A few important events to give context to today’s post:
·
The Lord killed
Nabal, and David ended up marrying Abigail.
·
King Saul and his
son Prince Jonathan were both killed in battle by the Philistines.
·
David is
eventually crowned King of all Israel - he finally defeats the local Canaanite
tribes to usher in Israel’s “Golden Age”.
·
David continued to
push to expand the borders of his kingdom, fighting the Syrians and Ammonites.
King David and Bathsheba
READ 2 Samuel 10:17-18 and
11:1
What was the King’s duty during wartime?
To personally lead the troops
in battle.
What is David doing?
Shirking his duty by staying
home.
Making mistake #1.
READ 2 Samuel 11:2
What is the lesson to be learned from this verse?
The Holy Spirit goes to bed at
midnight…
“We like the dark. Dark for dark business” (from Tolkien’s The
Hobbit).
Even if we are not looking for
trouble, the Adversary will put trouble in our way - it’s his business.
You are not helping yourself
with temptation if you’ve chosen to be somewhere that you shouldn’t be –
particularly a “dark” place.
After having seen the beautiful woman bathing, what is
David’s best next step?
Get on a horse and get back to
that battle where he should have been all along.
Sing a hymn (compose a psalm).
Return to his bed.
It is interesting that as part
of the “thick darkness” that gathered around the young prophet Joseph when he
knelt in the sacred grove were improper images…“He therefore, retired to a
secret place in a grove but a short distance from his father's house, and knelt
down and began to call upon the Lord. At first he was severely tempted by the
powers of darkness which endeavored to overcome him. The adversary benighted
his mind with doubts, and brought to his soul all kinds of improper pictures
and tried to hinder him in his efforts, and the accomplishment of his goal.
However, the overflowing mercy of God came to buoy him up, and gave new impulse
and momentum to his dwindling strength.” (Orson Hyde’s journal).
Is Bathsheba at fault for David’s reaction to her?
No.
He is looking where he should
not be.
Nowhere in the scriptures does
it say that Bathsheba was at fault for this.
READ 2 Samuel 11:3
What did David do instead?
He allowed his mind to keep
thinking about her.
He chose to inquire after her
- who is she? Pushing the relationship
onward, in his head/heart at least - enabling more.
READ 2 Samuel 11:4
What does David do when he learns that Bathsheba is
married?
He makes a fourth (not being
in battle, not turning away from the sight, not inquiring after the woman) bad
decision.
He pursues her regardless -
and sleeps with her.
What does David think will come of this deed?
Either he’s not thinking –
he’s overcome with lust.
Or as the King of Israel, he
thinks he can get anything he wants – arrogance.
Or he thinks no one else will
ever know.
If David doesn’t think he’ll be found out, what does
this imply about his faith?
He doesn’t really have any.
God isn’t real to him at that
moment (he’s “forgotten everything”).
As faith is the moving cause
of all action - if he believed that a) God existed and was omniscient or even
b) the spirit world existed and entities were observing him, he would have
exercised faith in that notion.
Chances are that he would not
have committed his act right in front of the Lord, but this is in fact what he
did (and we do the same when we win) - there is no dark place dark enough to
hide our deeds or thoughts from the all seeing eye of God (see Alma 39:8).
READ 2 Samuel 11:5
What is the consequence of David’s action?
A natural consequence -
Bathsheba gets pregnant.
READ Alma 39:5,9 and Mosiah
4:30
How could David have avoided the Bathsheba incident?
He could have “crossed”
himself. “Watch yourself” - your
thoughts, words, and deeds - there is a relationship between these three.
The mind can only entertain
one thought at a time - you decide what to think about at any given moment.
Observe the commandments and
continue in the faith = fill your mind and life with so much light that the
dark becomes as unappealing as it can be (knowing that we are still in this
mortal condition and some things are physiological).
Adultery is an Abomination
READ Jacob 2:24
How does the Lord feel about adultery and fornication?
It is an abominable sin - next
to murder and sinning against the Holy Ghost.
It is abominable because it
takes something sacred and godlike and makes it profane and without divine
objective.
It is abominable because it
betrays a relationship that is supposed to mirror your relationship with God.
What is the relationship between David’s behavior with
Bathsheba and his attitude towards adding more wives?
