2 SAMUEL 11
4 Outlines
2 Samuel 11
IT'S SO EASY
David, who was a man after God's heart, sinned on many
occasions. The most grievous of his sins
was probably his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband
Uriah. David found out just how easy it
is to sin and to displease God.
IT'S EASY TO BE LAZY - Vs. 1
Instead of going off to war with his soldiers, David
stayed home. He was lax in his
responsibilities.
One of the great problems we have as Christians is
that we get lazy in our commitments to the Lord. If we do not continue to fight the world, the
flesh, and the Devil, we become lazy. 1
Peter 5:8, Matthew 22:37-40, Ephesians 6:10-11
When we are lazy, we are more susceptible to giving in
to temptation.
IT'S EASY TO LUST - Vs. 2
I think of lust as natural desire taken to the
extreme. We have healthy natural
desires, but when they control us, they lead to lust. 1 John 2:15-16, Matthew
5:27-28
IT'S EASY TO LET GO - Vss. 3-4
Lust in the heart is sin, but it also leads to the
actual act of sin.
Instead of resisting sin, David let go of any control
he had and committed adultery.
It's easy for us to give in to our lusts as well. When
we do, it leads to trouble. James 1:13-15
IT'S EASY TO LOOK OUT FOR #1 - Vss. 8-27
David was looking to cover up his sin. As a result, he
tried to make it look like Uriah had gotten his wife pregnant. Uriah never went
down to his wife when he came home from the battle.
David then had Uriah murdered so that he could marry Bathsheba
and make the whole thing look legitimate.
We are capable of doing some pretty low things to keep
others from discovering our sins.
IT'S EASY TO LIVE A LIE
David pretended to be living right, when in reality he
was living in sin.
Many Christians pretend to be godly when they are not.
It is important to note that in all of this God was
displeased. Vs. 27
***************************************************************************
2 Samuel 11
THE
You have probably heard the expression about being
"in the right place at the right time". That happened to me in high
school. A driver's education instructor,
walking behind me in the hall, was trying to recruit a person for a driving
class the only period I had free to take the course. I turned around and volunteered to take the
course. I was in the right place at the right time.
Unfortunately, there are other times in our lives when
we are in "the wrong place at the wrong time." Some have been falsely
accused of wrong, simply because they were in the wrong place when something
happened. There are occasions when we invite problems. because we voluntarily
place ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Such was the case with King David.
HIS PRIORITIES WERE IN THE
David should have been out to war with his troops,
instead of home relaxing.
HIS EYES WERE IN THE
When Bathsheba took her bath, David should have turned
away, but instead he continued to watch.
Psalm 101:3
HIS MOUTH WAS IN THE
He used his mouth to communicate a lustful demand that
the woman be brought to him.
HIS BODY WAS IN THE
He committed adultery and Bathsheba became pregnant.
HIS MIND WAS IN THE
David tried to cover up his sin with Bathsheba, trying
to get her husband to sleep with her, so he could be credited with the child.
God did not let that happen.
HIS HEART WAS IN THE
He planned the murder of Uriah under the guise of
battle, and then took Uriah's wife as his wife. His heart was not right with
God.
For the outcome of all of this, see 1 Samuel 12 and
Psalm 51.
***************************************************************************
2 Samuel 11
HOW TO DISPLEASE GOD
2 Samuel 11:27 - …But
the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
1. DON’T DO
YOUR JOB – Vs. 1
2. ALLOW
YOURSELF TO BE TEMPTED AND GIVE IN – Vss. 2-5
3. TRY TO COVER
UP YOUR SIN – Vss. 6-13
4. DESTROY
OTHERS TO PROTECT YOURSELF – Vss. 14-27
***************************************************************************
2 SAMUEL 11-12
SURVIVORS - DAVID AND
BATHSHEBA
"Many couples are
united in wedlock in a rosy fog of optimism. Blinded to
the shortcomings, each
sees only the other's good points. But as the
excitement of the new
marriage wears off, they drift to the opposite extreme
and view these same
traits as faults. Someone has called this "reverse
reasoning," giving
the following examples:
"She married him
because he was 'strong and masculine'
She divorced him because
he was a very 'dominating male.'
He married her because
she was so 'fragile and petite'
He divorced her because
she was so 'weak and helpless.'
She chose him because
'he knew how to provide a good living'
She left him because
'all he thought about was the business.'
He married her because
she was 'steady and sensible'
He divorced her because
she was 'boring and dull.'"
H.G.B. - Our Daily
Bread, June 3,
http://bible.org/illus/m/m-09.htm#TopOfPage
Okay, let's face it!
Many marriages have had their troubles, and many
marriages have ended in
divorce. But there are also those who have made it
through some rocky times
in their current marriage, and have even had
successful second
marriages in spite of failed first marriages. What do you
call people who have a
successful marriage in spite of some difficult times?
I call them survivors!
Long before the problems
many marriages face today, there were marriages
that had their tough
moments in the days of the Bible. One such marriage
with problems was that
of David and Bathsheba. They ended up being
survivors. This
encourages me that even marriages in trouble have hope!
ROCKY (REGRETFUL) START
- 2 Samuel 11
David was a great king,
and at this point in his life, fairly mature. He was
about 50 years old.
He was a man "after
God's own heart".
It was David who slew
Goliath.
It was David who ran
from King Saul who wanted to kill him.
