2 Samuel 11:1-15, “David, an adulterer, and murderer!”Today’s text is from 2 Samuel 11:1-15, about David’s fall. We know King David as one of the most famous Biblical heroes in the Old Testament. We get inspired by how God elevated David from a lowly shepherd to a King of Israel and how he fought against Giant Goliath with a sling and five stones. David is described as a man “after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13), and, most importantly, he was an ancestor of Jesus Christ. No one can dispute that David was one of the greatest men in the Scripture. David had enjoyed unprecedented blessings and protection from the Lord throughout his life. Yet, in our text today, David committed the gravest sins: adultery and murder. David had not sinned even when he was running for his life, fleeing from King Saul, who tried to kill him. When he could have killed King Saul in a cave where Saul came in to relieve himself, not knowing David and his men were hidden away a little further into the cave, David refrained from killing Saul because he was the Lord’s anointed as the king of Israel at the time. David feared and revered God throughout his life, keeping his faith and integrity as a God-fearer; that was why God favored him, and he was helped no matter what kind of circumstances he was in. David succeeded and defeated his enemies a hundred out of a hundred times in war or conflict. But he became an adulterer and a murderer. What happened to him? How did he fall from being a God-fearer to an adulterer and murderer? Let’s look at verse 1, which contains critical information about David -his spiritual state. Before going into details, some background and textual studies are needed. First, although verse 1 states that “in the spring,” it does not specify the season of the year in its original text; the reason for adding in its translation, “in the spring,” is probably because springtime is the customary time for kings to lead their military campaigns or long-term battles. Also, chapter 11 is a continuation of what began in chapter 10, in which we see that Israelites were engaging in a war and winning against the Arameans and Ammonites. It is stated that the Arameans fled, and the Ammonites retreated into their fortified city of Rabbah, and Joab, King David’s military commander, took his army and returned to Jerusalem. Joab returned to Jerusalem instead of finishing off because, to capture Rabbah, siege work had to be done since the Ammonites had retreated into their fortified city. To build a siege, a long-term blockade, that allowed no one to get in or out, waiting for the city’s food and water supply to run out, Israelites had to wait for the rainy and cold season to pass to secure at least eight months or so of good weather ahead. Otherwise, they would have a harder time camping outside in the rainy and cold weather. In this context, the battle in Chapter 10 might have occurred in late fall, as the weather was getting cold and rainy. That was why Joab returned to Jerusalem instead of laying a siege against the Ammonites. The reason for giving a rather extensive background of chapter 11 is to emphasize that the Israelites were in the middle of a war. They temporarily stopped the battle against the Arameans and Ammonites in chapter 10 due to the weather. But springtime came, the time for kings to go to war in chapter 11!! However, David did not go to war; instead, he sent Joab with his military forces. David instead remained in Jerusalem, and he fell into sin. At this point, some might say kings did not always have to go to war. There were times when kings did not go to war when the apparent victory could be foreseen, or kings became too old, becoming the easy target for enemies to attack (2 Samuel 21:17). Chapter 11, however, was neither one of the cases. David did not go to war intentionally, neglecting his duty as king. In its original language, it denotes that “going out” or engaging in battle is a king’s duty, but instead, King David “sends” Joab in his place. To “send” here in the original text is a term that is customarily applied to a messenger, not to a military general, — a messenger playing a king’s role; in other words, instead of David doing what Israelite kings are supposed to do, –leading their army in battle–, David sent out Joab in his place with the military forces. Instead, David stayed comfortably behind, neglecting his duty. It becomes clearer when we look at the last phrase of verse 1, “But David remained in Jerusalem.” “Remained” or “stayed” sounds neutral, neither good nor bad, but when we consider that the word used here as “remained” literally means to “sit” as opposed to “go out,” it becomes a different meaning entirely. To “sit” is a determined and conscious refusal to go out. Then, whose command David was refusing to do? The Lord’s. God commanded an Israelite king to “go out” and fight rather than “sit” and get comfortable. It was the king’s duty to lead people and fight against the enemies of God’s people, but David became complacent; he chose to “sit” instead of “going out.” So, in the spring, in the war season, David lived a life of leisure and comfort while his army was away fighting the enemy without his leadership. What is our text saying to us? We are engaged in a spiritual battle, fighting against our enemies. We are to fight until the battle is over. In the middle of a war, if we “sit” rather than “fight,” we will be defeated; we will be shot fatally, if not dead, as we can see in David’s case in chapter 11. Another thing we ought to know is that there is no spiritual giant who will be invincible against the enemy’s attacks if that giant gives up fighting but sits down. Who was David? He was a mighty warrior defeating Goliath! He won every battle he engaged in up until that point, but the moment he sat down, he was defeated terribly. It did not matter how strong and mighty he used to be; soon after he sat down, he was a loser! Many people brag about how strong their faith was, how much they used to pray, or how actively they used to be involved in church. Does it matter how our faith used to be if we live as losers today? Some people do not even attend church. Those of us who are “sitting” down comfortably in the middle of spiritual war rather than “going out” against our enemies need to repent and come back to God. Otherwise, our souls are in danger. If we get too comfortable sitting in the middle of the war, before we know it, we will be lost in the world. Until our days are over on earth, we are at war against satan and its evil forces. Until we die, there is no such thing as a ceasefire period in the spiritual battle. Thirdly, our bodies should be living sacrifices offered to God in our daily lives. Our eyes, ears, lips, and whole bodies should be focused on winning the victory in the war against satan. Otherwise, our bodies will be used as instruments of sin. In verse 2, David strolled around on the rooftop and saw a beautiful woman bathing. He summoned that woman and slept with her. His eyes saw what he should not see; his lips summoned whom he should not summon. His body became defiled by sleeping with a woman who was someone else’s wife. David’s eyes, lips, and body should have been used to win the victory for God, but instead, his whole body became an instrument of sins for satan because he was not fighting as God’s army. Instead, he sat down and got comfortable during wartime against the enemies. Where are we spiritually? Are we sitting down or fighting against the enemies of God? Are our eyes, ears, lips, –our whole body– offered as a living sacrifice to God or used as instruments of sin? One critical point we ought to note is that although our sins are forgiven, we must suffer the consequences of our sins. David was forgiven for his sins in chapter 12, but he had to suffer the consequences, ending in his family tragedy. His first-born son, Amnon, raped his half-sister, Tamar, which in turn led Tamar’s brother, Absalom, the killing Amnon and treason against his father, King David. While ousting his father, Absalom defiled David’s concubines by sleeping with them in broad daylight. Absalom’s treason against his father ended in his own death. Do we see here that David’s sins, adultery and murder, bred rape, murder, and betrayal in his own family circle, not to mention that his ten concubines were sexually defiled by his own son? All those tragic events, including his two sons’ death, came back to David as consequences of his sins. How important it is for us to always keep our guards up against satan, being fully equipped with the full armor of God to win the battle. Those of us who do not experience the victory of God in our Christian living, perhaps we might want to examine ourselves whether we put on the full armor of God, –the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet of Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Holy Spirit–. Without studying God’s word, praying and fasting, and having an intimate relationship with God, we cannot equip ourselves with the full armor of God. How important it is for us to remember that we are at war with satan, how important it is for us to be equipped with the full armor of God! Amen!
2024-07-28