2 Samuel 11:1-4

Good morning, Saylorville. If you have your bible, you can open up with me to second Samuel, chapter 11. We’re gonna spend the bulk of our time there this morning.

I’d like to thank you for being with us. If you are new here for the first time, I’d like to say “Hello.” My name’s Kyle. I’m one of the pastors here at Saylorville. And as we get started, there’s no easy way to transition into this question, so I’m just gonna go for it. How many of you have ever had somebody in your life that has fallen because of a great moral failure? I have.

In the summer of 2006, was a crazy summer for me. Not one, not two, but three men who were actively involved in the local church in vocational ministry fell because of moral failure. The first was the Missions Pastor at the church that I had grown up with, grown up in. He was leading a team, a short-term team to Southeast Asia. His wife was at home. She was using his computer and found out that he’d been having an online affair. The second was the Children’s Director at the church that I attended while I was in high school. He was arrested the day before I went to college for indecent exposure and solicitation to a minor. The third was a Youth Pastor in North Dakota that I had become friends with because of the youth pastor that I had growing up. Somebody had found out… somebody in his church found out about his online pornography addiction, and instead of repenting of his sin, he ran. That was ten years ago, twenty years ago… man I’m older than I thought!… Last I knew, he was still running. Now I asked that question, I give those illustrations because sometimes we can look at leaders and we can want to place them up on a pedestal and think that they are beyond sin and that they are perfect. But leaders are still people and people are plagued by sin.

And so as we are in this series, David, the Man After God’s Own Heart, we have seen throughout this series that David is the same. He’s a man, and a sinful one, in desperate need of a Savior. So with that in mind, I’m gonna recap really, really, briefly, 2 Samuel 10, ’cause we’re jumping ahead from nine last week to 11 this week.

Israel is at war with the Ammonites. The Ammonites have hired the Syrians to help them. The Syrians have been defeated. The Ammonites have run home. The Nation of Israel has returned back to Jerusalem. There’s a pause in the fighting, but the war is not done. So with that, let’s jump in, Second Samuel, chapter 11, starting in verse 1.

2 Samuel 11:1-4

1“ In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.

3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.”

I’m not sure about you, but this chapter makes me uncomfortable. I don’t like it. It’s awkward. Maybe you read this chapter and you think, ‘I don’t even know what to do with this in my life.’ You and I aren’t the only ones. John Bright in his book, The Authority of the Old Testament says of this passage:

“It leaves the preacher vaguely embarrassed… It’s just that he doesn’t quite know what to do with such a text in the pulpit… He would prefer not to discuss so sordid a story before the congregation…” John Bright

It’s because of that sentiment that we absolutely have to struggle and wrestle through this text, because by God’s grace and for His glory, we don’t skip over uncomfortable texts here at Saylorville.

As we look at this text today, I want to point out five seasons where we are prone to give into temptation. I’m going to be honest with you, these five seasons, I didn’t come up with them. These were introduced to me by Pastor Abe at Eden Church. He was introduced to them by somebody from ABWE who was introduced to them by somebody else. I don’t know where it originated, but I don’t see it any clearer in scripture than in this passage. So without any further delay, five seasons of life when we are prone to give in to temptation.

The first two are when we are bored and lonely. Look back at verse 1, because David is bored and alone. “… in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle…” The NIV says, “At the time that kings go to war, David sent…” Now, this is important to see that David “sent,” because as we read through this passage, there is a whole lot of action. There is little to no emphasis on any sort of emotional response. There’s a little bit of dialogue, but the majority is emphasized on action. David sent. David walked. David saw. David inquired. David took. She left. David sent. Joab sent. You’re gonna see action, after action, after action, and actions have consequences.

And so it’s at this time that kings go to war. Remember, they’re still at war with the Ammonites, but it’s quite literally the season to go to war. The rainy season is done. The ground is dried up, footing is sure, food is plentiful. If you’re gonna fight a battle, this is when you go. And so David sent. And some commentators say that when David sent, the idea behind that word is that every able-bodied man in Jerusalem is gone… except for David. So David is alone. And what does he do while he’s alone? He does what so many of us do, and he sits on the couch, takes a little nap, gets up and takes a walk in the cool of the day. And he is walking on the roof of his house. He looks down… The king’s palace would have been situated in Jerusalem where he would look down over everything. And he looks down and he sees a woman bathing. He saw. And maybe at first he like shy-ed away, like that awkward… like, ‘I don’t think I saw what I just saw, but I shouldn’t have seen it.’ But then he looks back. He saw turns into he looked. He looked turns into he gazed, and his gaze lingers. And then the text says, “The woman was very beautiful.“

This isn’t the only time in all of scripture that we see this word used for beautiful. It’s used of Rachel. It’s used of Esther. And if you know your bible, it’s used of the cloak of Shinar that Achan took from Ai in [Joshua 7:21]. It’s not romantic attraction. It’s not some deep emotional connection. It’s a deep desire to obtain. It’s lust. And this isn’t the first time that David has missed the mark when it comes to women. See, God laid out this plan for marriage in Genesis when he says:

Genesis 2:24” For this reason, a husband shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.“

David didn’t leave and cleave. He left and looked. In 2 Samuel 3, we see this list of the sons born to David while he was in Hebron. Six sons from six different women and at least one of his wives, Michal, the daughter of Saul, wasn’t listed. So already, six times before, David has had eyes that look and linger.

