God has established David as a great king in a newly created Israel. This is the account of a new fall, marring that new creation. In this chapter, David commits adultery, followed up with murder. His subsequent attempts at a bungled cover-up resulted in one of the best known stories of human history. So much for cover-ups. But though the outlines of the story are well-known, there is a lot more to it than is commonly supposed.

The Text

“And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. . .” (2 Sam. 11:1-27).

Summary of the Text

The time of year came when kings go out to battle, but David does not go out to battle (v. 1). When David gets up from a long afternoon nap, and while walking on his roof in his palace pjs, he sees a beautiful woman bathing (v. 2). He inquires and finds out who she is (v. 3). David sends messengers for her, and she came to him in adultery (v. 4). After a time, she sends word to David that she is pregnant (v. 5). These are her only words in the entire narrative. So David summons Uriah from the front (v. 6). When he arrives, David asks him about this and that (v. 7). David then dismisses Uriah to go home, and David sends along a catered, romantic dinner after him (v. 8). But Uriah didn’t go home—he camped at the door of the king’s house (v. 9). David was told this the next day, and so he asked Uriah why he hadn’t gone home (v. 10). Uriah’s answer was a true rebuke full of faith —the Ark of the Covenant is in the field. The armies of Israel and Judah are in the field. How could he go home to sleep with his wife (v. 11)? So David tells him to stay another day before he returned (v. 12). That evening, David called him to the royal table—where Mephibosheth was, remember—and got him drunk. But he still wouldn’t go home (v. 13). So the next day, David sends Uriah back to Joab, carrying his own death warrant in a letter (v. 14). The instructions were to abandon Uriah on the field of battle so that he would be killed (v. 15). Joab followed instructions, in modified form, and Uriah was killed (vv. 16-17). Joab then sent a messenger to tell David that a number of men had to die in order to accomplish his wishes. If David gets angry, then console him with news of an additional casualty (vv. 18-21). So the whole sordid affair is an open secret by this point, and the messenger doesn’t wait to be asked (vv. 22-24). David tells the messenger to tell Joab not to be displeased (v. 25), because these things do happen in war. When Bathsheba heard that Uriah was dead, she mourned for him (v. 26). When that mourning was over (typically seven days), David summoned her, married her, and she bore him a son (v. 27). But the Lord was displeased.

Palace Intrigues

This is a story full of palace intrigue, with messengers coming and going. This adultery was an open secret. One of his courtiers told David who Bathsheba was—that woman, there, bathing—and then messengers fetched her. She was a willing participant, which can see seen in the subject/object switch in v. 4, where she “came in unto him.” Like the Eagles had it in Lyin’ Eyes, she rushes to his arms, they fall together.

And Joab had David figured out, as we can see from the Abimelech story—a woman took him out, just like some other people he could mention. Uriah was killed from the wall. David looked down on Bathsheba from the wall, but he was the one destroyed—by a woman—from another wall, one he couldn’t see. Uriah was not the only one sacrificed (v. 17), because to abandon Uriah all by himself would have been too obvious, too transparent.

Uriah the Great

Uriah is a true Hittite convert. He is identified as a Hittite, but his name is a pious Israelite name, meaning “the

Lord is my light.” He is one of David’s elite corps of 30 (2 Sam. 23:39). His loyalty was the real thing. He

would not go home sleep with his wife when the Ark of the Covenant was at war. He swore by David’s life, and David’s soul’s life, that he would not do such a thing (v. 11). But he was actually swearing by his own life. Another member of that elite corps was Eliam (2 Sam. 23:34; 1 Chron. 3:5), Bathsheba’s father. His father, Bathsheba’s grandfather, was Ahithophel, one of David’s great counselors, who later went over to Absalom. Wonder why. Absalom executed vigilante justice against Amnon over Tamar, but at least he did something. There are two possibilities here in this story. Either Uriah knew he had been cuckolded or he did not. If he did not, the story is suffused with irony. If he did, it is a story of high brinksmanship, suffused with irony.

Competitive Crackle

The issue here was not simple physical desire. As the prophet Nathan later points out, there were plenty of women available that would not have brought all this trouble upon David’s house (2 Sam. 12:8). Whenever there was a regimental banquet for the 30, you can be assured that it was a room full of testosterone. It would have been a room full of top gun pilots, a room full of swagger. This was the heroic age—Achilles and Hector were only a century or so earlier, and about 700 miles away. David could easily have had some Trojans in his army.

