One thing that struck me was that in all the time that David was on the run from Saul – about 13 years – he never once brought the matter of his own anointing to God. Further, though many a time he spoke of the ‘enemy’ and sought God’s help for deliverance, he seems to have largely refrained from mentioning Saul by name in his complaints to God. It must have bothered him that whilst he himself was anointed to be the next king of Israel, everything that was happening in his life seemed contrary. He was in fact pleading to God ” How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?” (Psalm 94:3) but he didn’t ask God how long it would be before He kept his promise for him to succeed Saul in the throne. I think such patience, long suffering, forbearance and trust are truly extraordinary!
Immediately after the dreadful narrative of David’s deliberate adultery and diabolic murder of Uriah, the 12th chapter of 2 Samuel opens with the prophet Nathan being sent by God to tell David a story – a story of cruel selfishness and heartless villainy. David was rising up in righteous anger at the baddie in the story; and he didn’t get the point until Nathan pointed the finger at him and said “You are that man”(2 Samuel 12:7).
(credit: allenvandermuelin.org)
Was David obtuse? He didn’t seem to display any sense of wrong-doing until this point. Why, he could have volunteered and told Nathan of his egregious conduct. Apparently, our man pushed the pitiful incident deep within the recesses of his soul and tried to appear normal; as though nothing serious had happened. Sounds familiar? The sin of willful rationalization and making light of a dreadful trespass. Ah…just another addition to his bevy of wives (1 Sam. 11:27); Nathan wasn’t even invited for the marriage. Nor for celebrating the birth of yet another son (whose early birth was the subject of much palace gossip!). Oh…just one more soldier fallen in the battlefield. Pretending as though it is no bid deal. Happens all the time. Yes the devil patted David on the back for his decisive handling of the situation and urged him to go about business as usual. David sat on the throne posturing as though everything was hunky dory. In walked Nathan to discomfit him.
This begs a question; an uncomfortable question. What was God doing all this time? There were several stages in this unsavoury story at which God could have intervened. He saw, He knew, He was displeased (2 Sam.11:27). But He didn’t do anything. Why did he wait to send Nathan – until after the sin bore fruit and the child was born? About 8 or 9 months. There are no ready answers. It is like asking why God allowed the Novel Corona virus into the world. You can theorize but you cannot conclude. Only one thing is clear. Man was pretty much doing what he wanted. Governments were thinking no end of themselves. Making grandiose plans to build temples, parliament houses, oppress some, suppress some, discriminating against some. Drawing up their own agenda, strutting about with puffed up pride and crowing cock-a-doodle-doo!
(credit: youtube.com)
Suddenly there is a sea change. All that self assured swagger and contemptuous chutzpa give way to sack cloth and ashes. All those lofty plans and budget goals are put aside the for the basics of life and livelihood. Ah, I can easily get carried away by the effect of this pandemic on our know-all government!
Back to our story
In a few adroit verses Nathan presents a comprehensive case against the king and pronounces God’s judgement as well. Game,set and match. In the face of God’s pointed charges of murder and adultery (2 Sam. 12:9) no other outcome was possible. David was defenceless and admitted that he had sinned against the Lord (2 Sam. 12:13). Nathan notes that David showed contempt for the Lord, brought such dishonour to His name and gave occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. But God graciously forgives him and spares his life but does not hold him guiltless.
Every now and then we come across news items which make us hang our heads down in shame. Prominent children of God caught in some scandal and losing their testimony. Notable Christians living in the the public eye, compromising their faith for some material gain. Preachers who till the other day were all fire and fury, falling into some trap, led by their own sinful desire. We have seen it happen with tele-evangelists, we have seen it happen with Presidents. While as individuals, these persons may be able to recover their public persona, the damage they did to the cause of Christ is not so easily erased. We ourselves who make bold to comment on such people cannot be too careful, for we are walking on thin glass. The world is watching, the Press is poised to pounce; the enemies of Christ ready to celebrate. This was the thrust of Nathan’s accusation against David.
