2 Samuel

2 Samuel 11: The LORD sees David’s sin

Begin in prayer

Before we read about David’s sin, let us come before the LORD together. Ask Him to search our hearts, to show us our sin, and to help us come to Him.

God, you know my foolishness. My sins aren’t hidden from you.

Psalm 69:5

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You see every sin, even the sin of Your chosen king, and show us Jesus, who came to save sinners. Help us to turn to You and not hide. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

In the spring, when kings go out to war, David stays in Jerusalem while Joab and Israel besiege Rabbah. One evening David sees Bathsheba from his roof and sends for her, and he takes another man’s wife, which is adultery. When she sends word that she is with child, David calls her husband Uriah home from the army to cover his sin. Uriah will not go to his own house while his fellow soldiers are in the field. David sends a letter by Uriah’s hand that brings about Uriah’s death. After the mourning, David takes Bathsheba as his wife, but the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

As you read 2 Samuel 11, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD sees every sin, even the sin of His chosen king.

In spring, when kings went out to war, David stayed in Jerusalem and sent Joab and Israel to besiege Rabbah (verse 1). One evening he took Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and she was with child (verses 2 to 5). Taking another man’s wife is adultery, and God’s law forbids it (Exodus 20 verse 14). David tried to hide it by calling Uriah home, but Uriah would not go to his house (verses 6 to 11). So David sent a letter by Uriah’s own hand that led to Uriah’s death (verses 14 and 15). God’s law forbids murder (Exodus 20 verse 13). David then took Bathsheba as his wife after her mourning (verse 27). But the thing David had done displeased the LORD (verse 27). Nothing is hidden from God (Hebrews 4 verse 13).

How does 2 Samuel 11 show us that the LORD sees every sin, even the sin of His chosen king?

David stays home when he should be at war.

In the spring, the time when kings go out to battle, David stays in Jerusalem (verse 1). Joab and Israel fight at Rabbah in his place (verse 1). The chapter does not give a reason for his staying, so we should not guess one.

David takes another man’s wife, which God forbids.

David sends for Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite (verses 3 and 4). She sends word that she is with child (verse 5). Taking another man’s wife is adultery, and God’s law forbids it (Exodus 20 verse 14).

David hides his sin, but the LORD sees it, and Jesus saves sinners.

He calls Uriah home and makes him drunk, but Uriah will not go to his own house (verses 8 to 13). David sends a letter that brings about Uriah’s death (verses 14 and 15). The thing David had done displeased the LORD (verse 27). Nothing is hidden from God (Hebrews 4 verse 13), and Jesus came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1 verse 15).

Memorise

But the thing that David had done displeased Yahweh.

2 Samuel 11:27

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what do I try to cover up, and who already sees it?

David stayed home, took another man’s wife, and then had her husband killed to hide his sin. He kept hiding one sin behind another. The LORD saw everything, and the thing David had done displeased Him. Yet God sent His Son, Jesus, to save sinners.

Sin is serious, and a holy God sees every sin. Jesus carried the sin of His people to the cross and answered for it with His own death, once for all. Then He was buried. The tomb was empty, because God had raised Him.

So come to Him. Turn from your sin, and do not hide it. Trust Jesus, and bring every sin to Him. Everyone who trusts Him finds mercy and is forgiven.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD sees every sin, even the sin of His chosen king. Parents, please explain in your own words the adultery and the murder in verses 2 to 4 and 14 to 17. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He sees every sin, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

The inhabitant won’t say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell therein will be forgiven their iniquity.

Isaiah 33:24

Lord God, thank You that You see every sin, and that nothing is hidden from You. Show each one here the way to turn from sin and trust the Son. Help us to bring our sin to You this week, and bring our heart question to You. Amen.