It was David who wrote
the 23rd Psalm.
It was David who
committed the sins listed in this chapter!
What does this teach us?
There is not a Christian man or woman who is
beyond the realm of
temptation. No matter how godly a person may be, he or
she must always realize
that "Save by the grace of God, there go I."
David set himself up for
the temptation he faced. First, he had multiplied
wives and concubines
(Deuteronomy
almost any woman he
wanted. This would have fed on his lusts. When we
disobey God's rules we
will also run the risk of further temptation.
Another thing that David
did that helped lead to temptation was that he
wasn't doing his job. He
had gotten lazy!
Vs. 1 - This laziness
placed David in the wrong place at the wrong time.
My friend, physical and
spiritual laziness will lead us to temptation as
well. Laziness is really
a lack of self-control. Proverbs 25:28, Proverbs
Many a Christian
marriage has failed because a husband or a wife has gotten
lazy either physically
or Spiritually.
Vs, 2 - David and
Bathsheba's rocky start was a result of David being home,
and after an afternoon
siesta, taking a walk on the roof of his house, a
common thing in that
day. Bathsheba was bathing perhaps on the roof of her
own house. It was
coolest there. The Bible places the blame of the sin upon
David, but Bathsheba did
not help, bathing where she could be seen.
David, for his part,
should have turned away instead of continuing to look
upon and inquiring about
the identity of this lady. Remember what Joseph did
when a lady tried to
seduce him? He ran! We must learn to take the "way of
escape". 1
Corinthians
Vs. 3-4 - David inquired
as to the identity of Bathsheba, and found out that
he was the wife of one
of his best and most trusted warriors, Uriah. He
committed adultery with
Bathsheba.
Vs. 5 - The woman
conceived and sent word to David. She was pregnant!
Vss. 6-13 - What does
David do? Admit his sin? No, the sweet-psalm singer of
would sleep with his
wife, and that it would be assumed that the baby was
Uriah's. Uriah did come
home. But he was nobler than the king himself. He
would not allow himself
the luxury of sleeping with his wife. David, of
course, asked why. David
even got Uriah drunk, but that didn't even send him
home to his wife.
The rest of the chapter
tells us about the terribly wicked thing that David
did. He sent a letter
back with Uriah to Joab. Joab was told to put Uriah
in the fiercest part of
the battle and then retreat from him so that he
would die. David was
guilty of murder.
Vss. 26-27 - Notice this
- our sins displease the Lord! David's did, and
ours will too. Think of
this, most of us do not like to have people upset
with us. That's why so
much sin is covered up. But, worse than having
people displeased with
us is having God displeased with us.
This marriage was off to
a rocky start.
At least the husband,
and perhaps the wife was out of fellowship with God.
Both had to live with
their guilt.
It is not likely that
there would not be good relationships or fellowship
between them.
REPENTANT ADMISSION - 1
Samuel 12:1-9,13
The best things to do
with covered up sin are deal with it and bear the
consequences.
David did not deal with
his sin until he was confronted with it.
David was miserable
however. Psalm 32:3-4
God had Nathan the
prophet expose the sin. Nathan had done a great thing. He
confronted David with
his sin. Sometimes the best thing we can do to help a
person is to confront
them. They will not always respond as graciously as
David did, but we still
have the responsibility. Galatians 6:1
David's response is
classic. 2 Sam 12:13, Psalm 51, Psalm 32:5
When a marriage has a
rocky start the best thing to do is to confess.
Confess to the offended
party after confessing to God. It does not mean
trouble will go away.
Sometimes, like David, the trouble has just begun.
However it is better to
face the consequences with God's help than to face
God's judgment.
REASONABLE CONSEQUENCES
- 2 Samuel 12:10-12, 14-23
God promises discipline for
sin. Hebrews 12:5-6
Vss. 10-12 - And God
kept His promise. There was bloodshed in David's
household, brother
killing brother. There the rebellion of Absalom and the
commitment of adultery
of Absalom with some of David's wives. It was done
publicly.
Vss. 13-14 - Because of
David's confession, God did not make the punishment
worse. He did not die.
But, because, David gave the opportunity for the
enemies of God to
blaspheme, the child did die. Remember this. David was
forgiven, but he still
paid the consequences for his sins. A marriage in
trouble can have the
healing touch of God's forgiveness, but there are often
consequences.
Vss. 15-23 - It is
important to note that David prayed for the sick child.
Perhaps God would change
His mind. But when God said "no", David stopped
fasting and praying, and
worshiped and ate. David accepted the consequences
with grace.
REMARKABLE BLESSING - 2
Samuel 12:24-25
David and Bathsheba were
survivors.
And although they
experienced God's chastisement, they also experienced
God's blessing.
Vss. 24-25 - It is
important to note that David was a supportive husband. He
comforted his wife.
Something us men need to do, especially in times of
tragedy. And then God
blessed! Another child was born. The child born was
Solomon. And it is
interesting to note that God loved Solomon and called
him, "Beloved of
the Lord", or Jedidiah.
My friends, here is some
big encouragement. When we fail God and are
chastened, it does not
mean the end of the world. God in his grace not only
forgives us, even though
we live with consequences, but he also will
continue to bless us.
A marriage that got a
rocky start can end up being a real blessing. But
there needs to be open
dealing with sin, before God and those offended.