2 Samuel 11 (Part 1) Bible Study (David and Bathsheba) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

It's always great to see you on a Friday evening, and I'm glad that you're here tonight for this particular chapter because it is a very important one for many reasons as you will discover. But the subject of our study this evening is perhaps the most infamous scene pertaining to David's life. You have heard me say at different points throughout our study in first and second Samuel that when we come to a certain event or occurrence, I've mentioned how this will be a pivotal moment for David and in some cases for the nation of Israel as a whole. And I'm gonna say that again tonight. I'm gonna say that again for this chapter and add to that that what is going to take place in these verses will bring about results unlike anything else before or after this notorious episode, and it and it won't be for the good.

After you and I complete chapter 11 and chapter 12, you're gonna notice something for the rest of second Samuel. What you're gonna see is that there will be a heightened and heartbreaking series of crimes, scandals, betrayals, feuds, division, and it will have an impact beyond David's own household. It will ripple into society itself. And you might be wondering why will that be the case. And a major contribution to the chaos that will ensue is because David is about to now execute a series of unthinkable actions that will trigger a lifetime of repercussions.

This is a serious chapter. It's a solemn chapter. It's a it's a dark chapter. David is gonna have a moral failure, and this moral failure will indeed breed tragic fruit. In fact, it will come to the point of his final breath and even beyond that, and that is the the power of sin.

And all of this is is going to be an upsetting report. And as upsetting as it is, it's just a testament to the integrity of the word of God. The Bible is not just a book of truth. The Bible tells the truth. And the Holy Spirit, because we believe this book is inspired by the Holy Spirit, because he is the true author and he has used human vessels throughout time, he, in his power and his wisdom, potentially, restricted the authors of this book to hide the failures of their hero heroes and even their own shortcomings.

And we should praise God for that because it's it's through these failures and these descriptions of of falls that we get to glean wisdom, and we get to prevent these disasters from occurring in our own lives if we if we have ears to hear. And so what's going to happen in second Samuel chapter 11 is that, this is gonna be a a serious crossroads for the rest of this narrative, and it's all going to begin with the act of adultery where a man will take somebody else's wife and engage in intercourse and an intimacy that is illegitimate. That's where it's all going to start. And the pursuit of wisdom tonight is what we endeavor to do because we want to look at this and realize, this is this is given to us for a purpose. And so we don't choose our topics for Friday nights.

That's the beauty of verse by verse preaching. We we just honor what God puts before us as we go through a book, and we stick to it no matter how difficult it may be to hear, no matter how difficult it may be to to comprehend or to apply. And we we trust that God has the best in mind for us and we just we endure what he has to say. So I wanna say this from the from the beginning before I read because our bible study tonight is only gonna be the first five verses. We can rush through this but you know the motto here.

We don't do that. We take our time to digest all that God has to say. I want to say by mentioning this, that the sin of adultery is never by accident. It's never by accident. It is only the ugly fruit of previous unchecked failures that have over time worked together to to cause a collapse.

And the purpose of the study tonight is to examine the contributions to this great fall in David's life. You see what the Holy Spirit does by giving us these details is to show us what went wrong before this wrong. And that's important for us to grasp because as we examine these things, we will in return be able to examine what can corrode and what can actually influence our ability to resist all temptation, especially the temptation in regards to the category of sexual immorality. Sexual morality is a growing struggle not just in the world but in the church. Statistics are staggering, Staggering.

And when I learned early on in ministry of what people in the church are indulging in, and what even pastors are indulging in, they say 50% of pastors are involved in pornography. 50%. And then we wonder perhaps, why are we not seeing the power of God like we should be? And so this is vital, because in my personal study of the first five verses, I was able to find five factors that contributed to this moral failure. And as we carefully examine these contributions to this agonizing sin, it will help us be prepared, be guarded, be alert.

But that's how I want you to have a lens as I read these verses as it is our practice. I'm going to read these five verses, and you may mention other details, but I want you with eyes to see what is it that went wrong in David's life at this point of his life, and maybe before this point of his life, that encouraged him to embrace this sin so freely. And so pay attention. I hope you have a copy of God's word in your hand. And we're gonna pray and ask the Lord to help us with this study and trust that it will build our faith for his glory.

Lord, we know that this text is dark. It may be disturbing, but you have given it to us because love warns. And we just thank you in advance for why you have given us this text and how in your providence it has come before us on this Friday evening. So Lord, we just pray for a special assistance from the spirit of wisdom and revelation. That it may rest upon the ministry of the word and that we may be built up as a result.

In Jesus' matchless, precious, glorious, holy name we pray. Amen. Second Samuel chapter 11 verse one. In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.

But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing. And the woman was very beautiful. And behold, rather, and David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Then she she returned to her house, and the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant. Not very inspiring, but very instructive. Is there anything that stands out to you in those verses?

Yes. He sent his men out to escape. David sent his men out to war, but he remained at home. We're gonna see why that is a problem in a moment. Anything else?

Yes. Yes. That is a huge problem. He committed adultery. Is there anything that you see there that led to that?

Okay. So, the indicate indication here is that he saw her and then he bounced his eyes and realized that's a woman bathing in her in her own home. There seems to be a prolonged gaze. Absolutely. Because he was able to register that she was beautiful.