Now when such men give way to ungodly competition, it usually involves the three g’s—gold, glory, and girls. Never make the mistake of thinking that desire is a straight line affair. This kind of desire is always a web. And too many Christian women think that desire—lust—is an affliction that the men have to deal with, poor buddies, and the men are patted on the head patronizingly. But sorry, I don’t buy it. The world lies under the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Men want to want, and women want to be wanted. Men want to attain and women want to be attained. Moreover, they want this in the presence of others, with others in view.

C.S. Lewis once wrote in a letter, “The idea of female beauty is the erotic stimulus for women as well as men . . . i.e. a lascivious man thinks about women’s bodies, a lascivious woman thinks about her own. What a world we live in!” Human sexuality is a key and a lock—it is a complete mechanism. When we fell, the whole thing fell, and not just the key. The lesson here is to not kid yourself.

Bathsheba Blessed

This is the story where we are introduced to Bathsheba, an ancestress of the Lord Jesus. There are four women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, and all of them had reputation issues. One is Tamar, who slept with her father-in-law (Matt. 1:3). Another was Rahab the harlot from Jericho (Matt. 1:5), the great-great- grandmother of David. A third was Ruth the Moabitess, the daughter-in-law of Rahab (Matt. 1:5). And the last was Bathsheba, mother of Solomon (Matt. 1:6).

God promised David a line of kings to sit on the throne, and God fulfilled that promise through the woman who disqualified him from receiving the fulfillment of that promise. Bathsheba was a sinner, along with David, but she, along with David, was a true penitent. Later in the narrative, when Nathan the prophet is organizing the godly faction within the court, Bathsheba is allied with him. We should not hesitate to call her sister—the Lord Jesus could call her mother. The Lord Jesus is the Son of David, and that is quite a glory. But how was it possible for Him to be the Son of David? Through adultery and murder, that’s how.

In the previous chapter, David showed covenant kindness (hesed) to a prince who had lost his father, which is what happens in this chapter also. In the previous chapter, it was received with loyalty and deep gratitude. In this chapter, it starts a war.

The Text

“And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father . . .” (2 Sam. 10:1-19).

Summary of the Text

The king of Ammon died, and his son Hanun came to the throne (v. 1). David determined to show kindness (hesed) to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as a reciprocal kindness (v. 2). Incidentally, Hanun means gracious and Nahash means serpent, meaning that this is a role reversal story. David sent diplomats as envoys/comforters, and Hanun’s counselors tell him that they must be spies (vv. 2-3). So Hanun has half their beards cut off, and their special diplomatic garments cut off at the hip (v. 4). They were humiliated, so David told them to stay in Jericho until their beards grew out again (v. 5). So the Ammonites saw that they had successfully picked a fight, and so they hired some Syrian mercenaries (v. 6). David heard this, and sent Joab to fight (v. 7). The Ammonites came out and set up in front of their city, and the Syrians were deployed in the field (v. 8), which hemmed the Israelites in. Joab saw this, and picked an elite group to fight the Syrians (v. 9), and the main body under Abishai to fight the Ammonites (v. 10). The agreement was that if either Israelite body faltered, the other would help (v. 11). Joab, for all his faults, was a superb field commander, and gave them all a stirring word of faith (v. 12). So Joab routed the Syrians (v. 13), and the Ammonites fled from Abishai (v. 14). When the Syrian mercenaries were seen to have been defeated, all the Syrians gathered en masse (vv. 15-16). David hears, and he goes out to battle (v. 17). The battle was joined, and David won a decisive victory (v. 18). And when the Syrian vassals saw the situation, they transferred their allegiance to David (v. 19), and the Syrians were done helping Ammon.

Victory with Foreboding

In this section of the story, even though David is triumphant in these two battles, something is missing. This chapter is the set-up and crucial background for the Bathsheba story, which is coming in the next chapter. In David’s previous victories, the historian went out of his way to say how the Lord was “with” David. Nothing but mojo in every direction. But here that blessing is not pronounced, and there is a sense that David is on autopilot. For the first battle, he sends Joab out to the fight, and a little voice inside us should say uh oh. For the big, second battle, David rallies, but then the next chapter sees David hanging around in Jerusalem again, giving way this time to sleep and to lust.

Resting on Past Accomplishments

Cotton Mather said it well. Faithfulness begat prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother. It is so easy to tell yourself that you have “earned” the respite. It is so easy to be seduced away from God’s kindness to us by being stupidly dazzled . . . by God’s kindness to us.

But our task is to swim upstream. And the moment we stop swimming upstream (by faith) is the instant that we are floating downstream. In this life, in this setting, in this circumstance, there is no “neutral.” We are not walking up a path, but rather swimming up a river. There is no way to stop in order to “consolidate your gains.”