Several years ago, I was at a Men’s Retreat, and the pastor that was speaking at this retreat said, a very profound and humble statement.

“I don’t struggle looking at women. I struggle looking twice.” A pastor at a Men’s Retreat

That’s how it goes, men, doesn’t it? You notice something and you do a double take. I’ve spent a lot of the time with guys here at Saylorville Church, and the way that this illustration plays out most practically is when you’re driving in the car and you see a woman running on the sidewalk. Guys, we are created to be attracted to the female frame. That’s the way the guys are wired. We’re visual. The problem is not noticing the attraction. The problem is the actions as a result of the attraction. So as you’re driving and you see this woman running towards you. It’s not a problem to notice her. The problem comes at that moment where you and her pass and you no longer see her in the peripheral vision and you immediately look in the rearview mirror. Does that hit home for some of you? Matthew 5 verses 27 to 28 says:

Matthew 5:27-28

27 “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.’

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Men, if that verse hits you like it hits me and you feel guilt, good! — because you’re guilty! So am I.

Now ladies, some of you might be here inwardly or outwardly rejoicing, ‘Get ’em! Preach!’ But ladies, you’re not off the hook here, either. You struggle looking twice too, don’t you? There’s a billion dollar romance novel industry that tells me you do. Or maybe the sub-genre romantacy… reading about, thinking about characters like Rhysand, Lucien, or Xaden in recent history. Maybe the Twilight era was your thing, an Edward Cullen, or Jacob. Or maybe you’re prone to the classics, and there’s good ol’ Mr. Darcy. (audience laughing) But maybe it’s not as innocent as a novel.

Gallup reported in 2018 that 41% of women ages 18 to 49 in the United States find pornography use morally acceptable. With another study going on to say that 17% of women in the United States struggle with an online pornography addiction. Maybe romance novels or pornography aren’t your thing, but I want to remind you if you were thinking that, ‘Well, that’s not me,’ the cloak of Shinar wasn’t a sexual object, either, but it was a deep desire, a deep craving from Achan for something that he didn’t have. We can all relate to that.

In reality, men or women, we tend to get distracted, do we not? We take our eyes off of Jesus and put them on the things around us, because we are dragged away and enticed by our own desires. And like David, we are most likely to look twice and let our gaze linger when we are bored and lonely.

And then we get to verse five and we start to see these next two seasons of these five seasons where we give into temptation and we give in when we are angry and stressed.

[2 Samuel 11:5] “And the woman conceived and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.“

Three words that change worlds… ‘I am pregnant…’ Joy and excitement and jubilation for some… Shock, disbelief and horror for others. Or some like David, like we already saw, are spurned to action… Again, like the rest of the passage, no emotion, just action.

2 Samuel 11:6-8

6 “So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.

7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going.

8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.”

So Uriah shows up. They have this little pleasant conversation. He’s like, ‘Oh, by the way, go home.’ You’ve been working hard. ‘Here. Take some flowers… maybe some chocolates. I’ve got this bottle of wine in my wine cellar. Take these home. Have a good time!’ And he sends Uriah out. And David’s feeling pretty good about himself! ‘I’ve got this. I got this covered.’ And then the one thing that David didn’t expect to happen happened… Uriah didn’t go home. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all of the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house! — And David starts to panic! ‘What do you mean, you didn’t go home? What are you doing? Why can’t you be like any other guy that when you come home after a long trip, you go home and you be with your wife? That’s what guys do and that’s what they want to do. You’re ruining everything!’ Can you feel the tension? The ominous music playing in the background as the drama continues to unfold before us. ‘What am I going to do? How am I going to fix this? How am I going to fix… him?’ And then Uriah responds in verse 11:

2 Samuel 11:11

“… The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.”

Uriah’s response is fascinating to me! We don’t talk often enough about the integrity of Uriah the Hittite. In this passage, Uriah is quite the embodiment of Titus 2:6, when it says:

Titus 2:6, “Teach the young men to be self-controlled.”