And we're gonna see how a look can be extremely dangerous. Yes. Even upon the report of the men who informed him who she was, that did not deter him from pursuing his lust. Yes. Yes.

It's it's not a good sign for you to be laying around on your couch until the evening. That that's a dangerous sign. These are wonderful. You guys are touching on all these points. Yes.

Isn't that interesting that the servants, they're not stupid? If they didn't pick up on what's happening early on, surely something must have registered when a woman came to David by herself to be with him by themselves. And there's a lot to say about that, and one of those things is that, it's very difficult to correct somebody in power, isn't it? For a lot of people it is. Especially when that person is a man of God, and they have a history where they have done much for God.

It's very difficult for people to be able to stand up for righteousness and to correct somebody who has influence. That's a great observation. The servants seem to be complying with what's happening. Yes. Very good observation.

We're we're putting all the blame on David here, are we not? And yes, it's true that he is the instigator, but Bathsheba seems to show very little, if any, resistance. It takes two to tango, my friends. Isn't it? Yes.

Yes, Grace. Yes. Yeah. That's right. And, as I said earlier, you don't just fall into the sin of adultery or sexual morality for that matter.

Yes. Yeah. Isn't that an interesting observation? Isn't it wonderful to come to bible study to find answers to these questions? Why is it mentioning here at the end of verse at the end of verse four that she was she had purified herself from her uncleanness?

Well, there that's a law. That's a Levitical law, and it it's an indication of well, you'll find out. You'll find out. But good good observation. Maybe one or two more.

Yes, Carl. Yeah. That's an interesting observation too. Well, I think there's shame here. I think there's embarrassment here.

I think there's regret. I think there's grief, and this is just the beginning of the pangs of what is to come. And as maybe we find one more. If the guys can help with the buzzing here, there's a buzzing on my right side. Maybe you don't hear it, but I do hear it.

And maybe as I go along, it'll disappear as I get louder. Maybe that won't happen, but yeah. If you can help with it, that'd be wonderful. Maybe one more observation. Yes.

Say that again. Oh, what? Sorry. You have to speak up, if you don't mind. When he was bored.

Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Yeah. Boredom?

Yeah. There's boredom here. Absolutely. And you had something, sister. Yes.

He does have a few wives, in fact. A numerous amount of wives. Great observation. Well, I think you guys just finished the bible study. I don't really need to continue.

We can just wrap up, sing a couple of songs, and go home. But we won't, because we're gonna expand on the very things that you just mentioned. And so I told you today that there is five factors, not just in here. I mean, I would say four of them are here, but one is connected to what's happening here that is completely related to David. And so if you're a note taker or if you just have this wonderful gift of retaining things in your mind, pay attention because we wanna look at these failures that contributed to this ultimate failure.

And failure number one is not found in these verses, but it is something that is observed when you have an overarching view of David's life. And that is this, the failure to deal with unrestrained passions early on. The failure to deal with unrestrained passions early on. We have familiarized ourselves with David enough to know, as our sister just said, that although he was a spiritually strong man, he did find himself wanting in one very important aspect. This man had great conviction for much of the law, but if there was one thing that he failed in, it it was in his perception of god's design for marriage.

He fell short and he's commendable for his convictions in other places, but when it came to the blueprint of marital covenant, he was somebody who was severely lacking. And the number of wives that David had and accumulated over his young life into into his adult life is telling. It's it's evidence that he did not have self control in the area of sexual desires. And so we look at this and we realize that it started with having two wives. And and having two led to having multiple.

And who would have thought that having multiple lives would eventually lead him to taking somebody else's wife? And you and I have to begin in our analysis of David's fall here because it is absolutely foundational. See, when we see what happens with his coveting of Uriah's wife, That is not something spontaneous. That's not something that just spring up out of anywhere. It is a result and it stemmed from a serious defect in his whole belief system.

And here's where I need you to pay attention tonight. That who you are today and what you invest in yourself or lack of investment today will determine who you'll be tomorrow. That includes what you believe and that includes how you behave. That is a rule for every element and every aspect of life, including how you and I deal with sexual temptation now. If you are a person who struggles and who is weak in the area of succumbing to passions, whether it's promiscuity, whether it's pornography, whether it's being inappropriately flirtatious, and think that at some point that's just gonna disappear when you when you realize you need to settle down, you are dangerously mistaken.

Dangerously mistaken. Lust is something that can never be satisfied when it is fed. When you try to fulfill its urges, I'll tell you what happens. You're only strengthening your appetite. You're only strengthening your appetite.

Only when you give yourself to God's design for sexuality will you know the fruition and the blessing of it. When you step outside of those boundaries, you inherit messiness. And That is why people who are addicted to pornography, they find themselves over time exploring and then and opening themselves up to very strange and extreme versions of it because what happens is they blunt their appetite, and then they need to go for another kinda high that brings a shock to them. And so what you see here with David is a a a prime example that if you think you will actually calm that temptation down by giving into it, realize that this man could snap his finger and have any woman at his command, and it still left him wanting and chasing and planning and scheming. And here's why many people fail in this area, because they view sexuality purely on a physical level.

So what do they do? They look for a physical outlet to deal with it, when at its core, it's a spiritual issue. And so we we come up with strange solutions. The worst of them is just giving into it because we think that sexual desires is equated to being thirsty or being hungry. You can't survive by not drinking or by not eating.

