David’s Fall
Prayer for Illumination
God of Grace and Hope, We come before You with attentive ears. Let the Word of Transforming Power speak deeply within us, so that it convicts us, challenges us, and consumes us with fire. Speak to us, O God, Your servants are listening. Amen.
Mark Sanford, former South Carolina Governor; Arnold Schwarzenegger, former California Governor; Bill Clinton, former US President; Donald Trump, former US President; Jim Bakker, the most popular televangelist in the 1980s; Jimmy Swaggart, a Pentecostal televangelist; Bob Coy, the most famous evangelical pastor in Florida; Carl Lentz, former Hillsong Church New York Pastor;
Mark Driscoll, Founder and former Pastor of Mars Hill Church, Seattle; John Lowe, II, former pastor of New Life Christian Church in Indiana; and Ravi Zacharias, Canadian-American Evangelical minister and Christian apologist.
Do you know what is common with these leaders? Sexual misconduct, rape, and adultery. Sadly, these are only a few of so many. The fall of the trusted leaders makes us speechless, disappointed, and heartbroken.
When an effective and successful leader, whether a politician, a teacher, a writer, a coach, a parent, a pastor, or a role model, is involved in some ethical downfall, disqualifying himself (or herself) from leadership, it devastates those following them. And reactions will range from confusion to disbelief to fury.
Especially, for those religious leaders, we wonder how someone God has used so powerfully was captured by such sin. Those against Christianity are secretly glad to see another talented leader go down while some Christians withdraw from church and rebel in disgust and anger.
Whatever else we feel in the wake of the fall, we see that the consequences of sin in leaders seep into the church, leading people astray — away from the Lord and the church.
However, it is not limited to religious leaders, each of us is accountable for our sins. Our sins not only destroy ourselves but also break the heart of God and the aftermath of our sinful acts crushes our loved ones.
The Fall of King David is one of the saddest stories in the Bible and is hard to swallow.
We’ve been studying about King David in the book of 2 Samuel.
Up to this point, everything got better and better for David, as he climbed (or, more accurately, was lifted by God’s grace) from shepherd boy to the Commander of King Saul’s Army, to King, uniting Israel, establishing Jerusalem as the capital city, building a splendid cedar palace, having numerous wives and children, and acquiring stunning military victories and expansion.
When we met our hero last week, he wanted to build a temple for God’s dwelling place. Although it wasn’t the right time or right move, his heart was in the right place, and he received a divine promise of an everlasting dynasty in his house. In return, he offered God the sincere and humble prayer of thanksgiving.
Everything had been going David’s way. He had proven to be the king Israel had been looking for back in I Samuel 8. He not only led the armies of Israel to mighty victories, but as II Samuel 8:15 puts it, “David reigned over Israel, doing what was right and just for all his people.”
However, today’s text is the great turning point of the whole David story, marking the onset of his moral downfall. Being “a man after God’s own heart” did not give David immunity to the frailty and sinfulness of human beings. His reputation as a godly man was ruined.
It all happened because of one lazy day and one lustful look.
Verse 1 says it was spring when kings went to war, but David remained in Jerusalem. In the ancient near-eastern context, wars were not normally fought during winter because rains and cold weather made travel and military campaigning difficult. Fighting resumed in the spring.
David was a man of the battlefield. He was a warrior. He should have been out on the battlefield with his army but remained behind. Why did he stay back instead of leading his army in battle as usual?
The Bible doesn’t tell us why. Scholars assume that he got lazy and comfortable. He had the Mighty Thirty-30 bravest warriors- and the entire army. And after all, he was the king. He didn’t have to go to battle. Other commentators say that he was going through a midlife crisis.
Whatever the reason was, he was not where he should be. By choosing to stay back while his men were at war, David exposed himself to idleness and temptation. There are sayings about idleness. “Trouble springs from idleness.” “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
One late afternoon, after a nap or rest, David got up and wandered around the roof of his cedar palace. He saw a beautiful woman taking a bath from the rooftop and thought she was very beautiful.
Although the palace was on a hilltop, allowing him to overlook the city, how could he know she was so beautiful from a distance in the late afternoon? He didn't have binoculars or a telescope.
He could have seen hundreds of others, but how likely was it that he spotted her? I believe the devil orchestrated this.
When David saw a woman bathing, he had a choice: to turn away or to dwell on it. Initially, it was just a glance, but it soon became a gaze. He chose to dwell on the sight of the bathing woman.
It was not her great beauty that made the sight tempting. It was in the state of David’s heart and mind. Joseph was more severely tempted to commit sexual immorality than David was here, but he fled that temptation. Joseph ran away from Potiphar’s wife; even leaving his garment in her hand.
