The Perils of the Rooftop
After the death of King Saul, David was made king over the southern part of Israel (Judah), and then coalesced his rule over the entire nation. And God was with King David. His military prowess, (a gift from God), garnished him many victories, and Jehovah graced him with an eternal covenant for his lineage. King David was sitting on top of the world (see A King After God’s Own Heart).
How the mighty have fallen
It happened in the spring. David’s armies were engaged in military campaigns. He’s home alone. The weather is warm, and he steps out onto his rooftop, looking for a cool breeze. But what he sees fills him with an uncontrollable heat of lust. For on the rooftop of an adjacent house, David sees an extremely comely woman who is bathing…
The King decides that he wants in on this action and sends someone to find out who she is. Who she is, is Bathsheba, daughter to one of David’s ‘mighty men’ and granddaughter to his spiritual advisor. Furthermore, she is the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah the Hittite.
Does David seek higher ground? Far from it. He has Bathsheba brought to him and has his way with her. Weeks later, she turns up pregnant.
David tries to cover his butt by having Uriah sent home, so that she would have sexual relations with him, and Uriah would think the baby was his. However, Uriah would not lie with his wife, while his fellow soldiers were away at battle.
Frantic, the King sends a letter to his military commander, Joab, and instructs him to place Uriah on the front lines of a battle, where he would most likely be killed. He was.
So, what has the ‘king after God’s heart’ got himself into? Covetousness. Rape. Adultery. Murder.
Bathsheba mourns the death of Uriah but marries David and bears him a son. David mistakenly thinks that he got away his ruse. Not hardly:
But the thing that David had done [with Bathsheba] was evil in the sight of the Lord. 2 Sm. 11:27 AMP
God sends His prophet Nathan, with a message excoriating David for his sins:
Then Nathan said to David, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I spared you from the hand of Saul. I also gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your care and under your protection, and I gave you the house (royal dynasty) of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have given you much more! Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed 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.’ 2 Sm. 12:7-10. AMP
That is the description of David’s immorality. Now, comes the punishment:
Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will stir up evil against you from your own household; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’” 2 Sm. 12:11, 12. AMP
David confesses his sin. God forgives the sin, removing the death penalty that the sin demands. Yet, he didn’t totally get away with it. We see that there will be killing in his family, and now, Jehovah will add one more blow:
Nevertheless, because by this deed you have given [a great] opportunity to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme [Him], the son that is born to you shall certainly die.” 2 Sm. 12:14 AMP
Die he does. One year later, they give birth to Solomon. And the Bible tells us:
And the Lord loved the child; and He sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah (beloved of the Lord) for the sake of the Lord [who loved the child]. 2 Sm. 12:24, 25. AMP
But the king is not out of the water yet. One of his sons, Amnon, rapes his half-sister. Her full-blooded brother, Absalom, finds out. David does nothing. Absalom orders his servants to murder Amnon. When King David found out, Absalom fled, but his father allowed him to return to Jerusalem, but doesn’t reconcile with him until two years pass.
With the death of Amnon, Absalom is now the immediate heir- apparent to David. So, he begins to try to enlist the favor of the people. Four years pass, and Absalom builds a following.
David gets wind of Absalom’s conspiracy. So, David and his servants beat it out of town. King David also hears that his spiritual advisor Ahithophel, is in cahoots with Absalom as well. In fact, he told Absalom to have sex with David’s ten concubines.
Absalom has a tent set up on David’s rooftop and fornicates with all ten for all of Jerusalem to see (demonstrating the king’s weakness.) Then, Ahithophel offered to lead 12,000 men himself to capture David and bring his body to Absalom.
But that idea is thwarted by another advisor, Hushai, who tells Absalom to gather all the armies loyal to him and attack David and his army immediately. They went with this idea because there was a heavenly influence:
For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster upon Absalom. 2 Sm. 17:14 AMP
Hushai got word to David to cross over on the other side of the Jordan River and lay low.
David’s armies lay in wait for Absalom and his goons. David did not go to battle because his men did not want him to be at risk. Before he left, he asked his army to go easy on Absalom.
Absalom lost 20,000 men. He got his hair tangled in a tree and Joab found him and shoved 3 spears into his heart. When David found out, he was smitten with grief. Joab chided David for acting it out on a day when thousands came to protect him.
