2 Samuel Chapters 11-12 Commentary

Second Samuel Chapters 11-12 While Israel was winning a battle on foreign soil, David would lose a battle against temptation at home. This section of Scripture is a warning against presumption upon position and status, all people are vulnerable, and that none is above God’s law. “The greatest victories are sometimes annulled by foolish mistakes. David’s unparalleled success had made it possible for him to enjoy all the comforts of royal life. No longer did he need to be in the field of combat since capable leadership was provided by Joab and there were no more immediate serious threats to the kingdom. It was in these circumstances that David’s greatest failure occurred. It was tragic indeed that such a brilliant career should be marred in this manner; however, it is well known that Satan is most effective in his approaches when the believer is comfortable and successful” (Davis p. 141). From the fact that this book declares the sins of the great hero David with such openness, it is one more bit of evidence that it is inspired of God.

Chapter 11 11:1 “David’s timing for the military campaign was important for two reasons. First, by picking the anniversary date of the humiliation of the Israelite envoy sent to convey condolences for Nahash’s death (cf. 10:2), David left no doubt about the reason for this attack on Rabbah. Second, late spring was the ideal time to conduct foreign military campaigns because of improved weather conditions and the fact that the armies could be fed from the wheat and barley ripening in Ammonite fields” (Bergen p. 363). 11:1 “Rabbah” (RAB uh) was the Ammonite capital. It was located at the headwaters of the Jabbok River, about 23 miles east of the Jordan. Today, it is one of the most important Arab cities of the Middle East, and is named Amman, Jordan. Under David’s leadership in the previous chapter the armies of Israel had already soundly defeated the Ammonite-Syrian coalition (10:13-19). All that was left was the final conquest of the capital city. In addition, while the main armies of Israel surrounded the city of Rabbah, smaller army units were sent throughout the land of the Ammonites (1 Chronicles 20:1).

11:2 “David now had leisure he was not equipped to enjoy. He was a man of action with a bit of time on his hands, a warrior who now took

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naps in the afternoon” (Chafin p. 301). Apparently, David’s palace was situated high on Mount Ophel which was built along the slopes of that mountain, and this gave him a view over many of the homes in Jerusalem.

“David tragically forgot that there was an enemy greater than men.

Feeling himself strong and secure against his earthly enemies, intoxicated by his prosperity and success” (Davis p. 142). Compare with 1 Corinthians 10:12. The expression, “very beautiful in appearance”, translates a Hebrew phrase reserved for people of striking physical appearance (Genesis 24:16; 26:7; Esther 1:11; 2:7). While some commentators are inclined to believe that Bath-sheba’s bathing in view of the royal palace was intentional and that her actions were characterized by easy submission to all of David’s commands, others view that Bath-sheba bathed in privacy and David’s view of her was a mere accident.

11:3 David could have resisted this temptation by simply turning away and re-focusing his mind on what is right and true (Philippians 4:8). In addition, he had a number of wives to choose from, and thus cannot plead that he was deprived and lonely. Yet David does more than look, he inquires. At this point he is being drawn away by his own lust (James 1:14). Like David, Eve had been tempted in a similar manner. In Genesis 3:6 we are told that Eve “saw” that the tree was good for good and she “desired” to have a portion. Finally, she “took” of the fruit. The same pattern is also found in Joshua 7:21. The name “Bath-sheba” means either “daughter of an oath” or “daughter of seven. At this point David’s lust should have been cooled, for Bathsheba was the granddaughter of Ahithophel (23:34), one of David’s most trusted counselors, and the wife of Uriah, one of David’s most loyal and able soldiers (23:39). The fact that David knew that Bath-sheba was married made this sin completely inexcusable. Clearly, David is not sinning out of ignorance, but rather, he is sinning defiantly in this chapter.

David had grown accustomed to getting whatever he wanted, especially when it came to women (2 Samuel 3). David now it told that she is not just a beautiful woman, but a person in a family who had a commitment to another. “Master of all he surveys, David has everything—and yet does not have enough” (Gaebelein p. 930). Like Eve, David has convinced himself that the one thing he can’t have—he must have at all cost.

11:4 David cannot keep this sin completely private, his servants see what is happening, but Bathsheba came willingly and doesn’t seem to offer any protest such as “how can I sin against God?” The statement, “and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness”, probably refers to the purification required by Mosaic law following intercourse (Leviticus 15:18).

