2 Samuel 11

2 Samuel 11

After all the great stories about David, after his many victories, after all of the sacrifices he made for others and the glory He gave to God, 2 Samuel 11 shows us that David was human. There was only one man in all of history who lived a perfect life, and that was Jesus. Therefore, we have to know that David sinned at times. However, for David, it seemed as if it all happened at once. How could such a righteous man fall so far? This story about David is not just one small example of how David sinned. It is a downward spiral for him. The good news is that 2 Samuel 12 will set things straight, but for now, let us look at what caused David to stumble.


It began while Israel was out to battle, and for the first time mentioned in Scripture, David did not go with them. David had led his men in battles for quite a long time. Even before he was king, he was leading groups of men into battle. But for some reason, he decided to stay at home for this particular battle against the Ammonites, and that innocent decision cost him greatly. For while he was at home, enjoying the day on his roof, he noticed a woman bathing on a roof nearby. That was Bathsheba, the wife of one of David’s men who was out to war. Finding her beautiful, David decided to inquire about her and pursue her. Sometime later, she sent word back to David that she was pregnant, and since her husband Uriah was at war at the time, David was the father.

This realization frightened David and he knew that he had to figure out a way to resolve this situation. What would people think if they knew what he had done? Although David had never encountered a problem of this kind before, he had been faced with several tough situations in his life. 1 and 2 Samuel have shown us how in every situation, David always turned to God for guidance. Although he might initially try to devise a plan of his own, he always found it best to let God lead him. In this situation, however, David did not turn to God.

Instead, he first sent for Uriah to return to Jerusalem, in hopes that he would stay with his wife and it would appear as if he had been the one that caused her to be pregnant. When Uriah felt guilty about having the privilege to be with his wife while his fellow soldiers were at war, Uriah slept near David’s door. When questioned, Uriah explained how he did not feel right about having such a privilege. Again, David had the opportunity to turn to God for guidance, confess his sins, and set things straight with Uriah, but instead, he developed a second plan. This time, he invited Uriah to meet with him, and in the process Uriah became drunk. David hoped that Uriah’s thoughts would be clouded and he would return home. But again, Uriah did not do so. Finally, David was so upset that things were not working out that he sent word to Joab, through Uriah, ordering Uriah’s death on the battlefield. Uriah did not know the king’s plan, but when he returned to the battle, he was killed by the enemy. Furthermore, Joab and his men struggled in the battle, and while they were not defeated, the battle itself was not won as easily as they expected.

Although David had not rectified the situation in the way he had originally intended, Uriah was now out of the way, and he was able to take Bathsheba as his wife. She bore him a son, and in David’s eyes, all was well. However, God was upset with David. He had not only lusted after another woman who was married (and David was married as well), but he also tried to cover up his mistake, and killed a man in the process. Although David did not see it at the time, all sin has consequences. Think back to what Moses and Joshua had taught Israel about obeying God’s commands. There would always be consequences for their disobedience while there would be blessings for their obedience. David’s actions in 2 Samuel 11 would lead to some hard times in Israel’s future, and the rest of 2 Samuel will show how this happened. But even though this is such a negative story, there was hope for David. Although sin does separate us from God, God also offers us forgiveness for that sin. The next chapter will show how God reached out to David, and although He punished him for his sins, He also offered David forgiveness.

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