You can survive by not giving over into yourself and to this desire. You can survive. As tormenting as it might be to you, you can act you can actually survive to your dying day without giving into this at any point. But see, we've been fed from this culture that you can't live without it, that this is the the the prime ecstasy of all other pleasures and so people just they just give in. And and you have other people who have innocent solutions, who think that, you know, they can just give themselves into reckless behavior, but, oh, once I get married, all of it will be solved.

Listen. Marriage is not your savior for sexual sin. Christ is. Marriage isn't. Once you find that person and you and you you consummate and you're intimate with that person, if you don't realize that what you allow previously is not dealt with, you're bringing that into your marriage.

And that's why I tell single people all the time, if you are bound particularly to pornography, and you at the same time are desiring marriage, kill that thing before you even consider a spouse. Kill that thing before you even consider a spouse. Because I'm telling you, the spouse will not save you. Only the Holy Spirit can. And so you have to deal with these things early on because if not subdued by the spirit, natural means will not work.

And what we learn before we even come to these verses is a universal principle that God has established in Galatians six seven. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. And for so long, he's been sowing. Whenever I want something whenever I want something new and exciting, whenever I see a woman giving me attention and compliments me and gives me gives me this feeling of excitement and exuberance, and I give into that, and I marry her, and I add her to the list of my roster of women. Because he's been doing that for so long, now now it's manifesting in a new level.

See see, what David is able to do here is because of his lack of conviction from his teenage years. And so realize again that your war with sin today is an investment for your victory tomorrow, and your leniency for sin today could be the investment of great collapse that is unforeseen. Failure number one that led to this was the inability to restrain passions early on by the power of the spirit. Now let's come to the second failure in verse one. In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel.

And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained at Jerusalem. That first part of this verse, we're gonna touch on at the end. But for the sake of our assignment tonight, let's underscore the last phrase here, the last sentence of this verse. But David remained at Jerusalem. The same verse informs us why this is a problem.

When kings, David is a king, go out to battle, he stayed at home. David had a duty. And his duty was to go out into the battlefield, why in the spring it was easier to go to war. It's like things in life that every year have seasons. And this time, they didn't have the technology to go to war during the winter or during stormy seasons.

They they went when the ground would be dry and there was more favorable weather. It seems strange to us, but that was the case. David was supposed to be out on the battlefield and instead, he's staying in his bedroom. Why? I mean we can we can give many reasons why.

Regardless, it's not justified. He's supposed to be there. And maybe he's getting old and he thought to himself, I'm not into this anymore. I can't move like I used to. But he still was a commander and he needed to be with his men.

And instead, he's sitting on the couch watching TV. And here's the thing that we have to understand that David is neglecting his God given responsibility. And here here's the point here, when anybody has a casual attitude towards the will of God, they always leave the door unlocked for temptation to kick open. There is something extremely protective when you and I are actively engaged in what God has called us to do. When when you go beyond this idea that God just saved me so I can get to heaven, but he also deposited something in me so that I can serve him on the earth, when you get to that point, that's a wonderful motivation onto righteousness.

So you realize that you've been commissioned by a holy God from heaven here on earth, and you realize that there is something of me that has been fashioned to fill a position that nobody else does or can. That's that's awesome. That there's hope there. There's zeal there. There's there's purpose there.

And when you fail to perceive that, here's what begins to happen. You begin to become open to settle for empty pleasures or vain passions. So people who don't take the will of God seriously are the most susceptible to the world's seductions and fleshly impulses all the time. All the time. And so I think here, this is a great place to ask a very pressing question for all of us at this bible study.

You ready? Am I where I'm supposed to be when it comes to the will of God for my life? Notice I didn't say, are you perfect? I'm asking you what path you're on. What path are you on?

What do you see even though you can't see the future? What steps are you taking that can give you the confidence that I am in the will of God? What's your relationship with the word of God like? You know, kings were called to write down the law and to read it day and night. They they were supposed to have a copy of God's word.

And if we're royalty according to Christ, then we should adopt royal principles and disciplines. What's your relationship like with the word of God? What's your relationship with prayer? What's your prayer life like? Ready for this one?

What's your relationship with the local church? What's are you obeying the will of God and how you should relate to the local church? Are your gifts collecting dust, or are they opening up and being used to build other people? What see, you have to consider that. And if you can't say, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, you're in jeopardy.

You're in jeopardy. David is in a dangerous place right now because David is not where Christ called him to be. And Christ promises you and I a particular joy that can only be found on the path of obedience. And when you don't walk in obedience, you miss out on that joy. And when you miss out on that joy, you are willing to make room for false happiness and other things to satisfy you.

In January, it will be, I believe, eleven years of walking with the Lord, for me personally, because I got saved in January. Can I tell you something? These eleven years, he's never failed to satisfy me. Never. Never failed.

I can tell you a 100 failures of the false promises of this world, but I can guarantee you that Christ has never failed to fulfill me. Am I different? Am I an alien? No. I'm I'm flesh and blood just like you, and I testify confidently that Christ satisfies.

And here's a principle that I give people, especially in the area of of sexual temptation. And I and I hope that this is a life verse for you in the book of Proverbs. It's in chapter 27 and verse seven, and I want you to see it in your own Bible so that you can have it embedded on your soul. Chapter 27 of verse seven of Proverbs. 27 verse seven.