We live in a society that laughs at self-control. Despite all of the atrocities, all of the wickedness, all of the brokenness that has come at the results of out-of-control men, social media, mainstream media, make a mockery of self-control. We watch and we laugh at sitcoms that revolve around it. But Uriah is a beautiful picture of integrity, nonetheless. He knows the rules and the standards for Israel during wartime… By the way, which was the practice of David. We see in 1 Samuel 21, David is seeking food and weapons from a Ahimelek. And it plays out like this:

1 Samuel 21:4-5

4 “The priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand.  However, there is some consecrated bread. Provided the men have kept themselves from women.”

5 David replied, “Indeed, women have been kept from us as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy, how much more so today?”

Now it’s possible, given the situation in 1 Samuel 21, that David is lying through his teeth. He’s in need, and he’s desperate. But we also have to consider the Old Testament practice of separation for holy service and ritual purity. David is the anointed king. He’s set apart. We also have to look at Uriah’s response. Uriah didn’t come up with this on his own. I think this was the practice of David and his men to some extent. Uriah affirms it. And if you’re David… what a punch to the gut!

How many of you have somebody that you’re supposed to be an example to, and then they call you out and remind you how flawed you are? Most often in my life, this plays out at the dinner table. (audience laughs) There are certain words that we don’t say in our house. One of those is we don’t use the word stupid. But more often than not, I find myself like David and not Uriah when it comes to my tongue. And I say “stupid…” a lot! My six year old son, Miles, he’ll go, “Dad, you just said the “s” word.” And I hate that! — which, by the way, is another word that we don’t say in our house. (audience laughing) But man…! — having my son call me out when I mess up, is hard. I don’t like it! — But I need it. And David needed it. And I need it because I am the leader of my household. And if I’m going to lead my house well, I don’t need to lead well just in the good times, but I need to lead well when I mess up. And I need to be the lead respecter in my house. And my kids need to see that.

But David didn’t take that opportunity. David doubled down! He said, ‘That’s okay, you didn’t go home? Stay with me… one more night. Let’s party! let’s hang out. After all, I’m the king! I’ve got good stuff!’ So David invited him, and he, Uriah, ate in his, David’s, presence and drank so much so that he, David, made him, Uriah, drunk. And then he sent him home. And again, David is like, ‘I’ve got this covered!’ — But Uriah goes back and he sleeps at the gate of the King’s house, and doesn’t go home. Uriah drunk was better than David sober. So now we see David has been bored, lonely, angry, stressed, and now he’s tired. Can you relate?

Overwhelmed by the boredom and the loneliness, the anger, and the stress of life, and you’re just exhausted. ‘Why can’t this all go away? I’m tired of dealing with this. Tired of trying to manage.’ David is tired of the situation. He’s tired of Uriah’s integrity. He’s tired of his plans being foiled, and it drives him to murder.

So David sends… action again… sends Uriah back to Joab with orders, literally delivering his own death sentence! — which, once again, points to the integrity of Uriah the Hittite, because he is sent with these orders.

And how many of you have ever been left in the care of somebody else’s cell phone? — And it goes off, and you immediately go, ‘Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have done that.’ Uriah doesn’t open this letter on the way back to the battlefield. And then in verse 15, we see what that letter said.

2 Samuel 11:15

“Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”

Joab, faithful servant that he is, improvises on David’s plan… places not only Uriah, but a handful of other men in the heat of battle, and they all die. Presumably, Joab realizes that some people like to put puzzles together. And so he’s doing this to protect David.

Does anyone else struggle with this? How can the man who captured the heart of God do such a thing? It assaults our sensibilities, and rubs our “Midwest nice” the wrong way, doesn’t it? David lusted, fornicated, tried to cover it up and committed murder. “The wages of sin is death.” [Romans 6:23a] There’s no better passage that describes exactly what David just walked through and what we walk through in these seasons where we are bored, lonely, angry, stressed, and tired as James, when James writes:

James 1:14-15

14 “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

David did that. He saw. He gazed. He lingered. He sent. He took. He murdered. Death was the result. And then we get down to the last verse of the chapter and it says:

2 Samuel 11:27b, “… But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

How’s that for a happy ending? Where do we go from here? What does this mean for us? What can we draw from a story of lust and adultery, concealment, lies, deception and murder? There are three things that I want us to look at today.

First of all, going back to verse 1, know when it’s time to go to war. For me, it’s a huge blessing that this message comes on January 25th, because next Sunday is February 1st. For those that know me well, February is traditionally the month where I have to go to war. I struggle the most with anxiety, depression, thoughts of self-harm during the month of February. I get bored easier, I feel more alone, I get angry because of those feelings. I get stressed out because of those feelings and I end up exhausted. Like David, I have a tendency to want to look for satisfaction anywhere and everywhere that I can get it. And so if February is the time that I go to war, January is the time that I prep for war, and if you looked at my cell phone right now, there’re no less than five text threads with different guys from this church and across the country that I say, “Hey, you know what February means for me? So will you join me in prayer, and continue to pray with me throughout the month of February?”