2 Sam. 12:13 makes it clear that in God’s eyes the just punishment for David’s offence is death. Though David finds mercy in God’s sight on this score, there seems to be a principle here that somebody representing David (and Bathsheba, his partner in crime)) who hasn’t sinned in like fashion (deserving death) must bear the punishment. So it is that the baby dies after a brief period of illness, David’s fasting and praying and Bathsheba’s intense grief (2 Sam. 12:24) unavailing.
Yes Sir, though you are forgiven when you repent of your sin, you cannot wish away its consequence. Somebody (maybe even you) must suffer. In David’s case, the death of his child is not the only consequence; his own household would rise up against him and his wives would be given to another; and they will go to bed in public with the usurper . Oh, the ripple-effect of the consequences of one adulterous relationship!
And to think these days there are magazines that merrily label it (adultery by consent) BM, broad mindedness. Sodom and Gomorrah!
Despite all of the above God seems to have been soft on Bathsheba and ratified her standing in the Davidic lineage.
Now, wait a minute!
It takes two people to commit a crime of adultery. Though it is true that David was the prime mover in this instance, there is nothing to suggest that Bathsheba demurred, let alone protest. She made no attempt whatsoever to inform her husband Uriah that David forced himself on her. I guess that makes her equally culpable in their heinous sin.
There was no separate enquiry for her over the matter. Her life was now tied to David’s and quite rightly she shared the pain of David’s punishment.
God’s foreknowledge of all events does of course include this inflection point in the life of David. While there were prophesies of the Messiah arising from David’s line, it now becomes clear who would be David’s consort. So while God’s divine plan accords her a place in the sun (Matthew 1:6), in most of the Bible versions her name does not find a mention; who we see instead, is the innocent Uriah. It is through the ‘woman who had been the wife of Uriah’ that David’s line gets established. Three cheers to Uriah!
As we suggested earlier the consequences of David’s sin were grievous. As one Bible version has it, Nathan pronounces evil “from this day on” (2 Samuel 12:10).
Ominous!
First the ignominy of an all but nominal (shall we call it fake?) capturing of Rabbah after Joab had done all the ground work. Then the melancholic story of a royal rape; David’s son Amnon deflowering his own half-sister Tamar. And paying the price with his life at the hands of her brother Absalom, while Tamar who was as sensible as she was beautiful, was sadly consigned to the dustbin of history . Absalom’s exile for three years fearing the king’s wrath; his banishment in Jerusalem for two years. Absalom’s subsequent rebellion resulting in David’s having to exile himself. The heavy hearted procession of David and his entourage out of Jerusalem, Ziba’s slander of Mephibosheth, Shemei’s mean curses, insults and stone throwing, Absalom’s public insult of David by having sex with his concubines on the palace roof in Jerusalem (in unequivocal fulfillment of Nathan’s prophecy), Absalom’s murderous intent, the chicanery of Hushai’s bad advice advantageous to David prevailing over Ahithopel’s good advice, Ahithopel’s suicide, the gory murder of Absalom, David mourning the loss of Absalom, his emotional turmoil, Joab’s rebuke, David’s return across Jordan, the argument between Judah and Israel, Sheba’s rebellion, Amasa’s tragic death at the hands of Joab , Sheba’s assasination,a three year famine in the land, the Gibeonites’ thirst for blood, the slaughter of seven of Saul’s innocent sons, the victorious battle against Philistine giants……….
A sordid tale of betrayal, exfiltration, fornication, insubordination, murder and mayhem. All in all a squalid, sleazy, seedy story of debauchery, the making of which began with David’s despicable act of adultery and murder. mmm……something that began with a simple of act of choosing a siesta instead of wielding a sword. Would it be this wretched story that inspired James to write these words in his general epistle: “ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:14-15)?
(credit: jerryscot.blogspot.com)
A couple of sidelights I think merit special mention in this sad saga. One was David’s response to Shimei’s vile act of cursing and stone pelting. Bluntly restraining Abishai from slaying Shimei, David suggests that the Lord may have sent Shimei on this express mission (2 Sam.16:10-11)). There is a huge lesson here as to how we should or should not react to people talking against us, even hurting us from time to time (akin to pelting stones). What is remarkable is that David goes on to declare that the Lord might well turn these curses into blessings!