At this time David composed a psalm to thank the LORD for His deliverance[1] In the next chapter, King David wrote his last psalm.[2]
In hot water again
David decided that he wanted to take a census of all the males, 20 and over, to see how many he had to take to battle. This drew the ire of God because he put more trust in his human resources than in Jehovah’s ability to deliver him out of any circumstances.
The king realized his error / sin and confessed it. David was then given the chance to choose between three punishments. He chose to fall into God’s hands and depend upon His mercies.
King David counts his blessings
O Lord, there is no one like You, nor is there any God except You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make a name for Yourself by great and awesome and terrible things, by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt? You made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, became their God. 1 Ch. 17:20 – 22. AMP
Thus the Lord helped David wherever he went. 1 Ch. 18:13 AMP
Nevertheless, God did send a plague and people were dying. Again, David repented and offered to be the recipient of all the punishment that was laid upon the people. Jehovah was moved and told him to build an altar right where he was standing.
David did so, and made a sacrifice to Him, which God consumed with fire. This same spot, which was a threshing floor in Jerusalem that he purchased, would become the foundation of the Temple that Solomon would build.
To help his son facilitate that, David presented the instructions God had given to him, to Solomon, and began gathering the materials and workers that would be needed:
So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God. David provided large amounts of iron for the nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps, and he gave more bronze than could be weighed. He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David.
David said, “My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now.” So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death. 1 Ch 22:2 – 5. NLT
And then, David commissioned Solomon to build it by telling him what God had told him:
“…you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 1 Ch. 22:9, 10. NLT
David gathered the priests for their duties in the temple, an administrative staff, the military, and appointed elders over each tribe.
Then David officially appointed Solomon to be king and charged him with his duties:
“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.” 1 Ch. 28:9, 10. NLT
And then David praised the LORD:
“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.” 1 Ch. 29:10, 12. NLT
God does not lie:
All of David’s older sons were dead, but his fourth surviving son, Adonijah, decided that he wanted to be king. And Joab the general and Abaiathar the priest supported him. Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet did not.
Adonijah invited all the other sons of David except Solomon, or the prophet Nathan, to plan his strategy to usurp his father’s will.
So, Nathan goes to Bathsheba to give her counsel:
“Haven’t you heard that Haggith’s son, Adonijah, has made himself king, and our lord David doesn’t even know about it? If you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon, follow my advice. Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, didn’t you make a vow and say to me, “Your son Solomon will surely be the next king and will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ And while you are still talking with him, I will come and confirm everything you have said.” 1 Kg. 1:11- 14. NLT
Bathsheba goes to King David to ask that very question. With Nathan joining them, David assures Bathsheba that Solomon will be king, and has Nathan mount Solomon on the king’s mule and anoint him, King Solomon.
When Adonijah’s party hears of this, they all scatter. King Solomon has him brought before him. Adonijah repents and Solomon forgives…
The passing of Israel’s most beloved king:
David knew he was soon to die, so he leaves his son Solomon with some final advice:
“I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ 1 Kg. 2:2 – 4. NLT
Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. David had reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. 1 Kg. 2:10, 11. NLT
Next time, the adventures of the wisest man on earth…
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] Ps. 18.
[2] 2 Sm. 23
Building Better Americans 161
A King After God’s Own Heart
We ended last week with the tragic death of King Saul and three of his sons. (see: King Saul Keeps David on the Run).
David and his ‘Mighty Men’ (personal army), lamented over their deaths. The loss of the lives of Saul and his son Johnathan were especially egregious to David.
An Amalekite (pagan enemy of Israel) came to David with King Saul’s crown. He told David that he was on the battlefield and saw the king trying to fall on his sword instead of being tortured by the Philistines. According to this Amalekite, Saul asked for his help to finish his suicide attempt.
He knew this man was trying to garner his favor. The Amalekite got the surprise of his life:
David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” So he struck the Amalekite and he died. David said to the [fallen] man, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’” 2 Sm.1:14-16. Amp
Then, David wrote and sang a funeral song for King Saul and Johnathan.[1]
Civil War:
David prayed to God for guidance in what to do next. He told David to move his new headquarters to the city of Hebron, 20 miles from Jerusalem and rule from there.
With the death of King Saul, the commander of his army, Abner, took control of Saul’s government, and anointed Ish-bosheth, another son of Saul’s, as the rightful king of the north. He would reign for two years, while ‘King David’ ruled southern Israel (Judah) from Hebron.
