Ob and In:
1. v.1-2 the contrast between the entire Israel army and David
Why did David change from the leader of Israel to be a lazy sleeper at home and walking on the palace rooftop?
(EBC) The roof of the royal palace in Jerusalem would later become the focus of yet another sinful act (cf. 16:22 22 於是人為押沙龍在宮殿的平頂上支搭帳棚。押沙龍在以色列眾人眼前,與他父的妃嬪親近。)
Reflection: Anyone is not free from temptation. Resist temptation at all time.
2. The repeat word: send
v.1 David sent out Joab with his officers and the entire Israelite army
v. 3 So David sent someone to inquire about the woman.
v.4 David sent some messengers to get her.
v.5 The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.”
David had the authority to send out army, but he abused that power to also send out people to satisfy his adultery desire. Hearing that she was someone else wife should had stopped David, but he insisted to send some messengers to get her. Finally, God also sent David and Bathsheba a messenger: she was pregnant. Their sin was not without a consequence. They might thought that that as just a one time event (v.4 Then she returned to her home), but God did not let that slipped away .
(EBC) In the course of his downward slide from temptation into sin, David manages to disobey three of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife”; “You shall not commit adultery”; “You shall not murder” (Exod 20:17, 14, 13). His execrable conduct in chapter 11 is a parade example of the truths expressed in James 1:14–15: “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
(EBC) David “saw” a woman (v.2) and wanted her. Concerning Matthew 5:29, Bruce observes that “Matthew places this saying immediately after Jesus’s words about adultery in the heart, and that is probably the original context, for it provides a ready example of how a man’s eye could lead him into sin” (The Hard Sayings of Jesus, p. 54).
Reflection: Do I abuse my power to satisfy my own sinful desire?
Do I take warning to stop pursuing sin or do I continue? Do I let let sinful desire have the chance to drag me away? Do I let my eyes to lead my heart away?
Do I think my sin has no consequence?
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