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11:5 This verse makes it clear that Bath-sheba was not pregnant prior to the affair with David. 11:6 “Ever resourceful in adversity, David had a scheme for handling the present crisis. The plan was simple and essentially foolproof: bring Uriah back to Jerusalem temporarily, have him spend one intimate night with his wife, and then send him back to Rabbah. Approximately nine months later Bathsheba would have her child, Uriah would be ecstatic, and David would possess total deniability— no one, not even the servant who had brought Bathsheba to David, could prove that David fathered the child” (Bergen p. 365). Here we learn that if we don’t give God our best, then we will give the Devil our best! (Romans 6:13-16) David is now using his resourceful for evil instead of good. 11:7-8 The expression, “wash your feet” is an idiom of time meaning, “spend some time at home”. The gift that David sent (11:8), could have been something like food and wine.

11:9-11 Uriah was a man of high principles, even if David is not at the moment. “Uriah explained that as a professional military man he could not in good conscience enjoy the comforts of home as long as his troops were experiencing the deprivations of a long military campaign” (Smith p.

354). Some commentators speculate that Uriah may have suspected that something was amiss, i.e., he may have heard reports from guards at the palace that Bathsheba has spent a night with the king, or he may also have become suspicious because of the king’s insistence that he visit his house, yet the text is completely silent on this point.

11:12-13 David even tried to see if drunkenness would loosen Uriah’s moral principles. Uriah at this time is far more faithful and loyal when drunk, than David is when he is sober! David’s efforts to manipulate this faithful and loyal soldier is a sad picture indeed, yet this is exactly what happens when we yield to temptation. It is very hard to commit just one sin, and sin will encourage us to draw others in so that we don’t feel so bad. 11:14-15 At this point David has a choice. Either admit that he has committed adultery and face the death penalty or order the death of one of his most valuable soldiers, sadly David did not consider others more important than himself (Philippians 2:3-4). It is clearly ironic that David sent Uriah back to Joab with the letter that would seal Uriah’s fate. The plan was to place Uriah on the front lines where a fierce part of the battle was raging, and then withdraw from him. Joab accomplished this goal by preparing an attack against the city gates of Rabbah which was probably the most heavily defended part of the city (23). David now had lowered himself to the evil devices of his predecessor, King Saul, but how many people think that they can dabble in sin and not act or think like a “sinner”?

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11:18-21 Joab covers his own back, for he anticipated that David might be angry when he heard the report of heavy losses at Rabbah, and anyone knew that getting close to the city wall in ancient times was to flirt with mortal danger. In addition, it appears that Joab knew that David might quote Scripture to him as he rebuked Joab for such a foolish maneuver (21). “He directed the messenger to respond to any royal outburst by reporting as a postscript the death of Uriah” (Smith p. 355).

It is ironic that Joab picks the account of how Abimelech died as being the Biblical story that David might preach to him. In the past David was poles apart from the petty thug Abimelech—but not in this chapter! In addition, both men fell at the hands of a woman and both men tried to cover up that fact (see Judges 9).

11:23-25 Sin can also make us very callused. “Temporarily oblivious to the divine displeasure, David resorts to a platitude…From his own selfish perspective the king is basically saying that what is done is done, that it cannot be helped, and that innocent people will often get caught in the crossfire when vital goals are pursued” (Gaebelein p. 937). 11:26-27 Bathsheba mourned for her husband, but she did not have any qualms about becoming the wife of David. In addition, do you think that she suspected anything? Did she know that David was responsible for the death of her husband?

From all outward appearances it looks like David has covered his tracks— yet God has seen everything (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). And if someone says, “But who can challenge the popular hero David, who can challenge his authority?” God can! Let us remember this fact when modern leaders sin and it seems like no one can touch them or hold them accountable. David’s actions here might have appeared to be very noble to the eyes of men. Uriah was a foreigner who probably had no near male relative living in Israel. As such, David would have assumed the lifelong responsibility of caring for the needs of Uriah’s widow and was obligated to father a child in order to raise up an offspring to preserve the family line of the deceased. Nothing is said about David mourning the death of this devoted and able soldier. When he was sensitive to the Word of God, David had even mourned over the death of Saul—his enemy, but here apparently he doesn’t shed any tears. Sin can make us hard-hearted in a very short period of time. If we wonder why David never personally fired Joab or replaced him (for Joab had done evil in the past and would in the future), the fact that Joab had done David’s dirty work, is probably our answer. When we sin, it is very hard to speak out against sin in others! Sin makes us apathetic, cowardly, inconsistent, and sin will silence good men. “David’s marriage to Bathsheba after her period of mourning seemed to be the end of the story but for one “small 4

detail”, ‘the thing that David had done displeased the Lord’ (2 Samuel 11:27)” (Chafin p. 305).