One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry, everything bitter is sweet. One who is full loathes honey. But one who is hungry, everything bitter is sweet. When people begin to feel the intensification of exploration of worldly goods, I know one thing about that person, they're hungry. And the substance that should be filling them in Christ is lacking, and we are all wired to no contentment or else what's this pursuit of happiness that people are on?

The the the the pursuit is not wrong. It's the object that's wrong. Right? But to the person who is full in God, he can walk by a buffet of temptation and not even look twice because he's already at rest. And so here is the joy.

Here is the here is the goodness of God that when you are satisfied in him, it keeps you from lurking and looking for things that even if you know it's bitter, but because you have nothing else going on, you need to fill that voice so you you begin to now taste here and there, and it's actually poisonous. It's bitter. So the solution here is deeper than then this is right and this is wrong. You're not satisfied. You're not satisfied.

Oh, it's because my wife has been like this lately. It's because my husband's been like this today. No no no no no no. You're not satisfied in God. It's as simple as that.

Don't give me any excuses. Down deep inside, that's the core reason why you are flirting with this sin. And so you and I have to understand here that David being outside of the will of God is a recipe for something that he's about to indulge in that will hurt him and bite back. Failure. A failure to be diligent in the duty that God has called him and has called you.

The closer you are to the will of God, the further you will be away from temptation. But the moment you veer off, you're in dangerous territory. So here's the thing. People ask me, do you have devotion? I didn't feel like it.

It's not a matter about what you feel. Can I tell you what? It's a matter of survival. I don't feel like it. Oh, who cares?

It doesn't matter. It's a matter of you surviving. That's what it is. And if you have that mentality and realize, lord, if I don't cling to you, if I don't stay close to you, I will invite things. I I I I'm I'm capable of doing anything.

Well, no. Well, David here. This is King David, the psalmist, the worship leader. The man who had faith unlike any other Israel. This man was susceptible.

Being outside of the will of God, be careful. Stay close to him. Stay close to him. Now that's the second failure. A failure to be diligent in our duty.

The first one was a failure to deal with unrestrained passions early on. Now we come to the third one, the third failure that led to this ultimate failure. A failure to conquer idleness. It's very similar to the second point, but it's worth mentioning on its own. It happened one late afternoon when David arose from his couch.

Some translations, as we heard, says evening. It it's not uncommon then nor is it in different parts of the world today for people to wake up very early, work hard, and then to have a siesta, a nap, the hottest period of the day, and wake up and go back to work. But the Holy Spirit is very specific in highlighting that David resting on his couch is not a result of a long and early day of work, because he's not at work. One. And two, it happened one late afternoon, close to the evening time, that we find David on his bed.

Laziness doesn't always lead to lust, but it definitely encourages it. See, what we see here is this man is lounging around the house, he's extensively sleeping, he's browsing in his palace. And you've often heard it said that if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. Right? Have you heard that before?

The devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. But you gotta realize there's another side to the issue. And here it is. If you and I are not hard at work, we give the devil some work to do. So there's two extremes.

Right? We can become so busy with our worldly responsibilities that we forget our heavenly calling. But you and I can also be so distracted, so laid back, that the lack of work in our lives, the lack of the sweat of the brow, the lack of being focused on having a mission and assignments gives Satan something to work with. I don't think we consider that as a danger. But can I tell you something?

At this Bible study this Friday night, yes. Lazy Christians are dangerous. Lazy Christians are dangerous. They're a danger unto themselves, and they are a danger to the health of the local church. You have to just read the epistles to see that.

If there is a disruption or a distraction in a home, in a circle of friends, or in a congregation, there is a high chance that the source you ready for this? Is someone who is not given to daily responsibility and who has a lot of time on their hands. I wanna show you how that's true, not just for sexual sin. I wanna I wanna show you how it's true even for different types of sin. Go to the epistle of first Timothy in chapter five.

A failure to conquer idleness. In first Timothy chapter five and in verse 13, Paul is speaking about young widows in the church, and he's giving Timothy instructions of who to enroll and who not to enroll in the financial support ministry. And Paul reserves the younger widows who have lost their husbands from being, a part of that contribution system for different reasons, and he speaks about the danger of their youth and the danger of their single status. And in this verse in verse 13, he's going to mention something about the manifestation of their lack of maturity, and it's really an insight about the danger of idleness. So you're there in first Timothy five thirteen.

Let's read. Besides that, they learn, he's talking about the young widows, to be idlers, going about from house to house and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. You know what Paul is saying? Timothy, be careful in enrolling younger widows because look how they use their free time. Instead of caring for the afflicted, instead of washing the feet of the saints, instead of utilizing that free time to be devoted to the Lord and being like Anna who came to the temple and she was an older widow, but she fasted and prayed.

Instead of doing those things, they are on a campaign of going from house to house to house. And in our context ready for this? From group chat to text group to this or that, from Instagram to Snapchat to I don't know what else is out there, and are saying things that they shouldn't be saying. And here he highlights that this is dangerous because their free time is luring them to to be nosy, to be investigative, to look into the affairs of other people's lives. And because they don't have much going on in their own lives, they are caught up with what people are doing with their own.

