075. LII. David’s Crimes And Their Punishment

§ LII. DAVID’S CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT 2 Samuel 3:2-5, 2 Samuel 11:2 to 2 Samuel 12:25

1. David’s children born in Hebron. Now in Hebron sons were born to David: his eldest was Amnon the son of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; and his second, Chileab the son of Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream the son of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

2. In Jerusalem. And in Jerusalem David took for himself more concubines and wives, after he came there from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David. And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Baaliada, and Eliphelet.

3. David’s sin with Bathsheba. Now once at eventide, while Joab was besieging Rabbath-Ammon, David arose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s palace; and from the roof he saw a woman bathing. And the woman was very beautiful. And David sent to inquire concerning the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? Then David sent messengers to take her; and she came to him, and he lay with her—she having been purified from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; and she sent to tell David, saying, I am with child.

4. His attempt to conceal it. Then David said to Joab, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah had come to him, David asked him concerning the welfare of Joab and the people and the progress of the war. Then David said to Uriah, Go down to your house and wash your feet. And Uriah departed from the king’s house, and there followed him a portion from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with the servants of his lord and did not go down to his house. Now when it was told David, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? But Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah are abiding in huts, and my master Joab, and the servants of my lord are camping in the open fields; shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife! As Jehovah liveth and you live, I cannot do this. Then David said to Uriah, Stay here to-day also, and tomorrow I will let you go. So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. But on the next day David invited him and he ate and drank before him, so that he made him drunk. Then in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

5. His murder of Uriah. And in the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by Uriah. And he wrote in the letter saying, Set Uriah in the face of the fiercest fighting, then retreat from behind him, that he may be smitten and die. So in keeping guard over the city, Joab assigned Uriah to the place where he knew valiant men were. And when the city went out to fight with Joab, there fell some of the soldiers of David, and Uriah the Hittite fell also. Then Joab sent to tell David all the facts concerning the war. And he instructed the messenger, saying, When you have finished telling all the facts concerning the war to the king, then if the king’s wrath is aroused, and he say to you,’ Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’ then shall you say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’

6. Joab’s report. So the messenger of Joab went to the king at Jerusalem and came and told David all that Joab commanded him concerning the war. Then the messenger said to David, The men boldly attacked us and came out to us in the open field, and so we drove them back even to the entrance of the gate. And the archers shot at your servants from the wall; and some of the king’s servants are dead. Then David was very angry with Joab, and he said to the messenger, Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know they would shoot you from the wall? Who smote Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall? But the messenger said, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Thereupon David said to the messenger, Thus shall you say to Joab,’ Let not this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; persist in your attack upon the city, and overthrow it,’ and encourage him.

7. David’s marriage with Bathsheba. Now when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she made lamentation for her husband. But when the mourning was over, 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 Jehovah.

8. Nathan’s parable. Then Jehovah sent the prophet Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city, the one rich, the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he nourished it and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his own morsel, and drink out of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter. But there came a traveller to the rich man, and he spared his own flock and did not take from it nor from his own herd to make ready for the traveller who had come to him, but took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Then David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, As Jehovah liveth, the man who has done this is worthy of death, and he shall restore the lamb sevenfold, because he showed no pity.

9. Condemnation of David. Therefore Nathan said to David, You are the man! Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel,’ I anointed thee king over Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul, and I gave thee thy master’s house and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah, and if that were too little, I would add to you as much again.’ Why have you despised the word of Jehovah by doing that which is evil? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus saith Jehovah,’ Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives from before thine eyes and give them to thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun, for thou didst it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said to David, Jehovah also put away your sin; you shall not die. Yet, because by this deed you have scorned Jehovah, the child also that is born to you shall surely die. And Nathan departed to his house.

10. Death of David’s first son by Bathsheba. And Jehovah smote the child which Uriah’s wife bore to David, so that it fell sick. Then David besought God for the child, and fasted and went in and lay all night in sackcloth upon the earth. And the elders of his house stood over him in order to raise him up from the earth; but he would not arise, neither would he eat bread with them. But on the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, Behold while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he hearkened not to our voice; how can we say the child is dead, for he will do some harm! But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead, and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his garments; and he came into the house of Jehovah and worshipped. Then he went to his own house; and he asked for bread and they set it before him and he ate. Then his servants said to him, What is this you have done? You fasted and wept for the child, while it was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows whether Jehovah will have mercy, so that the child will live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I am going to him, but he will not come back to me.

