2 Samuel 11:2
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
The verse opens the account of David's fall, when at ease and unguarded in Jerusalem after leaving the war against the Ammonites to Joab, he rose idle from his bed in the evening and walked on the roof and saw a very beautiful woman washing herself. In that self-secure idleness he let go his hold upon God, leaving his unoccupied mind open for the tempter to seize and occupy. Drawn by lustful desire for her beauty and indulging appetite and passion, he was seduced into sensual sin and then, to conceal the adultery and maintain his honor, added murder by arranging the death of her husband Uriah in battle. His former faithfulness did not excuse or justify the grievous sin, and one wrong step led to further wrongs until he was rebuked. He afterward acknowledged his guilt with sincere remorse and was forgiven and spared, yet still punished because he had given occasion for blasphemy, so the record stands as a warning against disobedience and not as an excuse for it.
David's Setting and Fall
This evening scene on the roof stands at the beginning of the account of David's fall from faithful rule into sin. It belongs to the departure from God in which he misused God-given authority to arrange the death of Uriah, a faithful soldier. On receiving the report he told Joab to continue the attack.
David was then at ease and unguarded in Jerusalem after leaving the conduct of the army against the Ammonites to Joab. The end of the war had not yet come, but the Syrians had already submitted and the complete overthrow of the Ammonites appeared certain. He was surrounded by the fruits of victory and the honors of wise and able rule.
In that ease and self-security he let go his hold upon God, and the tempter seized the opportunity to occupy his mind. God's close connection with him and great favor toward him should have been the strongest incentive to keep his character unblemished, yet he yielded. He, the Heaven-appointed leader of the nation chosen to execute God's law, himself trampled its precepts, and by his own act strengthened the hands of evil-doers.
He was idle and unoccupied on the roof when he should have been engaged in useful work. That idleness led to the actions that ended in Uriah's murder. It illustrates the danger of unused time and an unoccupied mind, which useful work could have kept him from.
He was drawn and led into sin through lustful desire and the indulgence of appetite and passion. That gratification of lustful passion brought God's displeasure. His fall is an example of Satan using such desires to tempt even people especially favored by God.
This is where he stumbled, caught and overthrown by the enticing power of woman enlisted in Satan's service to entrap and destroy souls. Seduced from integrity by beauty into sensual sin, he stands as one of the many strong men cast down wounded and slain by her. His desire for the beautiful woman he saw led into conduct that stained his once-excellent reputation.
The scene begins an adultery that he tried to conceal and could not hide. Having betrayed himself into Satan's power, surrounded by danger and facing dishonor more bitter than death, he in desperation added murder to adultery. He reasoned that if Uriah died by enemies in battle the guilt could not be traced to the king, Bathsheba would be free to become his wife, suspicion could be averted, and royal honor maintained. The same tempter who compassed the destruction of Saul sought his ruin through different temptations leading to the same transgression of God's law.
Sin's Warning and Grace
The evening sight on the roof belongs to the grievous crime against Uriah and Bath-sheba, a sin before God that was neither excused nor justified. Former faithfulness did not justify the later sin or protect from its consequences, showing that even a man favored by God and entrusted with great responsibility could be overcome by temptation and fall. It marked a departure from God in which one wrong step led to further wrongs. David excused his conduct until Nathan rebuked him. He then acknowledged his guilt with remorse and sincere grief rather than making excuses, and because he repented God forgave him and spared his life, yet still punished him because his conduct had given the Lord's enemies occasion to blaspheme.
Such failures are preserved as warnings, not as excuses for wrongdoing, teaching the consequences of disobedience. The fall into temptation is recorded so later generations can avoid the same evil. They also encourage those who struggle and fall to take heart again, to renew the conflict, and to rise and conquer through God's grace.
Desire for the beautiful woman seen from the roof led into conduct that stained a once-excellent reputation, showing that a person is steadfast while guided by God's Word, but turning from its teachings and forsaking them brings ruin.