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