It wasn’t the Psalmist of Israel who was honorable, but one of his soldiers who exemplified honor. When it was the usual time to go to battle, David sent his soldiers but, for whatever reason, he stayed back at the palace. “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army… But David remained in Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 11:1)
One night, unable to sleep, David walked outside. Inadvertently, he observed a woman bathing. It was bad enough that he stared, but instead of returning to sleep, he sent someone to find out more about her. When the servant reported back, he said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” (2 Samuel 11:3)
You will find Uriah’s name listed among David’s mighty warriors in 1 Chronicles 11:41. Therefore, Uriah was well known to David. Upon hearing that the woman was Uriah’s wife, David should have dropped the pursuit. Instead, he allowed his hormones to take charge of his decisions. Though he already had at least six wives, he sent for her and committed adultery.
Learning later that Bathsheeba was pregnant, David called Uriah back from the battle, hoping he would have sex with his wife and assume the child was his. This is where Uriah’s honor stands in stark contrast to the dishonor of David, because he did not go home, but slept outside the palace with the other servants. When asked why, Uriah explained, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.” (2 Samuel 11:11)
Seeing that his plan was failing, David considered that his only alternative was to arrange Uriah’s death in battle. You and I might think that we would never stoop as low as David did, but this serves as a warning that sin is a slippery slope. We don’t know how far we’d go to protect our reputation and to keep our sin from being found out. “These things [Old Testament] happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:11–12)
Nine months later, David repented and found the Lord’s forgiveness. But God said, “Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.” (2 Samuel 12:10) What were some of those consequences? Amnon, David’s oldest son, raped David’s daughter. Her brother, Absalom, took revenge and murdered Amnon. Years later, Absalom tried to kill David and overthrow his kingdom.
David’s evening of sin illustrates the saying that “sin takes us farther than we want to go, keeps us longer than we want to stay, and costs us more than we want to pay.” All this could have been avoided if David had gone to fight or at least, gone back to bed alone. Thankfully, he also illustrates the fact that God is willing to forgive us when we repent of our sins. Consequences may remain, but sins are completely forgiven.
Whether you think that you are too bad to be forgiven, or too good to need it, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) You are the “whoever.” The invitation is open to you. Receive Jesus soon. There is no one more honorable than Jesus that you should follow.
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