A Pattern of Division

This chapter is remarkable for how things are cut in two. We begin with the beards, and then with the diplomats’ garments. After that, the Ammonite forces are divided in two, and Joab divides his forces in two. Joab prevails by means of this tactic, but it seems that what we might have here is a thematic introduction of fundamental division. The rest of 2 Samuel is all about division—particularly the division of the kingdom—and it begins here.

The cutting of the beards was an insult to their masculinity, and it was true humiliation. The cutting of the garments was treacherous, an assault on diplomatic immunity, and it was also a sexual indignity. Moreover, to hack their beards was an insult to their religious identity (Lev. 19:27), and the cutting of the robes was the same thing again (Num. 15:37-41). This was an insult to the Torah.

In the previous chapter, there was no dialogue. We had a summary of David’s exploits, and a testimony to how wonderfully God had established him on his throne. In this chapter, we return to ground level, beginning with “And David said . . .”

The Text

“And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? . . .” (2 Sam. 9:1-13).

Summary of the Text

David, now well established as king, remembers his covenant with Jonathan. Is there anyone he can show kindness to (hesed) from the house of Saul, for the sake of Jonathan? (v. 1). David’s courtiers apparently didn’t know of anyone, so they called someone who might know—Ziba, a man who had been a servant to Saul (v. 2). Ziba tells David that there was a son to Jonathan, lame in both feet (v. 3). He is living up north, in Lo-Debar, with a man named Machir (v. 4). Lo-Debar means nothing or no word. Think of it as living in Nothingburg. But for such an out of the way place, it housed one of Scripture’s greats—Machir (2 Sam. 17:27). So David sent, and brought Mephibosheth from there (v. 5). Mephibosheth came into David’s presence and prostrated himself (v. 6), which must have been very hard for him to do. David reassured him, made him a rich man, and gave him a seat with all the princes (v. 7). Mephibosheth responds by calling himself a dead dog, which makes self- esteem counselors everywhere shift uneasily in their seats (v. 8). David then entrusts the management of all the estates to Ziba, with a charge to take care of them for Mephibosheth, together with Ziba’s sons and servants (vv. 9-11). Mephibosheth had a son named Micha, who only appears here (v. 12). And so Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both of his feet (v. 13).

A Shot at the Throne

Mephibosheth did not pose any real threat to David’s position, especially from his out-of-the-way place as recipient of Machir’s kindness. But when he is brought near to the court, with a son, he is brought close enough to make Ziba’s later slander of him at least some kind of plausible (2 Sam. 16:3). It was never very plausible, both because of Mephibosheth’s lameness, and the fact that David was fleeing because of another very powerful pretender to the throne. But ambition is capable of not making very much sense, and his new position made that slander more plausible than it would have been before.

Hessed

Hesed is what David shows to Mephibosheth. This word refers to faithfulness to obligations under a covenant (in this case, between David and Jonathan), a faithfulness that is expressed by means of generosity and kindness. Think of it as covenant kindness, and so we should remember this incident as we are seeking to live as God’s covenant people. The covenant is not this great contract in the sky—the covenant is kept by means of remembrance and kindness. That is covenant keeping, and it can only be done by faith working through love.

Hesed takes the initiative. It overflows. It is not reluctant and does not hang back. Mephibosheth had no idea of what was coming, and it was hesed that was coming to him. Do you want to be faithful as God’s covenant people? Then surprise one another.

When David had been driven from the king’s table, Jonathan took the initiative, sought David out, and made a covenant with him. And now, when the king’s table is David’s table, he seeks out the son of Jonathan. We receive in order that we might give. We should long to receive much because we long to give much. We should give in order to get, in order that we may give some more.

Two Men Exalted

There were two men exalted here—Ziba and Mephibosheth, but only one of them fully. We learn from the following narrative that the one who was exalted as a result of hesed returned that covenant kindness with covenant loyalty, which is part of hesed. When Absalom revolted against David, Ziba brought provisions to David, but did so while lying grievously about Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 16:1-4). His ploy worked, at least initially, and David gave him all the lands that he had been steward of. But when David returned from exile, he discovered that Mephibosheth had been entirely faithful (2 Sam. 19:24-30). Ziba was promoted, but not really. Just as David had his Joab, so Mephibosheth had his Ziba. Mephibosheth was promoted, and the grandson of Saul remained faithful to the grace of God that had come to him.