Chapter 12 “The very fact that David’s sin and subsequent repentance is recorded in such detail is, in itself, quite unique as viewed from the vantage point of ancient Near Eastern literature generally. The record of David’s failure is perhaps one of the strongest proofs of divine inspiration of Scripture. It was not normal for scribes to record the failure of ancient Near Eastern monarchs. To the eastern mind, for a king to take the wife of a subject was quite normal and that which was within the rights of an absolute sovereign. The fact of the matter is, few kings in the ancient Near East would have taken the trouble to attempt to conceal such sin” (Davis p.

145).

12:1-4 God had left David in his guilty state for almost a year. The 32nd Psalm records the tremendous guilt that David experienced during this year. Be impressed with the courage on the part of Nathan the prophet when the Lord commanded him to preach to David. Remember, this is God’s sermon to David and the lesson hit home. With the use of a parable, God was able to both reveal David’s sin and allow David to condemn himself at the same time. The illustration used was very appropriate, for David knew how attached one could become to a lamb as a pet since he had been a shepherd for a good part of his life. Be impressed that God does not whitewash David’s sin. David was acting just like the greedy and callused rich man in this story. He had been ungrateful for his many blessings (12:2-3), he had trampled the rights of others (12:4), and David’s lust for Bathsheba is clearly contrasted with Uriah’s agape love for his wife (12:3).

12:5-6 David was ready to condemn the rich man in the story! David’s sin had not kept David from imposing God’s law upon others, and doing so with great enthusiasm in this case. It appears that David initially reacted out of pure emotion, “surely the man who has done this deserves to die”, and then realizing that the theft of a lamb was not a capital crime, resorts to what the Law had said for such a crime in Exodus 22:1. 12:7 Nathan then made the devastating application, “You are the man!”

12:7-8 First God reminds David of all that He had done for him. He had anointed David king over all Israel, repeatedly delivered David from his enemies, including Saul. In addition, God had given David tremendous physical blessings. God wanted David to see what he had done in the

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light of God’s purpose for his life. Had all God’s protection from his enemies, provision for his needs, and unlimited interest and resources not been enough? It’s good to look at our disobedience against the backdrop of God’s love” (Chafin p. 306). In verse 8 I do not see God telling David, “I would have given you as many wives as you would have wanted”, because that would have been a violation of His will (Deuteronomy 17:17). “So far as Saul’s wives were concerned or the wives of any other deceased king, for that matter—they were normally entrusted to the protection and care of his successor, otherwise a later marriage to a king’s widow might give the second husband a legal claim to the throne…Therefore the rule was that once a woman became a king’s consort, she had the right to retain that status even though her royal husband had died. Presumably, however, a son would treat all his father’s wives as respected pensioners in the palace, rather than entering into incestuous relations with them” 1 What God is saying is that He had blessed David tremendously and fully installed him as king.

12:9 By committing adultery with Bathsheba David had despised the Word of God. That’s what happens when we sin; we are in effect treating God with contempt. While David had a tricky way to get Uriah out of the way, God was not fooled, and llthough David did not personally kill Uriah, he was just as guilty since he instigated the plot and gave the order.

The Consequences At this point God does not enforce the death penalty upon David, which the Law required that human judges enforce against such cases in Israel (Leviticus 20:10). In fact, David was guilty of two crimes that merited the death penalty, adultery and murder (Leviticus 24:17). Rather, God as the Divine Judge exercises His right in this specific case to give a definite set of consequences. Sadly, it doesn’t seem that some have learned much from David’s sin. In fact, some have tried to argue that since David was allowed to keep Bathsheba, those who commit adultery today should be allowed to keep such partners after they have divorced their previous mates and married the person with whom they were having the affair.

In response, let us remember that David lived under the Old Covenant, and we don’t, rather we live under the New Covenant, and Jesus does not give the adulterer the right to remarry (Matthew 19:9). Apart from the death of a spouse or their sexual unfaithfulness, the contracting of any second marriage is sinful, not to mention the marriage itself (Matthew 19:9; 5:32). In David’s case, God intervened and gave specific consequences.

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Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Gleason L. Archer, p. 123

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The New Testament is complete, and apart from any new revelation from God, what Jesus said stands as law for all time. People tend to forget that David also was guilty of killing an innocent man, and yet didn’t spend any time in jail. To be consistent, those who argue that a person already married should be allowed keep the person with whom they are having an affair, after they have divorced their previous mate---need to argue that it is wrong to imprison any criminal who is remorseful.

12:10 The first consequence was that, “the sword shall never depart from your house”. That is, David’s own family (specifically Absalom) would bring evil against him, and his family would be characterized by rebellion and violent deaths. “For the rest of his life David would witness violence and death in his own household, with three of his sons dying violent deaths” (Chafin p. 307). This would include, Amnon’s rape of Tamar (13:1-14), Absalom’s murder of Amnon (13:28-29), and Absalom’s rebellion against David (15:1-12). 12:11-12 Just as David had selfishly taken Bathsheba from Uriah, his own son Absalom would openly claim David’s wives during Absalom’s rebellion against his father (2 Samuel 16:20-21).