Another one is the kindness shown by Shobi the son of Nahash who came from Rabbah of the Ammonites. Together with others he brought a whole lot of food, cattle and utensils for David and his entourage. Now, this Shobi I suspect was brother to the fool Hanun who paid the price for suspecting David’s motives in sending ambassadors to mourn the death of his father Nahash, king of Ammon (1 Chr. 19:1-14). So even in the midst of exile, David experienced definite drops of God’s mercy. Yes, even in the middle of just amercement meted out to David, God did not abandon him totally.Yes, cheer up: He will never leave nor forsake us (Deut. 31:6)
Going back a little in our story, it is important to observe that David didn’t hold himself back at any stage in the matter of Bathsheba. He was king and he exercised, nay, abused his powers. Not very different from some happenings today. The 19th century British politician Lord Acton summed it up succinctly: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. One only has to look at the nations of the world – including India – in order to appreciate the truth of this statement. In this situation the powers that be ride roughshod over the voices of dissent, stifle them, scandalize them and dump them in the cooler, if for some reason they do not silence them in one shot.
In a milieu where corruption is rampant even the structural framework of democracy collapses with every – supposedly independent – arm of administration (including sadly, the judiciary) becoming subservient to the government of the day. I know we are getting a little carried away by the “decay all around we see”. Being a monarch, David didn’t have to worry about the inconveniences of any democratic disturbance to his dalliance. But that is not to say, no one was there with stature enough to stand up to him. There was Joab, his nephew and captain of his host who voiced his conscience occasionally. In this instance, though he didn’t know the specifics of the adultery, he certainly was in a position to stop the murder. Yet he played along, but kept a close watch on David’s duplicity. Perhaps he was stacking up cards he could pull out at an opportune moment!
Then there was Nathan, the prophet of the Lord who didn’t surface for a full 8 or 9 months until after the deadly deed was done. My conclusion is that God was giving full liberty to man in order to expose his heart. In His divinity, He knew of course which way the cat will jump; and in His wisdom He turned the whole matter into to one that accords with His eternal plan for the davidic lineage culminating in Christ. A little difficult to swallow? We will have to get to heaven to have some questions answered. The question concerning the legitimization Bathsheba as the David’s preferred queen and as the mother of his designated successor finding (even an oblique) a place in the ancestry of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1 may well be one among them!
In the account of David’s story given in 2 Samuel, we find his song of praise in chapter 22. The preamble says that “David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from the hand of Saul”. This song is also recorded for us in Psalm 18, with some variations. Since Saul is mentioned here, me thinks this song was written earlier than its position in the narrative. This view is also buttressed by the appearance of such verses (23,24) as “I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees. I am blameless before God. I have kept myself from sin”. As is evident, this does not accord with his pathetic prayer in Psalm 51. The parallel narrative about David in 1 Chronicles does not include this song at this point. As a matter of fact the dalliance with Bathsheba also does not find a place there.
(credit: goodsalt.com)
Any way, let us move on. Chapter 23 records David’s last words wherein he talks about God’s covenant with him concerning his family. But there are some words given as introduction here that can well serve as the inscription on his tombstone: “the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel”( 2 Samuel 23:1). This is followed by a list of David’s mighty warriors and layers of his personal security. A notable sidelight here is the drawal of water from the Bethlehem well by his elite soldiers. Though we can say he was selfish and erred in longing for water from that particular source in those circumstances, he comes to his senses and refuses to drink it when it was given to him, with the late realization that his men risked their very lives in the act of getting it. This may be an issue with people who are held in high esteem. With an army of lieutenants hanging on to their every word, they think nothing of putting some of them to great danger and hardship only to fulfill their own personal desire (not need). You’ve got to watch out for this tendency if you are in such a position. #Every life matters!