There are forms of loyalty that are unhealthy, but in this passage we see the kind of character that is loyal in the right way. We see it first in Machir—who is kind to Mephibosheth, excluded from the throne, and then later kind to David, when he was excluded from the throne. Machir was loyal. Mephibosheth expected no kindness, and when it was given to him, he responded to it with the right kind of loyalty. Hesed is the foundation of the right kind of loyalty.

Dead Dogs at the Table

We are gathering around a Table here. All of us belonged at one point to the house of the previous king. We are all of us lame in both our feet, and couldn’t rule over a paper kingdom. And yet, despite our helplessness and contemptible estate, God showed us mercy and kindness. He, through His great Son of David, invited us to come to the court, and to be seated with princes. We came, knowing ourselves to be nothing but dead dogs. That is the disposition that a true convert has. Who am I, that the great God of Heaven should show such kindness to me? David follows the instruction of Jesus here, showing kindness to someone who cannot pay him back.

Note that Mephibosheth said, “who am I, that I should come?” but then he came. Worm theology, in the sense that is unedifying and unhelpful, is the kind of theology that says “who am I, that I should come?” and then does not come. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up (1 Pet. 5:6). The Syro- Phoenician woman also called herself a dog, eating the crumbs under the table, but she also came.

The hand under which we are humbled is the hand of Christ, and the hand that lifts us up is the hand of Christ. When we are lifted up, when we are summoned, we come to the table, and we come in order to eat the bread of the Lord continually (vv. 7, 10, 13).

In this chapter, we have a summary of David’s very public victories before we return to the narrative of David’s life from a closer vantage. We also see the establishment of the blessed height from which David fell through his sin with Bathsheba—how much he tried to throw away.

The Text

“And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg- ammah out of the hand of the Philistines . . .” (2 Sam. 8:1-18).

Summary of the Text

The first thing that happened was that David completely subdued the Philistines to the west (v. 1). After that he completely struck Moab, executing two thirds of the prisoners (v. 2). We don’t know what Moab did to warrant such severe treatment, but it must have been pretty bad—David was partly of Moabite descent (Ruth 4:17), and his parents had been given asylum there when Saul was pursuing David (1 Sam. 22:3-4). David smote Hadadezer of the Arameans (v. 3). David took captive a thousand chariots, but ham-strung most of the horses for them (Dt. 17:16). When the Syrians tried to help Hadadezer, David defeated them also (v. 5), placing garrisons in Damascus (v. 6). The Lord preserved David in everything (v. 6). David captured shields (maybe quivers) of gold, and brought them home (v. 7). David took an enormous amount of brass (v. 8). When Toi heard of this, he sent his son Joram with great gifts (v. 9-10). David dedicated this tribute, and his other great plunder, to the Lord (vv. 11-12). David’s reputation soared after he defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt (v. 13). He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and the refrain that God was with him is repeated (v. 14). So David reigned in Israel, and he executed judgment and justice for all the people (v. 15). Joab was the military commander and Jehoshaphat the recorder (v. 16). There were two high priests, which is interesting (v. 17). Benaiah was over the foreign palace guard (v. 18), and David’s sons were priests (v. 18).

Some Ends and Odds

We have some manuscript issues to sort out. The Masoretic text has Aram in v. 13, while Chronicles (and the LXX here) has Edom. Because the Valley of Salt is in the region of Edom, I think that is the better reading. David is the one who establishes the line of Zadok as a priestly line, descended from Aaron, while keeping Ahimelech (who was of the Shilonite house of Eli, claiming descent from Moses). David puts representatives of both these rival priestly houses in office, while knowing that the line of Eli had to come to an end sometime (1 Kings 2:27).

We are also told here that David’s sons served as priests (v. 18). The word is cohen, priests. Chronicles uses a different word, one which means chief officials (1 Chron. 18:17), so there are various possibilities. David’s sons were all from Judah, and so could not be priests in the public worship of God. One possibility is that these princes were authorized officials, able to conduct whatever priestly functions were allowed the king. Another possibility is that they were “chaplains” in private worship within the palace.

David established an elite force (probably a palace guard) formed of foreign Gentiles. The Cherethites were from Crete, and perhaps the Pelethites as well. Close loyalties are sometimes a great breeding ground for treachery, as David clearly knew.

The Meaning of Justice

We see that in the establishment of the Israelite monarchy, the king was the final court in the judiciary. It says here that David “executed judgment and justice unto all his people” (v. 15). His son Solomon established his reputation for wisdom in how he resolved a particularly thorny court case (1 Kings 3:16). And in the later revolt of David’s son Absalom, this was how Absalom prepared the way for his revolt, by sowing the seeds of discontent about how the court cases were not being resolved well (2 Sam. 15:3).