He’s not really “crossed
himself”, has he?
It is a slippery slope David
is on – a flaxen cord: first multiple wives, then concubines, then whoever he
wants, like Bathsheba.
Remember Abigail was also David’s wife at this time;
how does David’s faithlessness to Abigail mirror our relationship with Christ?
David betrayed Abigail as we
betray Christ by:
1) “whoring after other gods”
- He says we shall have no other gods before Him.
2) not keeping the
commandments which He has given us - showing Him that we do not love Him, for
if we did love Him, we would keep His commandments and love Him; we would not
betray our relationship with Him.
Using the Atonement symbolism
in 1 Samuel 25, David’s sin in betraying Abigail is like betraying Christ after
having known Him… it warrants not receiving “forgiveness of sins in this
world nor in the world to come” (see D&C 84:41). We will talk more about this analogy when we
read Hosea.
The Valiant Men
After learning Bathsheba is
pregnant, King David is in a panic - first he brings Bathsheba’s husband home
from battle to attempt to appear to make him appear to be the father. When Uriah refuses to go down to his house
because his soldiers are at war where he should be, David concocts a truly evil
plan.
READ 1 Samuel 11:14-17
Is this murder?
Yes (see 2 Samuel 12:9).
There is another account, not
found in the King James Version, where Joab read David’s letter in front of
Uriah and his men.
What does “valiant” mean?
In this case it means brave -
but in a worthy cause.
Uriah was valiant - he did not
enjoy the pleasures of home while his men were at war and he died in battle to
defend his country, his men, his king and his wife - and perhaps he even knew
he was going to his death.
The valiant “bear the crosses
of the world and despise the shame of it - they return good for evil.
The valiant suffer willingly
and without complaint (Uriah and his men
went to their death with foreknowledge but without complaint).
My favorite scene in my
favorite movie, “The Lord of the Rings,” is King Theoden’s speech to his
cavalry as they look down at dawn on the battle before the gates of the
besieged White City. Between them and
the city is an enemy host ten times their number. The king rides back and forth in front of his
troops, many of whom are about to die, and says, “Forth! And fear no darkness!
Arise! Arise, Riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken; shields shall be
splintered! A sword day... a red day... and the sun rises! Ride now... Ride
now... Ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending! Death! Death!! Death!!! Forth Eorlingas!” To me, this is the ultimate definition of
valiance, embodied in Theoden and his riders: to knowingly sacrifice your life
to save another.
If valiance is to quietly and without fanfare put your life,
your reputation, and your will on the line and sacrifice it for a cause worth
dying for…what does it mean to be valiant in the Testimony of Jesus?
It is to submit your whole
soul in sacrifice to your Lord - sacrifice the living (and dying) of your life
to Him.
It is to lose your life in
service to Him (and others) and to find joy in the sacrifice, not to seek to find
your life; you seek Him and His will because you love Him.
It is to be hated by the World
- to be different in ways they despise (“my ways are not your ways”) but to
love them regardless, as He did (“Father forgive them”).
It is to embody D&C 121 -
to persuade with love unfeigned, to suffer long, to display pure knowledge,
that your confidence will wax strong in the presence of God.
The Parable of the Ewe Lamb
READ 2 Samuel 12:1-6
What is the Lord trying to teach David in this parable?
That he is the Rich Man.
That Uriah truly loved
Bathsheba while David only looked on her appearance.
That David’s love was
transactional while Uriah’s was born in years of sacrifice.
READ 2 Samuel 12:7-10
What do these verses teach us about the Lord’s
blessings?
He will give us all things, IF
WE DO NOT DESPISE HIM.
We despise Him by not keeping
His commandments; pride and putting our will before the Lord’s is our downfall
(and it is the hallmark of the natural man).
Was David a Prophet-King and what do we learn from his
fall?
Yes (see Acts 2:29-30).
We learn that no one is immune
from sin – we are all in jeopardy every hour we live on earth – we can’t be too
careful but much constantly watch ourselves (see Mosiah 4:30).
That
the statement we believe today about the prophet not being able to make a
mistake and lead the Church astray or he will be killed is rubbish; the Lord
allowed David his agency and did not kill him for using it – and all Israel
suffered as a result as the kingdom was shortly split up and then lost to
invaders.