And so they sit and they talk and they bring reports and and then gossip ensues. And now slander comes and fabricated stories. And all of us in here know the capabilities and the collateral damage that can come from a group of people who can sit down and say things that they shouldn't be saying. And Paul's warning about this danger. Because they have nothing to do, they're gonna do something.

Oftentimes, when you're not doing something good, and idleness simply means avoiding to do work. When when you're avoiding genuine responsibility, god given conduct, you're gonna embrace other other vices. And so he wants to avoid this problem because he knows the power of this in a negative sense in the congregation. So you know what Paul's solution is? You ready for this?

It's not, well, they better be praying and fasting. Well, if they're not giving themselves to spiritual discipline, if they're not called to to celibacy, if they don't have the gift of singleness, verse 14 is a solution. So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. You know what he tells pastor Tim to do? Pastor Tim, tell the young ladies to to to engage in pursuing and finding a spouse.

Here's the translation. It's very difficult for Satan to work through you when you're worn out serving your husband and your children. It's very difficult. You give no occasion to him. And you might be thinking, well, I know some woman who can still slander and gossip.

And they have a husband and they have plenty of kids. Can I tell you something? Even if that may be the case, they're doing it wrong. They're doing it wrong. Because clearly they're not finding satisfaction in discipling their children and serving their husband.

If they still have time to go from house to house to house, they're doing it wrong. And so look at the preventative wisdom here. They need to get busy. They need to get in alignment with the high call of being a wife, and if they can, if God wills, to being a mother. Let them let them get caught up in that so that Satan can see I can't deal with this person's already fulfilling what god's called him to do.

They're managing their household. They're they're they're serving their family. And so he he moves on. And here's the point. It's a principle that a healthy work ethic provides an extra layer of protection on the shield of our sanctification when we are resisting the suggestions of the enemy.

But listen, when we do not have that work ethic I'm not talking about ministry. I'm talking about life. Making a living. Endeavoring to do things to to to make your your mind at work, your hands at work for the glory of God, you weaken your ability to resist, and you invite some overpowering ideas that can make you captive to the enemy and actually use you as a tool to hurt the church. And in David's case, can I tell you something?

It would have been much, much harder for him to look and behold at a naked woman if his eyes were at war. If his eyes were if if he was focusing on the Ammonites and strategizing with his men, this would never have occurred. And so I get very concerned when I learn of people who have nothing going on in their lives because something is about to occur. It just needs a little bit of time. This is true for men.

This is true for women. Get busy serving God. Get busy doing what you're called to do as a Christian in society. Too much free time is not good time. Leisure is good, only to strengthen you go back and do what God's called you to do.

But if you're wondering and just bouncing around in life, you're a liability. A failure to conquer idleness actually contributed to this awful decision. A failure to deal with unrestrained passions early on. Number two, a failure to be diligent in the duties that God has called you to do. Number three, a failure to conquer idleness.

Number four, the second part of verse two. It happened late one afternoon when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house that he saw from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. Here's David. We have no idea what he's doing on his roof. I know one thing, he's bored.

And he's probably surveying the city. Remember, he's a king. He's at the top of the hill. He has a view unlike anybody else. And as his eyes are scrolling left to right and up to down, in his vision comes what?

A woman bathing. And the impression that we get here is not that he sees her and turns away, but that he sees her, and he stops. And he begins to study her, and he begins to consider her. And the conclusion in his mind is, I want her. I want her.

And so what we learn here is that these irresponsible eyes turn into thoughts, and those thoughts eventually morphed into a planned action. Get it for me. So it begins with a look, does it not? And David himself knew of the power of indulging in that which is worthless through the windows of these eyes, and he failed to take his own advice. And I wanna show you how David literally pens what he should have done, but he fails to do.

This is a beautiful reference to write in your bible. If you do write in your bible, right beside second Samuel one two. It's in Psalm one zero one verse two. Psalm one zero one verse two and verse three. Oh, this is, like, heartbreaking to know that David wrote this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

And at some point, because he had an open door, failed to remember what it meant for him. Psalm one zero one verse two. Here's what David writes. I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh, when will you come to me?

Just pause it. That's a man who's hungry after God. Oh, when will you come to me? Lord, when will you make yourself known? This is a man who is who is in the presence of God.

But notice what he says. I will walk with integrity of heart within where? My house. I will walk with integrity of heart within my house. Now look at verse three.

I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. Do you see the connection that David is making here? There is a link between having a heart of integrity and the discipline of not setting worthless things before your eyes. And we can all agree that what you put in this mouth in terms of food will inevitably have an effect on the health of your body. And as that is digested and your stomach distributes it, whatever substance goes in there, whether it's good or bad, it's it's gonna it's gonna affect you one way or another.

And in the same way, a major contribution to our spiritual health is what we indulge in with our eyes. What you allow your eyes to feast on will have a great effect on the overall spiritual condition of your pursuit of holiness. Holiness is simply your spiritual health. And David here knew that. Listen, our unassisted imaginations are enough trouble on their own.

To add to that visual stimulation will guarantee a strengthening to that which we must silence and subdue. And so when this man says, I will walk with integrity of heart, what he had in mind was, in the privacy of my home, I will not even give myself to looking at that which will harm this integrity. And I wanna say something very serious, but I feel like this is lacking. Much of the sexual bondage that people are in today began with a prolonged look. Much of the sexual bondage that people in are today began with a prolonged look.

