It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. . . Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 2 Samuel 11: 1-4, NKJV.
Dear God, as we come into Your presence to study Your Word, may we find the answers to our questions, and may we learn from Your Word, how to keep ourselves untouched by the world. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen.
Today we will continue studying about some of the problems that families have had to deal with ever since sin entered the world. We have looked at the problems of divorce, the consequences of a parent favoring one child above another. Today, we will look at the problem of unfaithfulness between spouses. This is one of the most common problems of our day. I believe that more homes have been affected by this problem than by any other. When we spoke about the problem of divorce, we did not mention adultery. We looked at it from the broader sense: that “because of the hardness” of the human heart, a relationship that was to end, only in death (“till death ye do part”), was now being dissolved, “for any cause.”
In our study today we are going to look at the only reason the Word of God mentions as a legitimate basis for divorce: adultery. Perhaps the most helpful way to look at this problem is by considering ways to avoid it. I believe that one of the best ways to avoid any temptation is by staying off of forbidden ground, and one way of doing that is by being in the right place, at the right time!
Our scripture for today informs us that, “in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle . . . David remained at Jerusalem.” He was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
If I had one suggestion to make about how we should fortify ourselves against temptation, it would be to: decide that we are not going to sin before we are faced with the possibility of sinning! It is not very often that we fall into sin. Most of the time we walk into sin, with our eyes wide open! As married men and women, let us decide, in the sight of God, and by His grace, that we are not going to sin. May God help us to get to the place where we would rather die, than sin against God! Joseph’s attitude is one worthy of emulation: “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God” (Genesis 39: 9b)? His action shows a made up mind. His words are an indication that he had seen Mrs. Potiphar’s attempts, and had decided, ahead of time, that he would not sin against God, or humans!
I do not know what was the normal manner, and where was the correct location, for women to take their baths, during the time of David the king. As far as walking on top of the roof was concerned, that may have been the normal thing to do, if you just wanted to relax. As the king, perhaps he wanted to see the extent of his dominion. Sometimes when we ascend to positions of authority, we begin to believe that we are the owners not only of property, but of people! Who knows, if in his surveying he counted her as part of his property. How wrong he was! Whatever the situation, we have already established that he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
But his error went even further; after that first, apparently accidental glance – he continued to look! He could have walked away, or immediately looked away. After he investigated, and found out who she was, he could have prayed for the strength to forget her and cleave to his wife (the irony is that he had more than one wife – one bad decision usually leads to another, and another . . .). Instead, knowing that she was another man’s wife; the wife of an officer in his army, with his eyes wide open, and with malicious intent, he lay with her. What he had committed in secret would be permitted to come to light! From that day onward, he had unleashed a series of evil, that would haunt him until the day he died.The real tragedy, is that our bad decisions do not only affect us. It also affects those closest to us, and even those not so close to us, especially when we are in positions of high visibility (people in authority).
In the book of James we find some really good advice against temptation: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4: 7).
NOTE: These counsels are shared from a Biblical, not a clinical, perspective.