One of the things we have to get clear in our minds is the relationship in a society between top-down justice and bottom-up justice. The people get a government that is better than they deserve—that’s true enough. But that doesn’t mean that mercy and deliverance can’t come from the top. We want the dignity of individual responsibility without the idolatry of individualism.

The Meaning of Joram

In the story given of Toi—king of a neo-Hittite kingdom—we have another instance of Gentile conversion. Toi is not just paying tribute, it is a matter of religious allegiance. In 1 Chron. 18:10, his son’s name is given as Hadoram, which means “Hadad is exalted.” The Hadad that is referred to is the Hadad with whom Toi had gone to war in the past (v. 10), wars that had apparently not gone all that well. Joram here means “Yah is exalted.” There are any number of ways where we see how Gentiles were attracted to David.

Son of Jesse, Root of Jesse

David was a righteous king, and a relative type of the coming Son of David. We see him attracting and gathering Gentiles. We saw the Gittites who fought alongside him. We see Obed-edom. We see Toi, the Hittite king. But he was capable of letting them down also, as in the drastic case of Uriah the Hittite.
The image in the type had blemishes. Not so many as to undo the type, but enough to mar it. The antitype, the true gatherer of Gentiles, will never let anyone down in that way. There will be no grievous disappointment. And why?

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious” (Is. 11:9-10).

When things are going our way, we want to build God a house. But God says no, let me build you a house. This is God’s way of doing things, and this is what justification by faith alone is all about.

The Text

“And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet . . .” (2 Sam. 7:1-29).

Summary of the Text

The Lord gave David rest round about from his enemies, and so the king sat in his house (v. 1). The king said to Nathan that he lived in a house of cedar, while the ark was in curtains (v. 2). Nathan, apart from a word from God, thought it was a good idea to build a temple (v. 3), but that night a prophetic word came to Nathan (v. 4). He was told to tell David, shall you build Me a house (v. 5)? Has God needed a permanent house up to this point (vv. 6-7). God took David from his role as shepherd (v. 8), and God has made David great (v. 9). God promises that He will plant Israel, and not move them around as before (v. 10). He then comes to the great promise—He will make David a house (v. 11). First, he will establish a line, a dynasty, unlike Saul (v. 12). David’s son will build the temple (v. 13). He will receive fatherly discipline (v. 14), but will not ever be rejected as Saul was (v. 15). God will establish the Davidic throne forever (v. 16). This was the word of the Lord through Nathan (v. 17).

So David went into the tabernacle (of David) and sat before the Lord (before the ark) (v. 18). “Who am I?” he said (v. 18). What is this? (v. 19). What can I say? (v. 20). God did this for His Word’s sake (v. 21). There is no God like the Lord (v. 22). And related to this, there is no nation with a history of deliverance like Israel (vv. 23-24). As Mary said, so let it be as you have said, so also David (v. 25). Let God’s name be magnified in His faithfulness to the house of David (v. 26). David’s prayer this way is based on God’s promise (v. 27). God has promised goodness to his servant (v. 28).

A Servant on the Throne

When David was established in his rule, and had been given rest from his enemies round about, we see this described as him sitting (v. 1). After Nathan’s word to him, he goes into the tabernacle and sits before the Lord there (v. 18). This is the only time in the Bible where sitting is described as a posture of prayer, but it is fitting. It is a coronation prayer—David is being enthroned.

But at the same time, it is a servant king who is being enthroned. The word servant is used eleven times in this chapter. This is a covenant-making occasion (Ps. 89:19-37; Ps. 132:10-12). Keep this in mind whenever you are thinking about Romans 13—where civil magistrates are described as God’s servants, God’s deacons.

Apostolic Commentary

One of the great tragedies of our time is the refusal of modern Christians to allow the New Testament to interpret the Old Testament for them. We often start to go down that road, but then pull up short.
First, Hebrews 1:5 quotes from our text, and applies it to Jesus. The promise to David included Solomon, and the rest of the Davidic kings (“when he commits iniquity . . .”), but it does not stop there. The throne of David is forever because Jesus is enthroned on it (Luke 1:32).

But we need to be prepared to be staggered the way David was—even though it is hard to be prepared for something like that. Our passage is also quoted in 2 Cor. 6:18. “And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” He shall be my son includes, in the original context, many sons. But here Paul makes it explicit, and includes all of you in this room. “Ye shall be my sons and daughters.”