From this passage it appears that David’s poor example in this area would send the wrong message to Absalom. David’s sexual sins against another would give rise to sexual sins committed by another against David.

12:13 David has been severely rebuked and he takes it. David made no excuses for himself, there was no effort to rationalize the responsibility for his actions, and he did not try to blame the times, or his age, or Bathsheba, rather he completely accepted God’s punishment as just!

(Psalm 51:1-4). One writer said, “David lived (or was allowed to live) for the same reason that the nation of Israel would live beyond its sin” (Bergen p. 373). 12:14 God does not enforce the death penalty against David (or Bathsheba), but He does enforce a penalty, the child conceived in adultery will die. David’s sin had shown utter contempt for the Lord, and in so doing had sent the wrong message to the surrounding nations. In this respect David finds himself in the company of Eli’s reprobate sons (1 Samuel 2:17). “God could not ignore David’s sin and thus let unbelievers impugn (call in question) the holiness of His character.

This tragic record shows that although sin is forgiven, sin’s inevitable consequences frequently come to fruition in the lives of believers (Galatians 6:7)” (Laney p. 109). We should not be surprised that an innocent child dies because of David’s sin, for children frequently suffer the physical consequences of their parent’s foolish and selfish choices.

On a daily basis in our society, children are aborted because of someone’s selfishness, or children cry themselves to sleep at night because mommy or daddy doesn’t live with them anymore. Gaebelein notes, “When David slept with the woman and created new life, the 7

woman did not belong to him but to Uriah. The child cannot belong to David. He cannot enrich himself through his sin, and in a sense, justice is done to Uriah” (p. 946). Like David, by a poor example, Christians can cause unbelievers to mock God and ridicule His Word (1 Timothy 5:14).

12:15-23 Be impressed how the right attitude can take us from a hardened sinner to a humble servant in a matter of hours or days. David is back to his own self, a man after God’s own heart. David realizes that God hears and answers prayer, and instead of hating or resenting God, David pleads with God for the life of the child. “His inner relief at being forgiven for his sins gave way to a sense of guilt as to his possible role in the child’s illness” (Chafin p. 309). Once the child as died, David immediately worships God! There is no bitterness in his heart, and he does not distance himself from God simply because God didn’t grant his request. Do we get angry at God when He doesn’t grant our requests or honor our time-table? “All of us suffer loss in our lives, and we need to learn the lesson that David models in this story. Learning to turn loose of what we cannot change is one of the Christian’s most needful lessons” (Chafin p. 310). David also comes to terms with his own mortality and even in that finds hope, because he looks forward to being reunited with his child. Though David is obviously sorrowing and hurting, David is content. Verse 23 is a definite reference to the dual nature of man and life after death. The child was physically dead, but the child still existed somewhere! In addition, David did not believe that the child would come back as some sort of ghost.

12:24 People really have not changed, and so in a consoling act of intimacy, David comforted Bathsheba. “Arms bereft of a child now embraced a king” (Bergen p. 376). While the first child was not even named, this child is named “Solomon”, which apparently means, “God is His Peace”. When the text says that God loved Solomon, the reader is being told that this is the son who will take David’s place as king when David dies. 12:25 God sent word to Nathan the prophet, and God had Nathan give Solomon another name, “Jedidiah” (jed uh DIGH uh), which means, “beloved of the Lord”. We are seeing here that when people repent, God is able to bring good even out of a terrible past.

12:26-30 The text returns to the battle against the capital city of the Ammonites. About a year after the events in chapter 11, Joab finally penetrates the defenses of the city. When the city was ready to fall, Joab sent word to David to gather the people and come, so that David could get the credit. Joab urged David to lead the final assault against the city himself. This David did, and the city contained many valuable treasures, including the massive crown worn by the Ammonite king. According to 8

modern calculations this crown weighed 75 pounds. Some suggest that this crown was one normally set on a statue of either a former Ammonite king or their god Milcom.

12:31 There are basically two views concerning David’s treatment of the Ammonites in this verse: 1. He imposed hard labor on the captives, consigning them to labor with saws, iron picks, and axes as well as brickmaking, which means that David used this labor force to build and strengthen fortified structures throughout Israelite held territory. 2. Or, he imposed a harsh death sentence on the captives, i.e., he had them sawn in two, etc‌Which means that David punished the Ammonites with bodily mutilation.

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