11. Birth of Solomon. Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her and lay with her, and she conceived and bore a son whose name he called Solomon. And Jehovah loved him, and sent a message through Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah [The Beloved of Jehovah], according to the command of Jehovah.

I. David’s Family History. A mere historian would have dismissed David’s domestic experiences with a sentence or two. The author of the parallel history of Chronicles, who wrote from the point of view of the third century before Christ, entirely ignores this side of David’s character and reign. By him, as by later generations, David was simply regarded as a king after God’s own heart, who laid the foundations for the temple and sang Israel’s most deeply spiritual songs. It was only the prophetic historian who had the courage and desire to present in their hideous realism David’s odious crimes and their consequences. These stories constitute the major part of the book of II Samuel (chaps. 9–20). In a vivid, detailed narrative they present the pathetic tragedy of David’s closing years. The problems there treated are of universal and vital significance. Their importance amply justifies the frankness with which they are presented. Their message is supremely applicable to the present age in which the great social evil threatens to undermine our vaunted Christian civilization.

II. David’s Household. The dark background of these stories is an oriental court, with its degrading institution of polygamy. Before he became king of united Israel, David had married seven wives. Later, still others were added to his harem. The subsequent history shows that his household was by no means free from the usual vices which flourish in an eastern harem: luxury, the pursuit of pleasure, petty jealousies and intrigues. The king, therefore, lived in an atmosphere in which it was almost impossible to develop strong moral fibre.

III. David’s Double Crime. At the zenith of David’s popularity and success the fatal weakness in his character was disclosed. All ancient codes, including those of the Hebrews, were very strenuous in their punishment of adultery. The avenging of murder was left to the kinsmen of the murdered man. The adulterer, however, committed an unpardonable sin against society; therefore the Hebrew law enacted that he should be publicly stoned to death by the community (§ LIX 5). In thus condemning social immorality even more severely than the act of murder, primitive society was but following the example of Nature. No crime to-day involves more sudden and terrible consequences in the life of the individual; no crime is capable of exerting as malign an influence upon the innocent family and later descendants of the culprit; no crime leaves in its wake as many physical and moral ills. With true intuitions the ancient Hebrews punished adultery as they did blasphemy. In the ultimate analysis the two crimes are closely akin. No diviner function is given to man than that of becoming, like God himself, a creator. No human relation is more sacred than that of parenthood; no institution is more basal to the welfare of society than that of the family. Therefore, he who perverts this divine gift allies himself with the impious fool who tramples upon his noblest religious impulses and defies God himself. David must always be judged by the standards of his age, and yet his own generation did not hesitate to condemn his act, as is well illustrated by the story itself. Like many a culprit David tried to cover his act by a treacherous murder. Under the dominance of a misguided passion, the brave, the chivalrous, the magnanimous idol of his people suddenly fell to the level of an unprincipled oriental tyrant.

IV. Nathan’s Parable. In the original David narratives, 10 was apparently the immediate sequel of 7. The story of Nathan’s parable bears the marks of a later prophetic age. The parable itself is one of the classics of the Old Testament. In simple, concise, highly poetical form, the prophet set forth the principles, which he forthwith called upon David not only to accept but to apply. The appeal was to David’s strong sense of justice and pity. The analogy between the crime of the rich man and the royal culprit was complete. David’s response was in harmony with his character as revealed, for example, when he listened in silence and humiliation to the revilings of the Benjamite, Shimei (§ LIV 8,9).

V. David’s Punishment. If David confessed his sin in the presence of the prophet Nathan, as the later tradition affirms, his subsequent acts indicate that the repentance lacked many of the qualities demanded by the great ethical prophets of later generations. He was sorry for the act and its consequences, but there is no evidence that his repentance was deep enough to allow the diviner qualities within him to reassert themselves. His sorrow and petitions were that God might spare the child whom Uriah’s wife bore him. Henceforth, Bathsheba, with her malign influence, remained the dominant power in his heart and court. Upon Solomon, the later offspring of this unfortunate alliance, he centred his affection and hope for the future of his realm. Thus it was that David’s crime left its fatal influence not only upon his own character and family, but also upon the history of his race.