David and Bathsheba, and Nathan's Parable (2 Samuel chps 11-12)


When King David was walking on the roof of his palace in Jerusalem, he looked down and saw a woman called Bathsheba sunbathing below. She was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of his soldiers. David sent for Bathsheba, slept with her, and made her pregnant. Then he summoned her husband Uriah to the palace (he had been fighting with the army at Rabbah). He told him to go back to his own house and sleep with his wife - this way, when Bathsheba's baby was born, people would believe it to be Uriah's and not David's. But for two nights, Uriah refused to sleep in his own house, saying that as his troops were camping in the open, he would not allow himself the luxury of sleeping with his wife at home, so he slept at the palace gate. Even when David made him drunk on a third night, he still refused to go back to his house, and slept in the guard room instead.

So David sent him back to the troops, with a message to Joab (the commander) asking for Uriah to be sent into battle in the front line, where the fighting was heaviest, then those around him were to retreat. David's plan was successful, and Uriah was killed. David then took Bathsheba as his wife.

But God was not pleased with David's actions, and sent Nathan to tell him a parable of a rich man with a great flock of sheep, and a poor man with just one lamb, which he had nurtured like his own daughter. However, the rich man stole this lamb when he needed to provide food for a traveller, as he did not want to kill one of his own flock, even though he himself had many animals. David immediately burst out that the rich man should die for his actions, but Nathan said to him, "You are the man".

Punishment:
David and Bathsheba's son became ill and died within seven days of birth.


Themes

• Breaking Commandments - don't commit adultery, don't kill, don't be envious.
• David's Cunning - David tried to make it seem that the child was Uriah's son, and when this didn't work, he arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle.
• Uriah's Loyalty - Uriah refused to accept the luxury of his own house and his wife while his troops were still sleeping outside.
• Punishment - Nathan was sent by God, to illustrate to David exactly what he had done wrong. He used a parable. As punishment, David's child died within seven days of his birth.
• Judgement - David, the judge of Israel, was inadvertently judging himself when he reacted to Nathan's parable. He was used to judging others - now he had condemned his own actions without even thinking of the significance of what he was saying.

Contemporary Issues

• Private lives of world leaders. Morality and leadership.
• Was David a good or a bad king?
• Qualities necessary for a leader in the modern world.
• Abuse of Power.
• Lust.

Revision