God is not quite done with David in examining his heart. Sure He is on record that He called David a “man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) but in making that statement early in David’s life, God certainly foresaw David’s grievous failures and his cries of repentance. Now here comes a story that has radically different beginnings in the two narratives in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chr. 21 . While the former puts it like this: Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah”, the latter says it was Satan who was responsible for the incitement. In synthesizing these differing narratives, we need to acknowledge that God is sovereign. He wanted to examine the heart of David once again and Satan became his agent in doing the task. Joab – bless his soul – demurrs but the king powered by the devil has his way. The sad deneument is that 70,000 people died in Israel.
If only David had listened to Joab!
Even while He is allowing you to be tempted, God does not leave you without sane voices around. Listen to them. Don’t ride roughshod and stifle voices of conscience that cry out for attention. While repentance at any stage (in the period of grace) is good, there is no way you can escape the consequences, as we have already observed before. David’s poor decision resulted in the death of his own subjects. No sooner than presented, the census needed a revision!
Another point that we shouldn’t overlook here is that God’s anger burned against Israel. And that is why he tasked Satan with the temptation. Why? Did David lose control over his people, troubled as he was with his own travail? Did the people of Israel turn away from God? This is frequently an issue when the leadership is weak. And God needs to intervene and shake up the whole body, so that the leader wakes up from his self serving stupor.
But as is invariably the case, even this sad episode is used by God to highlight the basically righteous character of David and indeed the goodness of Araunah the Jebusite.
(credit: pinterest.com)
It would have been easy enough for David to accept the generous offer made by Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:22-24) to build the altar in accordance with the word of God. After all, He was king, and Araunah felt honoured that the King had come calling. Also, prophet Gad didn’t say anything about paying Araunah, only that he build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah. And Araunah was offering everything on a platter. David only needed to say “thank you, may the Lord bless you” and go fulfill the requirement. It may be pointed out here that Araunah did not see the angel of death standing over his threshing floor; only David did. Yet his offer was whole hearted; he held nothing back, considering it was to build an altar to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. How many of us are whole hearted in our giving, expecting nothing in return?
But David was no free loader. He was clear in his mind that his sacrifice to the Lord should cost him something personally. He wasn’t the kind to “grab a coconut from a way side shop to offer a deity” (a graphic proverb in Tamil reading கடை தேங்காயை எடுத்து வழி பிள்ளையாருக்கு உடைத்தல்). This is an important principle that sometimes gets overlooked in Christendom. We like to take credit in the eyes of God for something others have done.
For all the competent administrator he was, David seems to have left the matter of successor till it was late. In the absence of a clear word from the king, Adonijah exalts himself and gathers a respectable entourage. It was only after Nathan gets in to the act and moves Bathsheba, that Solomon is officially proclaimed successor.
In our haste to conclude the narrative, we shouldn’t miss an important lesson here!
Adonijah was an ambitious young man. He was Absalom’s brother; the Bible says he was a very handsome man! He provided himself chariots and charioteers; also a 50 strong contingent who would run ahead of him. He embraced Joab, the redoubtable army commander and Abiathar, a trusted priest. And it seems he had the support of his mother Haggith, David’s wife. Yes, he had a lot going for him. And he proclaims “I will be king”(1 Kings 1:5)
(credit: pinterest.com)
I think the seeds of his fall were sown right in that statement. The best of people, yes. Fully qualified, yes. But the problem was he exalted himself. God was nowhere in the picture. His brief bravado came to a humiliating end (1 Kings 1:52). So much for an enterprise driven solely by self! If you raise yourself up, you are doomed; serious embarrassment is bound to follow as surely as night follows day (Luke 14:8-9)
David then gives final instructions to Solomon, his designated successor as per God’s eternal plan (Matthew 1:6). He sketches a biography of himself, names his friends and his enemies, gives him the plan for the temple, hands over all the gold,silver and other material he had gathered towards the building of the same, praise the Lord and fades from the scene.
(credit: pixbay.com)
The kingdom is firmly established in Solomon’s hands.
_______________