Would it be a shock to you for for me to say that a person who looked at one inappropriate Instagram post long enough led them into daily pornography exposure? And because of that free filth, it enlarged an appetite where that same person where they started with one Instagram post are now paying for a prostitute to to satisfy their fantasies. It's real. It's real. And we are living in an evil age that has no shame in exposing things to grip your mind, burn those images there, so that you have nowhere to run.

The first look, nobody can escape. The second one, the third one is our responsibility. And it's hard to imagine but remember, what I just said there, how one social media post can lead to picking up somebody that you don't even know. If you think that's far fetched, remember that the psalmist of Israel, in the privacy of his balcony, from this time, is actually going to now have a murderous scandal on his reputation. This is not an extreme example.

This can happen. And just because it's not in the history books for all to see, it happens more often than you can imagine. So here's what I wanna say, and it's important that if you and I are a people who can't control these eyes, then you will not be able to control your body. It starts with the eyes. If like Job, you don't make a covenant with these eyes, where these eyes go, what they allow, what they entertain will eventually guide your body.

And that's what we see here with this man. And that may seem like a hopeless message in in the age of indecency, but don't let unbelief. Don't let unbelief and don't let what what's happening in the culture to crush your hope. Remember in that same passage that we read, in first Thessalonians rather, in chapter four verse eight, that whole chapter, at least the first part of the chapter, deals with the subject matter at hand. And and Paul ends his argument.

And he ends his charge by the Holy Spirit by telling the people of this church, listen, therefore, whoever disregards this and and what's he saying is that if you read the prior verses, he's calling them to holiness in the area of sexual immorality. And he ends his thought by saying, whoever disregards this, disregards not man, but God. But God who gives his holy spirit to you. Now some have limited that verse to say, yeah, if you don't listen to Paul's standards for sexuality, you're not really ignoring Paul, you're ignoring God. True.

But there's a there's a hope in this. What he's saying is, listen. Don't let the standard of the world or your brothers and sisters who are not taking their holiness seriously, don't let that determine the potential purity that you can walk in. Because the instructions that I'm giving you, I'm also giving you the resource that's able to make those things known, the Holy Spirit. Don't disregard this.

Don't not believe this. Don't just brush it off. Don't just wallow in your failure. Embrace the standard. Believe it and realize that the Holy Spirit now is here to empower you to walk in it.

So that's the hope that we have as Christians, that we can actually know a grace that comes from heaven to be able to walk in this protection and preservation for true pleasure in God and the design that he has for our sexuality. So Paul says don't disregard this, because by disregarding this, you're actually also pushing away the very power that can help you realize it. We have a supernatural faith, and we have to believe it before we can actually experience it. So that's the fourth failure. The fourth failure is the failure to realize the danger of a prolonged look.

And now we come to the final failure. The final failure is in verse three. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? The fifth and final failure, though not limited to these things, is the failure to take heed to God's warnings.

The failure to take heed to God's warnings. We don't know how long it was before David called for his servants to inquire about this mysterious woman that enticed him. But when the news came back, his men were successful in providing a detailed report of her identity. And some say, well, this is David finding out if she was single so he can just add him to the roster of his harem and just another number with the others. We've lost count of how many wives he had.

As though that is a justifiable reason. But what is really stunning is that what he found out about this woman should have repelled him. He's already gone too far, but this should have stopped him in his tracks. When he realized who her father was, when he realized who her husband was, the fact that she had a husband. In first Corinthians ten thirteen, we are promised that in all and in every temptation, God will provide a way of escape.

What that means is that you can never ever justify a sin by saying that it was too powerful to turn away from. In temptation, God has supplied us everything that we need to be able to endure it. Right? It's it doesn't say immediate ejection from it, but to endure it and then eventually escape it. God has given us everything that we need.

So part of that is being in preparation for that temptation to come, watch and pray, lest you fall into temptation. But you know, God is so good. God is so good that he often even warns us in creative ways while we are being tempted. While we are being tempted. And one example, there are many in the scriptures.

Let me give you one. Remember when Ahimelech took Abraham's wife, and Abraham was telling everybody, hey, she's my sister. K? He doesn't want to be killed. His wife is beautiful.

I mean, she must have been beautiful. She was she was called beautiful in her her older older years. And this king takes her, he puts her in his bed, and then God visits him in Genesis 20 in a dream. And here's the paraphrase, you're a dead man. You're a dead man because you took somebody's wife.

And Ahimaek was like, I didn't know. He told me he told me it was her sister. And God says, yes. I know that you did this, out of a place of not knowing what was going on, but I'm giving you warning. If you don't give her back, you're finished.

And he does. He repents. Right? So so God can, at times, grab our attempt our attention even in the pursuit, even in the plot of doing that which is wrong. Here's the problem.

Many people don't pay attention. You know, like a bible study on a Friday night. Right? And we just happen to fall on this. I don't know what's going on in your personal life.

God knows. You don't need to tell me even. But if you know that you're heading towards a path, if you realize that you are failing in the areas that were just mentioned, here's God giving you a way out. You know what the way out was for David? Hey, they could've just said, this is Bathsheba.