The house of David would battle the house of Saul. One skirmish saw the house of Saul in retreat from the house of David, that was led by David’s nephews: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel.
Abner was fleeing but Asahel was in quick pursuit. He tried to talk Asahel into standing down, but to no avail. The general had far more combat experience and he lethally dispatched David’s nephew.
And he was wise enough to make peace with the house of David and returned to the house of Saul.
There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David grew steadily stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker [to the point of being powerless]. 2 Sm. 3:1 AMP
Six sons were born to David.
Abner was consolidating his power. He and Ish-bosheth have words over Abner sleeping with Saul’s concubine. Angry, Abner goes to David to form a pledge with him and returns to David his prior wife Michal, whom Saul took from David and gave to another man.
There was a feast to celebrate this pact, but David didn’t want any fighting between the two factions, so he sent Abner home. Unbeknownst to King David, Joab chased after him, and killed him for the death of his brother Asahel.
When David found out, he put a curse on Joab’s house, and he mourned over the death of Abner.
Two of Ish-bosheth’s soldiers decided to kill him and take his head to David to endear themselves to him. However, David interprets this as murder of his former king’s son, and has the men executed.
Crowning of King David
All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. Even previously when Saul was king, you were leading Israel out to battle and bringing us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over my people Israel.’”
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the Lord’s word through Samuel. 1 Ch. 11:1 – 3. CSB
King David mustered all of Israel to attack the city of Jerusalem, (which was inhabited by Jebusites, a pagan Canaanite tribe whom the Israelis could not drive out during Joshua’s reign).
And take it, he did:
Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You shall not enter here, for the blind and the lame [even the weakest among us] will turn you away”; they thought, “David cannot come in here [because the walls are impenetrable].” Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold (fortress) of Zion, that is, the City of David. Then David said on that day, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites, let him go up through the [underground] water shaft to strike the lame and the blind, who are detested by David’s soul [because of their arrogance].” 2 Sm. 5:6 – 8. AMP
David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts (armies), was with him. 2 Sm. 5:10 AMP
Feeling the threat of the ascendant King David, the Philistines show up for battle. David consults Jehovah, who assures his victory, and the battle is won.
The Philistines come back! God has a different plan:
“Do not attack them straight on,” the Lord replied. “Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees. When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on the alert! That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.” So David did what the Lord commanded, and he struck down the Philistines… 2 Sm. 5:23 – 25. NLT
King David decides to rally Israel around its faith, by bringing the Ark of the Covenant from where it was stored throughout Saul’s reign. Unfortunately, God is very specific about who can transport it and how.
It can only be handled by a Levite. It can only be upheld by poles of acacia tree. Well, they ignored all that. They placed it on an oxcart and one of the oxen stumbled, and a man (not a Levite) tried to stabilize the ark and God struck him down.
The second attempt got the job done. David was both angry at God for killing the man, and afraid because he knew he had not shown Him the reverence that He demands.
David forms a formal procession with music and dancing (with David dancing with all his might), following the Ark. His wife Michal saw him and ‘despised’ him for his actions. Jehovah rendered her infertile.
The King composes a psalm of gratitude.[2]
He wants to build a house for God, but He denies David the privilege, because his son Solomon will be the one to build His Temple. What He does do for King David, however, is enter into a very special Davidic covenant, built upon the Abrahamic one, that He sends to David through the prophet Nathan:
‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make your name like the name of the great ones of the earth. I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and not be moved again [nor tremble with fear]; and the wicked will not waste (persecute) them anymore, as formerly, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will humble and subdue all your enemies.
“Furthermore, I tell you that the Lord will build you a house (a blessed posterity). And it shall come to pass that when your days are completed and you must go to be with your fathers [in death], I will raise up one of your descendants after you, one of your own sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My steadfast love and mercy away from him, as I took it from him (King Saul) who was before you. But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forevermore.”’” According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. 1 Ch. 17:7 – 15. AMP
The only reference it must be, is to King David’s eternal lineage leading to Christ.
Finally, David has numerous victories in enemy battles, which include the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, Arameans and Hadadezer (Syrians).
What could possibly go wrong? Don’t miss our next post!
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] 2 Sm. 1:17 – 27.
[2] 1 Ch. 16:7 – 36.