David was divinely chosen by God and anointed as King over God’s chosen people. He was the nation’s spiritual leader, as well as their political leader. He had set up the worship of God in the land and was even the writer of many of the songs they used during their corporate worship gatherings.
David was morally clean and capable of spiritual leadership. God had promised him that his house would be established forever. Many of his enemies had been defeated. Neighboring kingdoms were forced to submit to his overpowering rule.
In the midst of his luxury and victory, his thoughts began to wander. From his position in the palace, he could observe a certain woman bathing on her rooftop. Her name was Bathsheba and she was already married to a man who faithfully served in David’s army.
When David saw the woman, he wanted her for his own. He called for her. She came and that night she became pregnant. In order to save face, David saw to it that her husband died in the next battle. After he died, David married Bathsheba and tried to cover up the whole affair.
If David had been a secular king, he could have killed her husband and taken her into his harem without any legal consequences. BUT… David was not a secular King. David was God’s anointed King and he was held to a much higher standard. The adultery and murder kept David in a state of bondage and darkness.
David’s conscience accuse him; he was looking for reassurance that whatever he was going was okay. He was trying to be okay while living with unrepentant sin. Until the day when the fearless prophet Nathan came into the king’s presence and told this story: (2 Samuel 12, starting in verse 1)
And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds,
3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die,
6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man!…”
Those words cut David to the core. It was clear that Nathan was confronting David of his sin with Bathsheba. David’s response to Nathan’s accusation in verse 13 was simply, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
- No effort could help David
- No self-improvement plan was going to make a difference
· David was a wealthy man, but no amount of wealth could purchase a remedy for his guilt.
Only God could help him. This was the most tragic moment in David’s life. (Psalm 51) The tempter had won. David had given into a terrible sin and had been trapped, bound and ruined by it. The leader of God’s chosen people was out of the fight, sidelined by sin.
David didn’t make any excuses:
- He doesn’t blame the temptation for being too enticing
- He doesn’t blame his wife’s imperfections
- He doesn’t blame God for making him that way
- He doesn’t point out that other kings do the same thing without consequence
David simply admits and embraces what he had done. He takes full responsibility for it and pleads for God’s mercy.
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