No, they said, this is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam. That doesn't mean much until you realize that Bathsheba's father Eliam was the son of a man named Ahithophel, who is David's favorite counselor in his administrative office. More than that, he realizes that he he's inquiring about a woman who's married to one of his mighty men. Uriah is just not one soldier. Uriah is in that list of mighty men.

At the end of second Samuel, you're gonna see it. His name is there engraved among the great. And that should have startled him. You know what registered in his mind when he heard this? Oh, good.

Her husband isn't home. That's what he registered. And when I look at this, I think of a New Testament principle. You heard from first Thessalonians four eight, but look at Paul and what he says to encourage holiness in this area in first Thessalonians four six. I want you to see this because it's profound.

He's plea pleading with his brothers. Listen. Learn to control your own body in holiness. Don't be like the gentiles who do not know God and are given over to their passions. Then he says this in verse six, that no one transgress and wrong his brother.

What do you mean by that? And no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. By the way, he's not talking to non believers, he's talking to Christians. That no one transgress and wrong his brother. I believe what Paul is saying in part here, is that when a man specifically considers another man's wife or when a woman considers another woman's husband, that the engagement of that sin between two people does not just affect those two people.

What Paul is saying here is, hey, listen. Don't wrong your brother in this. Meaning, I believe in part, not just the person that you were sinning with, but the person that that person belongs to. Do you realize Yes. You, Christian, in the church, that's somebody's daughter.

Do you realize that that's somebody's husband? Do you realize that sexual sin always affects a community? Always. When it's exposed, it hurts a lot of people. It hurts a lot of people.

I'll give you proof of that. How do you feel when you hear of a church leader falling into sin? It hurts, doesn't it? The people are hurting. The fellow elders are hurting.

Everybody's hurting. Everybody who has a soft heart does at least. And here's what Paul is saying, because this is how pathetic we can become in our own pursuit of holiness. If you have no care about that person that you're wronging, would you at least have some kind of a thought for the person that might be hurting, who belongs to that individual, who is in covenant with that individual? That's not just limited to married people.

You single people, hear me out. When you're considering somebody else who you're not married to, do you realize that you are violating a potential covenant that is to come? You realize that that person's gonna have a husband one day, that person's gonna have a wife one day. Don't wrong that future brother. Don't wrong that future sister, because you want a short lived fantasy to be fulfilled.

Realize that this goes beyond you. It goes beyond that individual that you're conspiring with and you're being secretive with. There are others who are going to be affected by this. You know what David should have thought? How could I do this to Ahithophel?

How could I break his heart? How could I oh, I'm such a fool. Uriah's wife. Oh, I'm so ashamed. And he should've fell on his face and quoted Psalm one zero one verse two and three again.

Lord, I wanna I wanna have integrity in my heart, within my house again. Help me never ever to set my eyes on that which is worthless. That would have been a glorious, glorious ending to this chapter. But unfortunately, he fetches for her. A failure to take heed to God's warnings.

It's sad. It's sad to realize how people can hear God, who's putting obstacles in their paths. And because they're so empty inside, because they've been so deceived by their own flesh, that they bulldoze through the warning signs and say, I want what I set my eyes on. I wish David did hear what he did with those mighty men who heard him say while he was in war, oh, that somebody would get me water from that well in Bethlehem by the gate. And a few of them looked at each other and said, what do you think?

Oh, I love David. I love him too. Let's do it. And they go through the Gerasene of the Philistines, and they scoop up some kind of container filled with that hometown water that I'm sure David drank from so at so many points in his earlier years. And they come back to David and they say, here David, we got you the water that you asked for.

And David in second Samuel twenty three seventeen, second Samuel twenty three seventeen said, far be it from me, oh Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink it, these things the three mighty men did. And he pours out that water. I wish he did that with his lust when he realized, how can I drink from somebody else's fountain?

That's not my wife. I will not do it. I will not satiate this sinful impulse. I pour it out, and I turn away from it. If you wanna know when a pleasure, any kind of pleasure, no matter how much it overtakes you and convinces you, any pleasure that is illegitimate is a pleasure that dishonors somebody else in any way.

Any pleasure that dishonors somebody else is illegal. Never forget that. If it harms somebody, if it degrades them, no crossing. Pour it out and turn away. Five failures on this bible study.

I know it's a very heavy one, But what's heavier is to not hear about it and to experience the consequences of it. So we come to the concluding verses in verse four and five, and we'll end here. So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him and lay with her. He lay with her. Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.

So brother Andrew, you were asking about this. And in Levitical law, when a woman was undergoing her monthly flow, there was a protocol for her to regain a clean status, so to speak, and we don't have the time to explore that in detail. And so there was a time of refraining from intercourse for a certain amount of days after that after that time. And so what we're being told here also is that she just had that time of the month. She now is free to do what she can do.

And the indication here is to prepare us for verse five that, Bathsheba's pregnancy is surely from David, not from her husband. So it's preparing us to say nothing happened before. What's what's about to transpire here is a direct result of an illegitimate intercourse. But there's something else here when I thought about it. And and it's this, Bathsheba was being faithful in observing the ceremonial law, was she not?

