King David had many trials in his life, and he didn’t pass all of them. When I think about it, I think his greatest trials weren’t those that dealt with Saul, but rather the ones he failed. After David had been king for twenty years, he committed adultery with Bathsheba. Twenty years was enough time for David to settle in and become comfortable as the king. It was enough time to forget the terrors and stress of fleeing from Saul. In 2 Samuel 11:4, we see David’s failure in his Bathsheba trial.

Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

2 Samuel 11:4 (NIV)

All told, the start of this trial is told in only two verses (2 Samuel 11:2-3). In these verses, we don’t read anything that indicates a struggle. David saw an attractive woman, inquired as to her identity, and then slept with her. Unlike David’s conscience which bothered him when he cut off part of Saul’s robe, we see nothing like that here. What we see here is enough for us to question whether or not David really was a man after God’s own heart (cf. 1 Samuel 13:14). Indeed, this doesn’t appear to be the same man. We could say that David identified more with his role as king and quite less as the man after God’s own heart.

If all of that wasn’t bad enough, when David finds out that Bathsheba is pregnant, he immediately tries to cover up his sin by calling Uriah back home from the war (cf. 2 Samuel 11:6). Once Uriah returns, David hopes Uriah will violate his vow to keep himself from women while fighting (cf. 1 Samuel 21:5). David not only sins but tries to entice someone else to sin. When Uriah doesn’t grab the bait, David confronts Uriah, who confirms his devotion to the cause (cf. 2 Samuel 11:10-11). David then gets Uriah drunk hoping he’ll give in to lust and sleep with his wife.

Once David realizes that he’s not going to get off so easily, he decides to murder Uriah.

In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

2 Samuel 11:15 (NIV)

The irony here is that this is exactly what Saul tried to do to David when he sent him out to gather the price for his daughter, Michal.

Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.

1 Samuel 18:25 (NIV)

It may have taken 20 years, but David’s actions are, in some ways, worse than those of Saul. The same Saul that the Lord withdrew his Spirit from for far less.

Once Uriah is murdered, and David thinks he’s in the clear, the Lord steps in to remind David that he’s still there (cf. 2 Samuel 12:1-9). The Lord pronounces a judgment on David’s house because of his actions.

Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.

2 Samuel 12:10 (NIV)

Indeed, because of David’s actions with Bathsheba, the following events occur just within his family.

Tamar’s rape – 2 Samuel 13:14
Amnon’s death – 2 Samuel 13:28-29
Absalom’s rebellion – 2 Samuel 15
Absalom’s death – 2 Samuel 18:14
Adonijah’s death – 1 Kings 2:25

I know I said that the trial of Bathsheba only takes two verses, but does it? While we only read about two verses, is there more we might see? Let’s, for a moment, go back to 2 Samuel 7.

In 2 Samuel 7, David declares his desire to build a house for the Lord. However, God tells David that he’s not the one to build him a house. God then gives David the promise: “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16 NIV). David then turns to the Lord in what is a beautiful prayer of humility and love (cf. 2 Samuel 7:18-29).

For the next 7 years or so (2 Samuel 8-11), we read about David’s victories over his enemies until we get to 2 Samuel 11:1.

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 11:1 (NIV)

This verse lets us know that something isn’t right with David. David should have gone with Joab in his siege against Rabbah. However, David delegates the responsibility to Joab instead and stays home. Later on, we read that Joab has to tell David to come out to Rabbah or else he’s going to name the city after himself (cf. 2 Samuel 12:28). I posit that David was already in a “bad place” before he saw Bathsheba and slept with her and this “fall” wasn’t something that happened just out of the blue.

Whenever we fall in our walk with the Lord, it’s never a sudden fall because sin doesn’t work like that. Sin creeps into our lives and slowly works its way into our thoughts and actions until we do something so obviously wrong that it seems like it suddenly happened. This is why we must seek the Lord daily. No matter how well things are going, we cannot allow the blessings in our lives to overtake us to the point where we are enjoying the blessings without daily considering the One who bestowed them upon us.

Do you know God? God knows you, and he loves you. He sees you as significant because you are. No one is insignificant to Him. He’s with you today, and he wants you to know him. Jesus died for your sins and mine so we could be free of guilt, be free from death, and live eternally with him. Eternal salvation is just a prayer away.

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins. I repent from my ways. Wash me in your blood and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I believe that you died on the cross, were buried, and on the third day, God the Father raised you from the dead. Right now, Lord Jesus, I open the door to my heart, and I receive you into my heart as my Lord and personal Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment, and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.

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