easily-obtained emotional 'hit', David's subconscious selected this option and set about a chain of events designed to bring about the desired outcome. And 'porn' viewing continues to be one of the most widespread impulse-issues to this very day - including amongst Christians.
Thus, it was David's failure to keep his conscious actively engaged that resulted in his impulse being indulged unchallenged. Ellen White aptly describes this vulnerability that humanity acquired at The Tree in Genesis 3 when she uses the 3-word phrase "passion (subconscious emotion) dethroned reason (conscious and intentional consideration of what is at stake)".
An awareness of the above regarding the nature and operation of the subconscious and the conscious helps us appreciate the importance of advice such as that outlined in Philippians 4:8.
Love your insight, thanks Phil! Of what you shared, 2 things in particular stand out for me that are great reminders for the root of all sin.
(1) "This 'impulse' is a response generated by the subconscious that the subconscious sees as the solution to an undesirable emotional state that is already being experienced."
If we remain in a state of contentment (Phil 4:11) and constant gratitude (Phil 4:4) we avoid sin. It's when we start to think that our present circumstances are undesirable or not ordained by God that I think we start to wander. Eve must surely have started to be annoyed that she couldn't eat fruit of the tree before the snake showed up.
This morning my devotional reading was about Paul and Silas in prison. They had been wrongfully accused and beaten severely and yet they were singing praise songs at midnight (Acts 16:25)! They could have been complaining or plotting an escape; it certainly would have FELT like an undesirable experience. Because of their choice to rest in God rather than focusing on their own discomfort, the jailer and his whole family were brought into joy and rest (Acts 16:27-34).
(2) You also mention about indulging in a "quick-fix" of an emotional "hit". Yes! In my experience, dissatisfaction often teams with the feeling that I have to fix the situation immediately rather than waiting on God and leaning not on my own understanding (Prov. 3:5).
God gave us needs for physical and emotional intimacy and if those are not being met it can feel like an emergency. As a single person myself, I know this. People are learning to quickly fill that need in a shallow way, like having a quick hit of sugar when your blood sugar is down rather than eating a well-balanced meal. Lonely people are choosing between porn and loveless sex vs. a real, nuanced, committed relationship.
What if instead of spying on a woman on his rooftop and fantasizing about her in a way that had nothing to do with her and her needs, David had spent that time visiting each of his wives and asking them about their needs and developing intimacy with them? Or spent time with his children? Or spent time in prayer with God developing the intimacy of that relationship?
When we are not fully engaged with all of our senses in what God is offering us for opportunities for intimacy and service in the present moment, we are tempted to wander into activities and ways of thinking which ultimately hurt ourselves and hurt others.
One more thing came to me. David had many wives and concubines, which God had said "no" to. And yet when he took another man's wife, he wanted to cover this up. Maybe in light of the 6th and 9th Commandments, David finally recognized that this was serious.
Toxic masculinity germinates in a "boys will be boys" sort of stance that society allows. What if all Israel had called David out on his careless and irresponsible behavior toward women before Bathsheba?
Phil, you wrote, "All sin has self-indulgence at its core." That's true, of course, but it cuts to the heart of our living. Self-indulgence. Who hasn't "indulged" in this, consciously or unconsciously?
But then there have been those who recognized this truth and made a religion of monasticism and asceticism, and I don't think that's how Christ intended us to live.
It seems to me that the solution is to live in obedience to Christ's commission and not focus on self at all. When we catch ourselves in self-indulgence, it's a symptom of having broken our connection with Christ. The solution is not self-flagellation or more self-denial, but asking for forgiveness and going back to restore our connection with Christ. And let's remember that He even invites us to "come and rest a while." That's not self-indulgence. That's resting in Him like Mary did. It prepares us for going out into the world with Him.
Truly, not being where we ought to be is surely a step into Satan's ground. Just as the sins of omission; by not doing right, we put ourselves in the danger of doing wrong.
"God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it." And also we have a part to act. We are not to place ourselves needlessly in the way of temptation...If by associating with worldliness for pleasure, by conforming to worldly practices, by uniting our interests with unbelievers, we place our feet in the path of temptation and sin, how can we expect God to keep us from falling?
MYP 81.2
I like what Shirley DeBeer said about David holding on to a secret sin in his life. That sin, though, continued to grow and fester until BOOM Bathsheba is pregnant and Uriah is dead. As Maurice Ashton said so often we "grade" our sins. Unfortunately for us all sin is abhorrent to God. There is no grey area with God, we are either inside or outside the law. When you consider this incident David in that one event, broke almost every one of the 10 commandments.