We are all so familiar with the great sin of David with Bathsheba – it hardly needs retelling but is there more to the story?

It’s a pretty sordid story, so I’ll just give a brief outline. 2 Samuel 11 tells of the story of David sending his army to battle under the command of Joab. While they were away, David walked upon the roof of his house and looked down to see a beautiful woman bathing. He dispatched his men to find out who this woman was. They returned to tell him that it was Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah. David had her brought to him, they had a sexual encounter, and she became pregnant. No abortions in those days, so David instructed Joab to send Uriah home from the battle and David instructed him to return to his home and wife in the hope that the child may seem to be Uriah’s. Uriah refused to enjoy the comforts of home while his comrades were in battle and slept outside the king’s door. The next day, David invited Uriah to dinner, gave him alcohol in the hope that he would go home to his wife, but he didn’t.

Having failed to create a ‘cover’ for the pregnancy, David then plotted Uriah’s murder. He instructed Joab to put Uriah in the heat of battle then to withdraw the troops from around him and so Uriah was killed.

Sounds straightforward enough – but is there more to the story? Who was Bathsheba?

“ And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathshe′ba, the daughter of Eli′am, the wife of Uri′ah the Hittite?” [2 Samuel 11:3].

This is a telling verse. Was this family unknown to David? 2 Samuel 23 tells of David’s famous fighting men. There was a famous thirty. David’s picked soldiers. His praetorian guard. His bodyguards. And who was in this famous and intimate thirty? Uriah and Eliam. Bathsheba’s husband and father.

^“34 Eliph′elet the son of Ahas′bai of Ma′acah, Eli′am the son of Ahith′ophel of Gilo,… ³⁹ Uri′ah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.” [2 Samuel 23].

Both Eliam and Uriah were in the famous 30 – David knew them!

More evidence that David knew the family, including Bathsheba. In those days there was no temple, so the Kings house was the grandest of all buildings. Who would live around the king’s house? Slumdwellers? I think not! Rather, the top echelon of society. The ‘upper crust’. Princes and friends of the King. Uriah and Bathsheba were in the King’s inner circle.

When Uriah failed to go to his wife the first night home, David Invited him to a banquet at the king’s table.

^13 “And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk;” [2 Samuel 11].

Who gets invited to the king’s table and gets drunk with the King? Only the most intimate of friends.

Finally, when David sent for Bathsheba, he knew she would be alone. He knew that her husband would not come to the door. He knew Uriah “was out of town”.

David knew this family well.

But there is more.

^“34 Eliph′elet the son of Ahas′bai of Ma′acah, Eli′am the son of Ahith′ophel of Gilo,… ” [2 Samuel 23].

Eliam, Bathsheba’s father, was Ahithophel’s son. Bathsheba was Ahithophel’s granddaughter!

Ahithophel was David’s most trusted counsellor, advisor and mentor. Of course, David knew this family.

So, why did David ask his men to inquire as to who this woman was? To make sure (he could only see from a distance) it was Bathsheba. I strongly suspect David had previously been attracted to her.

The Absalom rebellion

About fifteen years after these events, David’s son Absalom mounts a coup and takes Jerusalem and much of the Kingdom. David flees.

Who does Absalom turn to for help and advice? His fathers most trusted advisor.

¹² While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing. [2 Samuel 15:12].

Absalom goes straight to Ahithophel – why? Why go to the very person who is David’s most trusted friend to get him to betray David? Because Absalom knew that Ahithophel harboured hatred in his heart against David.

Bathsheba was Ahithophel’s granddaughter and David has humiliated and shamed her. David had killed Ahithophel’s grandson-in-law

God had forgiven David and put his sin aside. Psalm 51 tells us why.

But not Ahithophel. He had nurtured the hatred of David for at least fifteen years.

God forgives – men do not.

Both David and Absalom had mighty respect for Ahithophel’s counsel.

²³ Now in those days the counsel which Ahith′ophel gave was as if one consulted the oracle of God; so was all the counsel of Ahith′ophel esteemed, both by David and by Ab′salom. [2 Sam 16:23].

David is now terrified – Absalom now has his “secret weapon”.

