The occasion and details of David’s conduct with Bathsheba are well-known, as being perhaps the lowest point of David’s life. The Lord had picked him out from among all of Jesse’s sons to become king of Israel. He had been David’s strength and encouragement when he was called to play his harp before Saul, when he killed Goliath, and when he became a warrior in Saul’s army. More than this, the Lord had protected him in a wonderful way all the time that Saul hunted him, when David was compelled to flee for his life. Finally, the Lord had made him king, first of all over Judah, then over all Israel. Over the next few years, his enemies were subdued before him, and his kingdom was in peace.
However, this very peace and prosperity ultimately was his undoing, for instead of going out to battle with his troops, as he had done before, he chose to leave this work to his army with its captains, while he relaxed at home. No doubt he felt that, in middle life, he had earned a little peace and quiet, and a chance to enjoy the fruit of his many battles and military campaigns. While walking on his roof one evening, his eye fell on a beautiful woman who was washing herself, and lust led to adultery, with subsequent conception. We well know how David at first brought her husband Uriah home from the war, seeking to make it look as if Uriah had fathered the child. When this did not work, and Uriah refused to go down to his house, David arranged for Joab, the captain of his army, to place Uriah in “the forefront of the hottest battle,” in order that he might be killed by the enemy. This tactic seemed to work, for Uriah was killed, and David was left with Bathsheba, whom he took for his own wife when her time of mourning was over. In due course Bathsheba bore David a son.
Failure and Restoration
While this was indeed a most disgraceful act, the Spirit of God uses the occasion to bring out a number of important aspects of failure and restoration, and we do well to pay attention to them. Of course, in his day David did not know anything about full redemption through the blood of Christ, nor did he have the peace in his heart that comes from knowing that “by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:1414For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)). He did not know anything about the high priesthood of Christ, or the advocacy of Christ, both of which are wonderful realities for the believer today. Yet his conduct in confession and restoration is a model of how we, as believers in this dispensation of grace, should approach God after we have sinned.
We find the details of David’s confession and restoration in Psalm 51. First of all, he recognizes that the sin has been before God, for he says, “Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight” (Psa. 51:44Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. (Psalm 51:4)). At first glance, this remark might seem to denote a callous and indifferent attitude toward the suffering that his actions had caused others. However, this is not so. In no way did David belittle the effect of his sin on others, especially on Uriah; rather, his statement shows us that true repentance and restoration can come only when we recognize the seriousness of the sin before God. The realization of the effect of sin on others may well produce remorse, especially when we are found out, but “the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Cor. 7:10). On the other hand, “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of” (2 Cor. 7:10), and this comes only when we get into the presence of God. Whatever may be the effect of our sin on others, it pales when we consider its seriousness before God. If the sin is viewed in its right character before God, we will never minimize its effect on our fellow man.
Broken and Contrite
Secondly, we find that David recognizes the futility of mere sacrifice, if the heart is not right. “Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering” (Psa. 51:1616For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. (Psalm 51:16)). No, he understood that “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psa. 51:1717The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalm 51:17)). Both are needed, for together they bring us into true humiliation before God, and true repentance. When the heart is right, the sacrifice can be accepted.
So it is with us today. We may want to make amends for what we have done, and even to confess it before God. But before the fullness of Christ’s sacrifice can be felt in the soul, and the fact that the sin has already been atoned for, we must recognize the depth of our sin, and be in true humility before God. This takes time, and this is why the one who was defiled (in Numbers 19) must be purified on both the third day and the seventh day. He must first realize the magnitude of sin in the presence of grace, before he could realize the magnitude of God’s grace in the presence of sin. A broken spirit and a broken heart before God are the means to this point. It is for this reason that David could pray, “Take not the spirit of Thy holiness from me” (Psa. 51:1111Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. (Psalm 51:11) JND).
The Fruit and the Root
Finally, we see the Lord working in David’s heart to bring him to the point where he judges not merely the act of sin, but also the root of it. In this connection it is very instructive to notice that when Nathan brings David’s sin to his attention, he focuses, not on the initial act of adultery, but rather on the attempt to cover it up. In fact, Nathan does not specifically mention the original act of adultery at all. It is not that lust was not involved; it was. It is not that adultery is not wrong, and seriously wrong; it is. But these were not the roots of the problem. Rather, it was David’s abuse of his power and authority as a king that were behind all of this, for no other man would normally have been able to see Bathsheba washing herself; only one on a high roof could do so. No other man would have been able to find out easily who she was, and been able to summon her to him. No other man could have manipulated men and events, first of all to bring Uriah home from the war, and then to send him back, with secret instructions to place him in a place of extreme danger so that he would be killed. It was this root that needed to be judged, and happily, it seems from subsequent history that David did so. Later, at the time of Absalom’s rebellion, David took the place of utmost humility. He was willing to send the ark back to Jerusalem, even if he were not able to be restored to his throne. He was willing to allow Shimei to curse him, if God so allowed.
So it should be with us. When we have sinned, often we judge the act of sin without getting to the root. Then, because the root is still there, we tend to repeat the sin at a later date. More than this, we may commit another sin that seems quite different from the first, but that ultimately has the same root. A bad root can have many bad shoots. As another has rightly remarked, “What we do is sin, but what we are in our sinful fallen nature is much worse.” The fruit is bad, but the root much more so. Often too, the root, to a casual observer, may not seem to be directly related to the fruit; they may appear quite different, and there are other examples of this in the Word of God. When Abraham told Abimelech that his wife Sarah was his sister, it might have seemed on the surface to be simply the fear of man. However, the real root was his lack of faith in God, which normally was his strong point. Job’s anger with his friends might seem to be a lack of patience, but the real root of the problem was pride in himself, for what grace had produced in him. It was this pride that made him bitterly resent the false accusations of his friends. Peter’s denial of the Lord might seem once again to be merely the fear of man, but the root of the problem was that he thought he loved the Lord more than the other disciples. In seeking Peter’s public restoration, it was this latter issue that the Lord brought up to him in John 21:1515So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. (John 21:15) — “Lovest thou Me more than these?”
In summary, we may say that all restoration is of God, and He delights to do so. David recognized this in Psalm 23 — “He restoreth my soul.” When we get into the presence of God, we find that everything is seen in its right light, and we are led to confess our sins, not merely to ask for forgiveness. When we have confessed our sins, we find that the Lord not only forgives them, but also helps us to deal with the root. He is faithful, not only to “forgive us our sins,” but also to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:99That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)).
W. J. Prost