2 Samuel 11
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Samuel 11
Guzik - The Hebrew verb form of walked suggests that David paced back and forth on the roof. He couldn’t sleep and was uneasy – uneasy because he wasn’t where God wanted him to be. David’s many wives did not satisfy his lust. This was because you can’t satisfy lusts of the flesh. They are primarily rebellious assertions of self. It wasn’t so much that David wanted Bathsheba, it was that he would not be satisfied with what God gave him.. The principle would be illustrated in an exaggerated way in the life of Solomon, David’s son. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. David and Solomon show us that if one woman isn’t enough, 1000 women aren’t enough. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance - Probably more accurately "Late one afternoon, after his midday rest," as the NLT paraphrases it. Notice the verbs (arose...walked around...saw) Alan Carr entitles this chapter "The Giant that Slew David!" (funny but sad!) Chuck Swindoll entitles it "The Case of the Open Window Shade." In the middle east the roofs were (are) flat and it was common for folks to walk on them to escape the heat. The problem is that David is the king, so clearly his roof is one of the higher roofs in Jerusalem which would have allowed him to look down on roofs and yards of homes next to the palace. Saw a woman from the context indicates that this was not just a glance but a gaze, so that David had already committed adultery with her in his heart! (Mt 5:28+) David's temptation began with his eyes, just like Eve's temptation. David forgot (or perhaps he had not yet written Ps 101:1 = "A Psalm of David") specifically the declaration of Psalm 101:3+ that "I will set no worthless (beliyyaal - name used of Satan in 2Co 6:15+!) thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away. It shall not fasten its grip (dabaq ~ "stick like glue!") on me." Lust has blinded him to the point where has in effect become a practical atheist and proceeds to act as if there were no God! Note the description very beautiful (only used 4x in the Bible - Ge 12:14, Ge 24:16, 1Ki 1:4 - David's nurse! and here - even Abigail was only described as "beautiful" in 1Sa 25:3+!) which means Bathsheba was as we might say today "a knock out," a woman physically attractive almost beyond description! In short the word very is intended to get this picture across to us, that we might to some degree understand the depth of the danger David was in by just taking one glance!!! The first look is free. It’s the second look that kills you. -- Billy Graham Alan Carr - The Bible uses the word “very” sparingly in its pages. When it is used it is there to emphasize a truth. And, when it does use the word, it never does so to exaggerate! Therefore, when the Bible says that Bathsheba was “very beautiful to look upon” we can say without reservation that she was the absolute vision of female beauty and physical perfection. And, when David saw her, the giant of lust that dwelt within his heart roared to life. All David can think about is Bathsheba. He wants to know who she is and everything about her. No doubt his mind is filled with fantasies of what it would be like to be with her physically. The giant has ensnared his mind and he has forgotten who he is, who he serves and how he is supposed to be living. The giant has taken control of David’s mind! Guzik - David looked at Bathsheba and said “beauty” but God saw this as ugly. The hoped-for pleasures of sin deceive us like the bait hides the hook. We must call it what God calls it – sin. We want to say “affair” but God says “adultery.” We want to say “love” but God says “lust.” We want to say “sexy” but God says “sin.” We want to say “romantic” but God says “ruin.” We want to say “destiny” but God says “destruction.” David should have received the news of the woman’s identity as a warning. He learned that this woman was related to men close to him. In taking Bathsheba, David sinned against Uriah, Eliam, and Ahithophel – each man was close and important to David. Warren
2 Samuel 11
Guzik - David knew this was wrong, yet he did it. It’s hard to explain David’s thinking here because he wasn’t thinking. He acted on feeling and impulse instead of thinking.. If David had thought about all this, he would have seen the cost was so much greater than he wanted to consider at the time. If David had only known that this illicit pursuit of pleasure would directly or indirectly result in: An unwanted pregnancy. The murder of a trusted friend. A dead baby. A daughter raped by his son. One son murdered by another son. A civil war led by one of his sons. A son who imitates David’s lack of self-control, leading him and much of Israel away from God.. At this moment David agreed with the world’s understanding of the purpose of sex, seeing it primarily as the pursuit of a pleasurable experience. With his many wives, David may have never really understood God’s purpose for sex: to be the “cement” that helps bond together a one-flesh relationship. One is reminded of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 10 warning believers about Israel's sin in the Old Testament "Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed (present imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey - describes intentional, earnest contemplation) that he does not fall." (1Cor 10:6, 11, 12+) THOUGHT - The Spirit has recorded 2 Samuel 11 (the sowing and then the following chapters in 2 Samuel describing the reaping) to cause all of those who love the LORD like David loved the LORD (Read Ps 18:1+) to be aware of the destructive effects of sin, even when it is confessed, repented and forgiven. We call all choose to commit any sin our flesh tempts us to commit but we have absolutely no control on the consequences of our sin. David's life in 2 Samuel 11-24 should be like a flashing warning light for all God's people (this writer definitely included)! Alan Redpath says “The real question for us all is: Are we prepared to face sin? Not to discuss someone else’s sin but to face our own.” According to the Mosaic statutes David deserved death, Moses writing “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel." (Dt 22:22+)