Sermon - Lent Midweek 4, 2022 - David and Bathsheba - 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25

David Staring at Bathsheba Bathing, James Tissot, 1836-1902

David is often portrayed as a great hero of the faith, a righteous man, a man after God’s own heart. David slays giants, is a model of friendship, shows mercy to his enemies, and writes sublime poetry and music. Which is why the whole account of David and Bathsheba is shocking! David sins big time. But even in sinning, David is a good example of repentance, showing God’s surprising grace.

All of chapter 11 shows David’s many sins. Right from the get go David is sinning: “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” David’s a mighty warrior, a strong and accomplished fighter, yet he remained in his palace, lounging about on his couch.

When David had gotten Bathsheba pregnant, he tried to get her husband Uriah to come home and sleep with her, so that Uriah might think that the child was his. But Uriah refused with disgust the laziness and luxury that David, his king, was living in and now offered him. “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 

Even after David got Uriah drunk in order to get him to go home to his wife, Uriah still refused. Inebriated Uriah was more righteous and clear-headed than was David while sober. So David had Uriah killed, and in so doing, other soldiers also died; there was collateral damage. “And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died.” David didn’t just murder one guy, but multiple men; multiple families now went without fathers. 

Then after David’s sin was all covered up and made secret, he took Bathsheba for his own wife, making himself look like this kind and merciful king marrying a poor pregnant widow. Although David did all of this in secret, it was known plainly to God. So when the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to call David to repentance, and Nathan so clearly laid out what David had done, the Lord made it plain that He sees even the sins which we think are secret. The only reason that we know about David’s adultery and murder is because God made it public. “For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.”

But why would God make David’s secret sins public? We’re quick to criticize David on account of his sins, see him as a deeply flawed man, but imagine if your worst private sins were made public. Maybe you haven’t secretly had an affair and murdered people, but I’d guess most or all of us have some secret sins that would ruin our reputations and perhaps our lives if they were made public. So why would God make David’s secret sins public?

A couple reasons come to mind. First, it shows God’s grace and mercy. The punishment for adultery was death. The punishment for murder was death. David was deserving of death on multiple accounts. So what did David do? With just one word in Hebrew, David confessed: “I have sinned.” David didn’t have to make restitution, he didn’t have to perform certain works of piety, he didn’t need any sort of eloquence, all he did was repent and his sins were forgiven by God through Nathan: “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”

God is gracious. He knows our hearts and our minds, nothing is hidden from Him, the worst sins that we’ve kept hidden from the world: God sees. Those sins are all deserving of death, maybe not according to our earthly laws, but certainly according to God’s divine law. We deserve not only to be executed, but we deserve eternal wrath and punishment, we deserve the eternal fires of hell. Yet, God in His mercy is quick to forgive.

How does He forgive us? How can God find it within His heart to offer us poor miserable sinners such grace and mercy? This brings us to the second reason why God would make David’s sin public. The first son born to David through Bathsheba died as a consequence of their sin (I won’t try to understand it; David didn’t complain about it or question God’s wisdom, so neither will I.), but the second son born to David and Bathsheba was Solomon. 

Solomon was beloved by the Lord. From Solomon another beloved Son would eventually be born, namely, the Davidic King Jesus. From the unlikely and wicked union of David and Bathsheba, God brought about the incarnation of His beloved Son Jesus. So while David didn’t have to die for his sins, Jesus, the Son of God, did have to die for David’s sins. How does God forgive us? Through the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus God forgives our sins. While David and Bathsheba’s first son didn’t die to atone for sins, that son does point us to Jesus who did die for our sins.

It’s surprising that God would use such a horrible sinful event, such as David and Bathsheba’s affair, in order to ultimately bring forth the Messiah, but such is God’s way. God is able to work through and in spite of our sins in order to bring about blessing and mercy. Afterall, Jesus suffered injustice, violence, ridicule, jealousy, betrayal, slander, lies, and even murder, but even through all of that sin God redeemed us from our sin.

This teaches us that all of our lives and all of the mercies and benefits we receive from God are a result of God’s surprising grace. He doesn’t bless us because of how wonderful we are, but He blesses us in spite of how sinful we are. Just as we’re surprised at how God blessed David in light of his weaknesses, likewise every good gift from God ought to shock and surprise us in light of our weaknesses. God really is surprisingly merciful to us all.