 ³¹ And it was told David, “Ahith′ophel is among the conspirators with Ab′salom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahith′ophel into foolishness.”  [2 Samuel 15:31]

Ahithophel changed sides as a direct consequence of David’s sin.

I repeat: God forgives – people do not.

This is why Absalom was so confident to approach Ahithophel.

See Ahithophel’s first advice to Absalom.

²⁰ Then Ab′salom said to Ahith′ophel, “Give your counsel; what shall we do?” ²¹ Ahith′ophel said to Ab′salom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” ²² So they pitched a tent for Ab′salom upon the roof; and Ab′salom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. [2 Samuel 16:21-22]

Just imagine how long Ahithophel had been waiting for this. To humiliate David by having his wives subject to the same sexual humiliation as Bathsheba had been subjected to. Not only that, but David’s son would humiliate his wives on the very roof where David had looked and lusted after Ahithophel’s granddaughter. Sweet revenge.

God didn’t bring this upon David, rather it was a consequence of David’s own sin.

Nathan had said: 

¹¹ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ [2 Samuel 12].

The most poignant thing Nathan said to David was:

¹⁴ Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die [2 Sam 12:14 KJV].

How many enemies of God have looked at David and said, “so these are the actions of a man after God’s own heart”. Just as people now can hardly wait to see Christians make mistakes.

Peter writes to Christians about to suffer persecution at the hands of the Romans. He tells them to maintain good contact, not to win salvation by works (we are saved by grace), but to deny occasion to the enemies of Christ to delight in the fall of the believers.

¹² Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. [1Peter 2:12].

Again, Peter says some will fall from grace and give great occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme His name

² And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. [2Peter 2].

So, David bore the consequences of his sin, such that God had to warn the following Kings of Judah to follow David’s example except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

Terrible consequences

The words of Nathan the Prophet in 2 Samuel 12

¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house……

Had a terrible fulfilment.

David’s son Amnon, raped David’s daughter, Tamar.

Absalom (David’s son, Tamar’s brother) murdered Amnon.

Absalom rebels and Joab murdered him.

Adonijah (David’s son) murdered by Solomon (David’s son).

And Bathsheba’s first child to David dies:

¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,  the child that is born to you shall die.” [ 2 Samuel 12]

Perhaps the saddest consequence was of the Nathan prophecy

¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uri′ah the Hittite to be your wife.’   [2 Samuel 12]

This may seem of little consequence compared to the death of his children, but it thwarted the greatest passion of David’s life.

⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to my name, because you. [1 Chronicles 22].

The ongoing consequences of David’s sin prevented him from fulfilling his greatest ambition, to build a temple for the Lord.

ABIGAIL

I suppose the question still arises; how could David, plot and plan the murder of Uriah, in cold blood. Yes, he was caught in the heat of lust when he took Bathsheba, but the following sin of murder was all conceived in the cold light of day. How could David possibly justify his actions? Had he forgotten ‘thou shalt not kill?’

In his mind he could justify it because it had all happened before. This was not the first time that David had been attracted to a beautiful married woman, and the last time God removed the husband for him.

1 Samuel 25 tells of a foolish and churlish man, Nabal, who insulted David by refusing his men food after David’s men had protected them during the shearing season. Because of this, David determined to take his men and slaughter every male who was with Nabal. When Nabal’s wife, Abigail, heard of this, she loaded donkeys with food and drink for David’s men and went to his camp. This turned David from his hastily planned course of action and he was greatly impressed with Abigail’s wisdom and beauty. She returned to her husband, who was struct down and subsequently died at the hand of God. David sent his men to woo Abigail, and she returned to David to become his wife.

Let me say, that you don’t propose to a woman at a distance, unless the first meeting had spawned some attraction. Clearly David was deeply attracted to Abigail and her wisdom at their first meeting. But, even as David ‘loved’ her, she returned to her husband. But, God intervened, and the husband was taken out of the picture, and David was free to take the woman he wanted.

Did David relive these events in his mind as he faced the problem with Bathsheba. Hadn’t God removed the first husband? It only needed a small step for David to justify removing the next husband. How often we do this, justify our actions as Godly when they may be based on pure self-interest. Only Jesus stands as an example of one who always put Godly love forward as his motive for all his actions.