Book 10, II Samuel 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
II Samuel 13
20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
23 ¶ And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.
24 And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.
25 And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.
26 Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
27 But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.
28 ¶ Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.
29 And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
It would be hard to find a better illustration of the cost of sin than David's sin with Bathsheba. I mean no disparity to David since I have my own sins just like you have yours. II Samuel 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD... The example context of the study is adultery with Bathsheba.
A wise man once said, "Sin will promise more pleasure than you will ever get, and it will cost you more than you ever wanted to pay, and Sin will cling to you long after you wish it to depart".
It cannot be denied that God forgives sins whether great or small, if the sinner will but ask; however, there is usually a price to pay for the sin.
The prophet's words are fulfilled as David loses the respect of many friends and subordinates.
Consider the following words of Nathan the prophet:
II Samuel 12
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house;
because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
II Samuel 12
v. 13 ...And Nathan
said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
- David's sin is put away & his life is spared v. 13, but...
- Consider the cost of this one time adultery
- David kills Uriah; one of his valiant, mighty men verse 9
- The child conceived in adultery sickens and dies verse 14
- David's kingdom has wars for the rest of his life verse 10
- David's son Amnon rapes his half sister Tamar ch.13 vs.13-14
- David's son Absalom kills David's son Amnon ch.13 vs.28-29
- Absalom rebels against David to become king ch. 15 vs. 1-14
- Ahithophel, David's Counselor & friend follows Absalom ch.15,16
- Absalom publicly defiles David's 10 Concubines ch. 16 vs. 20-22
- Absalom is killed by Joab, during the rebellion ch. 18 vs. 12-17
- Adonijah, Absalom's brother seeks the kingdom I Kings 1:5-9
- Adonijah subsequently executed by Solomon I Kings 2:24-25
- Joab follows Adonijah & is executed by Solomon I Kings 2:29-34
- Abiathar the Priest (son of Eli) follows Adonijah I Kings 1:5-7
- War's do indeed continue for the rest of David's life
I have held my comments to a minimum on this page. There is very little I can add to what the Scripture already says. Besides all that, one day when the rapture occurs I will meet King David in person and I do not want to have to apologize for my words.
II Samuel 11
6 ¶ And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
14 ¶ And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
26 ¶ And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
25 ¶ But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
27 And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
28 ¶ So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face.
29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
30 Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.
31 Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
II Samuel 12
15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that 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 spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
II Samuel 13
37 ¶ But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
39 And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
II Samuel 14
1 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.
21 ¶ And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.
23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
24 And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.