And some even say that the bath that she was taking was part of that observance. I don't know, it doesn't say, but So here's what's interesting. This woman is willing to adhere to the ceremonial law, but when you read about it, she shows no hesitation to defiling herself with a man that's not her husband. Isn't that strange? Isn't that strange?

It's incredible because it's it's a picture of a faulty holiness where we get to pick and choose what we want to obey and what we don't wanna obey. Or you can even say it's it's this deception where, well, I I've done this for the Lord, so, so I can do this and he'll he won't mind. Right? It reminds me of the Pharisees when they arrest Jesus, and it says there in John that they refused to go into Pilate's headquarters, lest they defiled themselves before the Passover feast, and here they are plotting to kill an innocent man. Oh, you don't wanna defile yourself so that you can eat of the feast, but you're gonna actually have a man crucified for doing nothing.

Like, hypocrisy produces twisted conduct. It's scary. And the people who are in it are convinced that it's right. So here's Bathsheba. Oh, yeah.

I I'm ceremonially clean, but now she's about to come into a man's room that that is gonna defile her morally. Picking and choosing what you think is right or what you think is wrong, what you think is okay, we that's just that's just dangerous. Verse five, we read, and the woman conceived and she sent and told David, I am pregnant. Before that we we read, she just returned home. Like, it it seemed like things are just gonna go on as normal now.

Bathsheba goes home. David stays at home. A one night stand. That's it. We just blew off some steam, and nothing's gonna happen.

And we read, in fact, something does happen. And this is just the start. But before we end tonight, look back at verse one. In the spring of the year, the time when the kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites. This war is a continuation of chapter 10.

Remember, the Ammonites were the ones who harassed David's ambassadors. And more than that, they started a war. They hired the Syrians, and they said, let let who does this David think that he is? He thinks he can spy on me? Toll totally wrong assessment.

They try to go to war. Joab and his men show up. The Syrians flee. The Ammonites realize it, and it says that they retreat back to their city. They close the door, and they hold on for dear life hoping that David will never show his face again.

And so here are these men who sinned against David and time goes on thinking that David forgot. And then we read, in the spring of the year, few months go by, and what do we read? David makes sure that they are going to pay the price for what they did. And he's going to ravage them. And here's the thing that I take from this, that unfortunately you have sinners who are like the Ammonites, who think that and interpret God's momentary silence as either forgetfulness or like mindedness.

And so his silence seems to be approval, so they continue and they think that God has not registered what they have done. And unfortunately, the children of God think the same way that just because there is an immediate consequence, then surely it's not that big of a deal and they fail to realize that God loves you too much to not discipline you in one way or another. And what the Ammonites are about to learn about David is what David in the remainder of this chapter, and in the next chapter, is going to learn about God. That unrepentant sin will never be ignored by God. It won't.

There is a chilling verse that we will get to maybe in a week or two. Look at the last verse. The last part of the last verse. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. That, like, when I I almost get chills whenever I read that.

Because you have this long chapter of David's little schemes and his cover up plans and all that stuff. And when I read that verse, you know what I sense? God was watching the whole time. God was watching the whole time. And the time would come because David concealed his transgression instead of confessing and forsaking it.

Because of his concealment, a prophet is going to come just like David came at one point in the spring and says, listen, you can't get away with what you did. You can't get away with what he did. So my brother, my sister, I don't know where you're at tonight. I don't. God knows.

I hope you're doing well in the Lord. I hope you're strong. I hope that these failures are not present in your life. But if they are, this is the chance to take heed to God's gentle warning to say, don't don't do it. And and realize the danger ahead of time.

Realize that the failure to deal with unrestrained passions will serve as a sowing. And realize that a failure to be diligent in your duty for the Lord opens up a foothold for temptation. And realize that if you don't conquer idleness, some kind of sin will conquer you. Believe that if you fail, and believing that a prolonged look can actually open up to a thought pattern that can evolve into a planned action. Believe that if you don't nip it there at the at the sight of the thing, that it can it can transform into something that will be monstrous.

And realize that a failure to take heed to God's warnings, God can't do anything else more than that. He will not override your will. If you wanna go, he'll let you go. But if you're truly a child of God, he will do something about it when you go. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for tonight's bible study. We thank you that your word before us today was understood in its purpose and design. And Lord, we just ask that in this place, as a result of this bible study, new levels of victory will be realized. Lord, we pray for the grace to retain the elements that we have explored in these verses, and that they would register in us deeply. And we ask, oh God, that you would be worshiped tonight in a special way for how you've spoken to us.

Protect our marriages. Protect our households. Protect us in an age of disgrace. And Lord, we pray Proverbs twenty seven seven, that we would all be so full in you, that we would loathe the honey of this life. The bitter things that try to persuade us, that will fill us, Lord, help us detect it, not just with head knowledge, but with experiential knowledge.

I am satisfied in God. I am filled with the joy of the Lord. I have fellowship with the king. I will not cheapen myself to something that will ultimately bite back and disgrace me in the Lord that I serve. Oh, Lord, may that be the heights that we reach because of you and your promises for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled.

So fill us afresh. Let faith arise that there is more pleasure in your presence than what pornography has to offer, than what loose partners have to offer, than what external beauty has to offer. Your presence is more than enough. You are able to conquer our wandering hearts. And so we just pray that we would know that in a real way tonight.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Let's stand and worship as we close. Sing to the Lord before you head on home.