But sometimes it’s not as specific as a calendar month like it is for me sometimes. Sometimes things happen and you don’t know that they’re going to happen. I had two guys step into my office this week, guys from Saylorville. One of them said, “Hey, I had this opportunity to run this errand for work and I was told that I needed to take this woman from work with me. And I said, “Yeah, absolutely. I’ll run that errand… but we’re driving separately.” — And then I called my wife, and I called you, and I called our friends, because I need the accountability, and I want you to know what I did, because I’m fighting for my marriage.” The second guy walked into my office and said, “There’s an individual in my life that I had a relationship with before I got saved. I ran into them at the store. And after we ran into each other at the store, this individual has been texting me. They’ve been trying to slide into my DMs and I have blocked them on everything, and I have told my wife, and I have told my community group, and now I’m coming to you, my pastor, because I want prayer and accountability, because I’m going to war to fight for my marriage.” When it’s time to go to war, don’t be caught on the couch.

Second, never underestimate your capacity to sin. How many of you as we read this story think, ‘Man… David… I could never do something like that!” If you’re thinking that you are above that level of sin… because the wages of sin is death. It doesn’t matter what it is… If you think that you are better than that level of sin, you’ve taken the first step. You’ve let your guard down. David didn’t get up from the couch that day thinking, ‘You know what? — fornication and murder seems good today!’ And some of you may be thinking, ‘Kyle, BLAST! Those seasons…That’s like 90% of my life! I’m there all the time!’ I get that. That’s why we are called, in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to take every thought captive for the glory of God, so that we can obey Christ. Friends, if you are not taking your thoughts captive, you are either capturing or you’re being captured.

Finally, we don’t see much of God in this chapter until the very end. And so we need to not view God’s silence as His absence. David wrote a lot of the Psalms, this guy, David, that we’re talking about. David wrote Psalms like Psalm 33.

Psalm 33:13, “The Lord looks down from heaven and observes all their deeds.”

Psalm 139:7-8

7 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, You are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.”

And I assure you, at the time that you are supposed be going to battle and you are sitting on the couch with the curtains drawn reaching for your phone, or your computer, or that book, or anything else, He’s there and He sees it, because He perceives the hearts of men.

Last week we saw that we are all Mephibosheth, who, in his broken condition with his crippled feet, is a picture of us in our sin. And David remembers the promises that he made to Jonathan, and is a picture of the Lord. But if last week we are all Mephibosheth, this week we are all David… Are we not? — tempted and lured away by our own desires and enticed. And our sin when it’s full grown brings forth death, the death of an innocent. In this case, immediately it’s Uriah the Hittite, whose name, by the way, literally means “Yahweh is my light.” Scripture tells us in Proverbs:

Proverbs 28:13,”Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.“

It’s a beautiful story of the Gospel, because we are all broken people. Since the beginning of time; Adam was passive, Moses was an arrogant murderer, Abraham was a disbelieving coward, Gideon doubted, Jonah was disobedient and judgmental, Rehab was a prostitute, Ruth was a Moabite, Peter didn’t think before he spoke, and Lazarus was dead… and such were some of you. but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. [1 Corinthians 6:11]

I loved Pastor’s line last week when he said:

“Deliverance didn’t change Mephibosheth’s problem, but it did change his position.”

Pastor Pat Nemmers

David is in the same position this week. He’s broken, he’s hiding, he’s desperate and seeking his own vindication. But like David was a picture of God remembering promises, this week God is going to remember promises… because He promised. In Second Samuel chapter [7] it says:

2 Samuel 7:12-1

12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,

15 but My steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Isaiah doubles down on this in Isaiah 11:

Isaiah 11:10, “A branch shall come from the stump of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for all peoples. And in that day, all nations will inquire.”

That’s good news for you and for me! But good news that comes through this heinous act, David’s debauchery… it’s through David’s debauchery that the Lord brought forth redemption through Jesus Christ. What David did displeased the Lord, no doubt about it. And David, as we will see throughout the rest of his life, is going to suffer earthly consequences as a result of his sin. But the Lord promised… the Messiah was coming. For us, the Messiah has come! The Only innocent One, like Uriah was innocent in this story, the Only innocent One, and we killed Him. Your sins… my sins… the lingering second glances… the thoughts that if other people could read them would make them blush! He went to the cross for those… and he died. But He didn’t stay dead. He rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures, so that you and I could be reconciled into relationship with Him by His grace and for His glory. In Hebrews, it says:

Hebrews 12:1-2

1 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every incumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us.

2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

One look… one lingering gaze… changed David’s life. And it’ll change yours too. So my question for you this morning, where are you gazing?

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for this time together with Your people. Fix our eyes on You, Father, because You’re the only thing worth looking at. We love You and we praise You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.