We Are Who We Are in Private (2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles & Psalms)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Who are you when no one is around?

Are you a person of integrity, or do you give into sin? In 2 Samuel 11-12, King David makes a terrible decision. While his men are out fighting, he remains at home. While some have suggested this was a dereliction of duty, Robert Bergen points out that “David had previously remained in Jerusalem when the Ammonites were attacked.”^[1] The real issue isn’t that David is sitting this battle out. It’s how he chooses to spend his alone time. Bergen notes:

David’s house probably was located on the highest ground within the old Jebusite fortress, and from his rooftop he would have had a commanding view of the city. From that vantage point, David “saw a woman bathing.” Since no Israelite house had running water at that time, bathing often may have been performed privately, in the enclosed courtyard that was a part of many Israelite houses; alternatively, it may have been done openly near the city’s public water source.^[2]

As David Toshio Tsumura notes, “The woman is probably bathing to purify herself from her uncleanness (v. 4) after her period (Lev. 15:19–24).”^[3] This little detail might be significant as it would prove this child was not Uriah’s. A proper response from David would have been to turn away or get down off his rooftop. Instead, he stares, and his lust turns into action.

Despite knowing the penalty for adultery was death (Lev. 20:10), David sends for Bathsheba. While some have made Bathsheba the main culprit by suggesting she was trying to tempt David, Scripture gives us no indication this was the case. Mary Evans notes, “Although the case against Bathsheba is unproven, the case against David is clear, and later David takes full responsibility for his sin (12:13).”^[4]

Five times in the text, Bathsheba’s husband is referred to as Uriah the Hittite. Some have suggested this repetition indicates David treated him differently because of his nationality, but we just don’t know. What we do know is that the name Uriah means “Yahweh is my light”—and it’s this very light David will extinguish. After Uriah refuses to obey David’s instruction to go home and “wash your feet” (a possible euphemism for sexual intercourse^[5]), Uriah responds by saying in Verse 11, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!” For this action, David will sentence him to death. 

After Uriah is killed in battle, we arrive at what might be the most disgusting part of the narrative. When the mourning period is over, David seems to position himself as a kinsman redeemer, or Boaz 2.0. Bergen notes:

David might have claimed he was taking the gōʾēl responsibility on himself since Uriah was a foreigner who had no near kinsman living in Israel. As such, David would have assumed the lifelong responsibility of caring for the needs of Uriah’s widow and was obligated to father a child in order to raise up an offspring to preserve the family line of the deceased (cf. Gen 38:8; Deut 25:5–6; Ruth 4:5). Such a pretext would have made David’s actions toward Bathsheba following Uriah’s death seem truly noble and would have accounted nicely for the birth of the son.^[6]

What makes David’s sin so egregious wasn’t that it wasn’t a simple slipup. It was calculated, cold, and devious. Only an intervention from the Prophet Nathan changes everything. And while we might not ever commit such an egregious series of sins as David did, rest assured there will be quiet moments when our character is tested. How we respond in these moments defines who we are and who we will become.

A Meditation to PRAY