While Joab was continuing to subdue the Ammonites the following spring by besieging Rabbah (modern Amman, the capital of Jordan; cf. 10:7), David was residing in Jerusalem (11:1). By mentioning the fact that normally kings led their armies into battle in the spring, the writer implied that David was not acting responsibly by staying in Jerusalem.169
". . . leading his troops into battle was expected to be the major external activity of an ancient Near Eastern ruler . . ."170
"Our most difficult times are not when things are going hard. Hard times create dependent people. You don't get proud when you're dependent on God. Survival keeps you humble. Pride happens when everything is swinging in your direction. When you've just received that promotion, when you look back and you can see an almost spotless record in the last number of months or years, when you're growing in prestige and fame and significance, that's the time to watch out . . . especially if you're unaccountable. . . .
"Our greatest battles don't usually come when we're working hard; they come when we have some leisure, when we've got time on our hands, when we're bored."171
David's temptation followed an age-old pattern: he saw, he desired, and he took (cf. Gen. 3:6; James 1:14-15). He could not help seeing, but he could have stopped watching, lusting, sending for Bathsheba, and lying with her. "Very beautiful"translates a Hebrew phrase that describes people of striking physical appearance (cf. Gen. 24:16; 26:7 [Rebekah]; Esth. 1:11 [Vashti]; Esth. 2:7 [Esther]; 1 Sam. 16:12 [where a cognate expression describes David]). Perhaps Bathsheba was not totally innocent, but that does not vitiate David's guilt. It seems reasonable to assume that she could have shielded herself from view if she had wanted to do so.
"The bathing itself may have been for the purpose of ritual purification and would therefore not only advertize Bathsheba's charms but would serve as a notice to the king that she was available to him."172
Bathsheba's father, Eliam (v. 3), was apparently the son of Ahithophel, David's counselor (cf. 15:12; 23:34).173Uriah may have been a mercenary from one of the Syro-Hittite states to Israel's north. Alternatively he may have been the son of Hittites who had immigrated to Israel when the Hittite Empire was crumbling.174Probably he was a member of the native Canaanite tribe of Hittites that inhabited the Promised Land before the Conquest (cf. Gen. 23:3-15; Num. 13:29; et al.).
David then "took"Bathsheba--we could translate the Hebrew word "he collected"her--and so abused his royal power. Evidently this was a "one night stand;"David and Bathsheba appear to have had sex only on this one occasion. The Mosaic Law required that both a man and a woman who had sexual relations bathe to remove ritual uncleanness so they could participate in public worship (Lev. 15:18). Ironically Bathsheba was careful to keep this command of the law even though she had violated a much more important one. Sin tends to distort our sense of what is truly important so we focus on relatively unimportant duties.
"The only recorded speech of Bathsheba, brief though it is ["I am pregnant,"v. 5], sets in motion a course of action which ultimately results in her husband's death."175
Why did Bathsheba inform David that she was pregnant? Could she not have told her husband alone. Was she hoping that David would acknowledge her child and that the child would then enjoy royal privileges?
About five years later David's oldest son, Amnon, followed in his father's footsteps (13:14). Since David was born in 1041 B.C. and this incident took place about 992 B.C., David was close to 49 years old when he committed adultery.
"The king who is content to be given the kingdom (2 Sam 2-4) nevertheless seizes with violence the woman of his desire. The theme of seizure then erupts in the rape of Tamar, the taking of Amnon's life and (in political form) the major incident of the rebellion of Absalom."176
"This king who took another man's wife already had a harem full of women. The simple fact is that the passion of sex is not satisfied by a full harem of women; it is increased. Having many women does not reduce a man's libido, it excites it . . . it stimulates it. . . . One of the lies of our secular society is that if you just satisfy this drive, then it'll be abated."177