David could have ended the temptation by leaving the scene at that time, even after entertaining the temptation for a while. Instead, David put himself into a more tempting situation. He sent someone to find out who this woman was.
He was told her name was Bathsheba, her father was Eliam, one of David’s mighty men; her grandfather was Ahithophel – one of David’s chief counselors; and her husband was Uriah the Hittite, another man of David’s Thirty.
Knowing she was the wife of one of his close warriors and trusted friends, David was supposed to change his mind, but Uriah’s absence made the situation more tempting. David was blinded and his mind was clouded and confused.
David called for her. And so, in the middle of the night, Bathsheba had to come to the palace because it was the king’s order. The king slept with his friend’s wife that night and she returned home. It wasn’t a beautiful, romantic, love affair. It was adultery, rape, and a SIN.
I heard many male preachers blaming Bathsheba for deliberately bathing at night, enticing David.; however, she was only purifying herself after monthly menstruation. Also, many scholars argue that bathing in one’s courtyard was normal. It would have been private–except from the palace.
Before long Bathsheba realized she was pregnant. She sent word to David, otherwise, she would be stoned to death. He should have used the unexpected news as a prompt to repent. Instead, David did what most unrepentant sinners do: he tried to hide his sin.
So, he asked Joab, the commander of his army, to send Uriah. Uriah came from the battlefield not knowing why the king suddenly called him. After asking trivial questions about Joab and SITREP - the up-to-date military report, David told Uriah to go home and ‘wash his feet’, meaning go and sleep with your wife.
But Uriah didn’t go home. Uriah, and the king’s servants, slept that night at the palace entrance. David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So, he called Uriah, “Why didn’t you go home? You’ve been on the battlefield for months. Go home and relax.”
Uriah answered, “How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife when the Ark of God is out there with the fighting men of Israel and Judah in tents? And my master Joab and his servants are encamped in the open fields. As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
This must have pierced David’s heart because that was exactly what David was supposed to be doing. Uriah the Hittite had more integrity than the King of Israel.
Becoming more desperate, he tried to get Uriah drunk. But that didn’t work either. What David did next was disgraceful and unjustifiable.
He sent Uriah back to the battlefront with a hand-delivered letter to Joab. David commanded Joab to arrange Uriah’s death. Though it was disguised as the death of a raging battle, Uriah was murdered by David. David took advantage of his power.
One sin always leads to another sin. David’s lust led to adultery, deception, and entrapment that led to murder. The one who passionately danced for God became equally ecstatic and lost himself in lust and did anything to get away with his evil desires, even murder.
What David did was destructive to himself and others. What he did was a SIN. PERIOD. However, we are not in a position to condemn him because we are not any better. The famous religious leaders who preached about David’s fall fell.
Whether you are young or old, a man or woman, married or single, faithful member of church or new to church, it doesn’t matter. Sin crouches at our doors to devour us.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “So if you think you are standing firm, watch out that you do not fall.”
Today’s lesson is not about criticizing David for his sins or debating whether it was rape. Instead, it is about reflecting on ourselves.
When do you find yourself most vulnerable to temptation? When you’re lonely? When you’re watching TV? When you’re in front of a computer? When you’re bored? When you’re talking to a group of chatty people?
Temptation comes in many forms both large and small. We are often tempted to be impatient, stingy, jealous, and greedy.
These traits subtly infiltrate our daily lives, manifesting in behaviors such as holding grudges, justifying wrong attitudes, gossiping, feeling annoyed over others' success, bullying, reacting out of hurt, criticizing or finding fault—whether openly or secretly—and remaining silent in the face of injustice. The list goes on. Many times, we don't even realize these behaviors are wrong.
None of us here is innocent or sinless. If we allow a small sin to persist, it will eventually consume us.
When we are spiritually dull or idle like how David was or our relationship with Jesus is lukewarm, we become more vulnerable and insensitive to sin. Therefore, ask the Holy Spirit who is always with you to guard you from daily temptations and convict you when you fall.
The good news is that we have Jesus who is faithful and just, whose love covers a multitude of sins, and who died to pay the penalty of our sins. If we confess our sins, by His amazing grace, He will make our scarlet sins white as snow.
Friends, even those close to God can make serious mistakes and fall big. You and I have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. You and I are not immune to all kinds of luring temptations. However, our imperfection and our sinfulness do NOT disqualify us from the grace of God.
Recognizing our sinfulness, let us pray in humility, trusting that the power of the Holy Spirit, the marvelous grace of Jesus, and the indescribable love of God will get us through life’s trials and temptations.
Let us pray.
Righteous Father, We are weak and sinful. We cannot live a day without You. Jesus our Lord, thank You for the cross and for the price You paid, bearing all our sins and shame. Thank You for washing us white as snow with Your blood. Holy Spirit, convict us when we fall and create in us clean hearts.