2 Samuel 11:4
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
The verse records that David sent for Bathsheba the wife of Uriah, committed adultery with her, and sent her back to her house, making himself guilty under God's law which condemned adulterers to death. He did this while lingering at ease in Jerusalem, having left the war to Joab when victory seemed certain, letting go his hold on God in self-security and yielding to the tempter though he was God's chosen leader to uphold the law. He gave way to appetite, passion and lustful gratification, showing how temptation through lust can overthrow even one greatly favored by God. The deed was a heinous sin against Uriah and against God and an abuse of royal authority, which God did not excuse but met with reproof and punishment. His idleness opened the way to this grave wrong and to the murder that followed to hide it, and his fall stands faithfully recorded not as an excuse for sin but as a warning that God's law must be obeyed and that even the prominent may fall yet may rise again by grace.
Setting and Nature of Sin
When the Syrians had already submitted to Israel and the complete overthrow of the Ammonites appeared certain, David remained in Jerusalem at ease and unguarded, having left the conduct of the army to Joab, surrounded by the fruits of victory and the honors of his wise and able rule. God had taken him into close connection with Himself and manifested great favor toward him, which should have been the strongest incentive to preserve his character unblemished. But in ease and self-security he let go his hold upon God, and when the tempter seized the opportunity to occupy his mind he yielded to Satan and brought upon his soul the stain of guilt. He who was the Heaven-appointed leader of the nation chosen by God to execute His law himself trampled upon its precepts, and he who should have been a terror to evil-doers by his own act strengthened their hands.
He sent messengers and took Bathsheba the wife of Uriah, lay with her, and she returned to her house. The act was adultery that made him guilty under God's law, which pronounced adulterers worthy of death. Discovery risked vengeance by Uriah for the wrong or revolt by the nation. The account of the fall shows that even a man entrusted with great responsibilities can be overcome by temptation.
The act belonged to his departure from God and abuse of his royal authority, and to the sin that led to Uriah's death. It was a heinous and grievous sin against Uriah and against God, a departure from God's commandments and part of his crime against Uriah. God did not excuse or justify it. It brought Nathan's reproof and rebuke with divine punishment.
He yielded to appetite, passion, and lustful gratification, thereby incurring God's displeasure. His fall shows how temptation could overcome even someone especially favored by God, illustrating how Satan used the gratification of lust to overcome him. His stumbling by yielding to sensual entrapment is one example of the power of woman enlisted in the service of Satan to entrap and destroy souls. That power belongs with the corruption of the holy seed through the children of Seth, the temptation of Joseph, the betrayal of Samson's strength into Philistine hands, the enslavement of Solomon to passion, and the overthrow of Israel by the harlots of Midian, proving that it casts down many wounded and slays many strong men.
Guilty and in Satan's power, surrounded by danger and facing dishonor more bitter than death, he found every effort to conceal guilt unavailing and in desperation sought escape by adding murder to adultery. As Satan had compassed the destruction of Saul, he sought David's ruin also, leading him by a different temptation to the same transgression of God's law. David reasoned that if Uriah were slain by the hand of enemies in battle the guilt could not be traced home to the king, Bathsheba would be free to become his wife, suspicion could be averted, and the royal honor would be maintained. After Bathsheba's mourning for Uriah had ended he sent for her and made her his wife, the outcome of his adultery and the murder of one of his most faithful soldiers, hoping to enjoy the reward of his sin without consequence.
Consequences and Warning for Others
David's taking of Bathsheba and lying with her was a turning from God's doctrines that sullied his formerly fair reputation, showing that violating God's will brings a day of retribution. His idleness left him open to temptation and led to grave wrongdoing in the sin with Bathsheba and the death of Uriah.
Though entrusted with great responsibilities and prominent as a believer, he could be overcome by temptation, and his fall is faithfully recorded as a warning and not as an excuse for wrongdoing. Such histories teach that God's law must be obeyed and that sin brings punishment. The failures and later recovery of God's people can encourage others to avoid similar evil, learn from their failures, and rise again through God's grace.