2 Samuel 11
Second Samuel 11 describes an incident often seen as a significant turning point in King David’s life. In this chapter, the story records how David gets drawn into an improper relationship with Bathsheba and the tragic decision he makes to have Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, killed on the battlefield in order to cover it up. Through the gradual unfolding of all these events, the biblical writer shows human weakness and the seriousness of the sin that flows from it.
1verseAt the return of the year, at the time when kings go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.
2verseAt evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
3verseDavid sent and inquired after the woman. One said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, Uriah the Hittite’s wife?”
4verseDavid sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned to her house.
5verseThe woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”
6verseDavid sent to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Joab sent Uriah to David.
7verseWhen Uriah had come to him, David asked him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.
8verseDavid said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
9verseBut Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and didn’t go down to his house.
10verseWhen they had told David, saying, “Uriah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Haven’t you come from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?”
11verseUriah said to David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah, are staying in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open field. Shall I then go into my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing!”
12verseDavid said to Uriah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next day.
13verseWhen David had called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. At evening, he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but didn’t go down to his house.
14verseIn the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15verseHe wrote in the letter, saying, “Send Uriah to the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck and die.”
16verseWhen Joab kept watch on the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew that valiant men were.
17verseThe men of the city went out and fought with Joab. Some of the people fell, even of David’s servants; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18verseThen Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
19verseand he commanded the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the things concerning the war to the king,
20verseit shall be that, if the king’s wrath arise, and he asks you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Didn’t you know that they would shoot from the wall?
21verseWho struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Didn’t a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”
22verseSo the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23verseThe messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field; and we were on them even to the entrance of the gate.
24verseThe shooters shot at your servants from off the wall; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.”
25verseThen David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your battle stronger against the city, and overthrow it.’ Encourage him.”
26verseWhen Uriah’s wife heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27verseWhen the mourning was past, David sent and took her home to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
The Flow of the Main Events
- Verses 1-5: During a time when the war is in full swing, David remains in the palace in Jerusalem. At that time, he sees Bathsheba bathing, allows desire to take hold in his heart, and calls her, committing a serious wrongdoing.
- Verses 6-13: Upon hearing the news that Bathsheba is pregnant, David summons her husband, Uriah, from the battlefield so he can try to hide his own sin. But Uriah does not go home because he cannot be with his fellow soldiers.
- Verses 14-25: To cover up his wrongdoing, David sends Uriah to the fiercest part of the fighting and, in the end, Uriah is killed in battle.
- Verses 26-27: Bathsheba mourns the death of her husband, but David soon brings her into the palace and makes her his wife. However, the final line of the passage records that God considered this to be evil.
The Meaning of the Passage and Its Structural Features
This chapter can be compressed into five key themes: class, power, responsibility, temptation, and consequences. Even though David was in a position of great authority as king, his moral downfall begins when he uses his power for personal purposes. The passage shows the nature and seriousness of sin in that David’s actions do not end with a single mistake, but instead lead to deeper and deeper wrongdoing. The biblical author gives sufficient time to David’s choices, suggesting the ripple effects that human decisions bring and the importance of facing them rather than avoiding them.
Points for Reflection
- The passage shows that no one can be free from temptation and mistakes regardless of their position or status.
- Remembering that attempts to conceal sin can bring about another sin, we can reflect on how important it is to take responsibility for our actions.
- We can also be reminded that good intentions or external success do not guarantee inner morality.
Applying It to Me
- I take time to look back and ask whether, in everyday life, I am perhaps easily justifying small temptations or wrong choices.
- Rather than hiding wrongdoing, this can be a time to learn an attitude of honest acknowledgement and taking responsibility for the sake of preventing greater consequences.
- Remembering that true repentance and change begin with my own decision, I ask God again today for an honest heart in His presence.
