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Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
On the heels of a few missteps, David remembers his
promise to Jonathan, and Mephibosheth comes to
dine with the king on a permanent basis. This is a
significant event, as some of the players who are
introduced here will trickle into the story later on.
Ziba is one of them.
Ziba was a servant of the house of Saul, and more
than likely wound up as the steward of Saul’s
property once Saul and his sons died – the land,
however, was now owned by King David. More than
likely it was transferred to David’s ownership
because he was married to Saul’s daughter, Michal.
8 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying,
‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall
transfer his inheritance to his daughter. Numbers
27:8 esv
David promises Mephibosheth that it will all be
restored to him – and this is really in accordance
with the Law. Dining at the king’s table is not. That
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
is special affection for this living relative of
Jonathan.
Ziba and his family sort of wind up on the short end
of the stick. They are all now servants of
Mephibosheth. So, instead of being a steward or an
overseer of the property, David rewrites Ziba’s job
description on the spot:
9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said
to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his
house I have given to your master's grandson. 10 And
you and your sons and your servants shall till the
land for him and shall bring in the produce, that
your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But
Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always
eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and
twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king,
“According to all that my lord the king commands
his servant, so will your servant do.” So
Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the
king's sons. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son,
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's
house became Mephibosheth's servants. 13 So
Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always
at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
2nd
Samuel 9:9-13 esv
David here sets the perfect example of how Jesus
Christ will seat us at His banquet table. But as is
becoming David’s usual modus operandi, he
immediately lapses into a bad judgment call. But I
think there’s something already going on in David’s
private life that makes him trip and fall the way he
does…and when he goes downhill, he just picks up
steam.
Last year we studied 1st Samuel 11, where we saw
Saul take on King Nahash and really clean his clock.
According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, and
also Anthony Campbell and Mark Obrien, authors of
Unfolding Deuteronomistic History: Origins,
Upgrades, Present Text, Nahash, King of the
Ammonites had brought the tribes of Gad and
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
Reuben under his subjection. His regular practice
with them was to gouge out their right eye. There
were hardly any Israelites living on the east side of
the Jordan River that hadn’t had their right eye
gouged out. About 7000 men had escaped Nahash’s
reign of terror and were living in Jabesh, and that’s
who Nahash is going after as 1st Samuel Chapter 11
opens.
So this is the history – I cannot explain why David
says here, “I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of
Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me.”
*Some scholars believe that this is evidence that
Nahash aided David in some way when he fled from
Saul.
So David sent by his servants to console him
concerning his father. And David's servants came
into the land of the Ammonites. 2nd Samuel 10:2
esv
Now, David doesn’t do any of this messaging – he’s
always sending these servants back and forth. His
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
men are humiliated, and a huge war begins with the
Ammonites.
7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all
the host of the mighty men. 2nd Samuel 10:7
esv
So while Joab and the mighty men are duking it out
with the Ammonites, David is walking around on his
roof, looking at woman taking a bath.
And she isn’t just any woman. She is the wife of one
of his mighty men. Not only that, she is the daughter
of Eliam, he is also one of David’s mighty men, or
we see them referred to as The Thirty.
Let me be clear, David gets Bathsheba’s husband
and her father out of town. I think that’s interesting!
Here’s what else I think: This woman does not just
happen to be taking a bath on her roof at the same
time the king is walking around above her. I think
they were well acquainted with one another and had
had something going on in their heads for a while.
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
David, however, had the power and the means to do
something about it.
2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose
from his couch and was walking on the roof of the
king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman
bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And
David sent and inquired about the woman. And one
said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam,
the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent
messengers and took her, and she came to him, and
he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself
from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her
house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and
told David, “I am pregnant.” 2nd Samuel 11:2-5 esv
This was more than just a late afternoon roll in the
hay. Very rarely does a woman get pregnant the first
time around. Bathsheba had stayed with David for a
while – while her husband and father are out on the
battlefield attempting to overcome the Ammonites.
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
I can’t imagine what went through their minds. Their
sin was punishable by death, which they both knew,
and now the proof of what they’d done was on its
way. And apparently David has a sudden glimmer of
realization that it isn’t worth dying for. But, he has
the power and the means with which to formulate an
amicable solution.
I know, I’ll call her husband back to the palace.
After all, he’s one of my top men. It’s perfectly
normal that I ask him questions about the battle. I
will then treat him like one of my own sons, who are
not on the battlefield, pretend that he is this special
to me, and then I’ll send him home to Bathsheba.
She’s a smart girl. She’ll know what to do and we’ll
make Uriah think the baby belongs to him….
But it didn’t go like that.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with
all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to
his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not
go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
you not come from a journey? Why did you not go
down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The
ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my
lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping
in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat
and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live,
and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 2nd
Samuel 11:9-11 esv
David must be so blown away. Uriah has some
impeccable moral character. He can’t stand the
thought of his comrades fighting on the battlefield
while he luxuriates in the comforts of home and
woman.
I find it incredibly ironic that the man David sought
to remove from the city so that he could freely
pursue his wife, he now calls back to cover what
he’s done with her – and he can’t get Uriah to take
the bait!
Something else that points to Uriah’s character is his
personal self-discipline when it comes to the Law.
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
He knows that if he has relations with his wife he’ll
be considered ceremonially unclean and have to wait
a day or so before he can rejoin the other soldiers.
David had to have been thinking, wow…what am I
going to do with this goody-two-shoes. I know, I’ll
get him so hammered he doesn’t know up from
down, send him down to the wife and Bathsheba can
take it from there.
But it didn’t go like that.
12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today
also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah
remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And
David invited him, and he ate in his presence and
drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the
evening he went out to lie on his couch with the
servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his
house. 2nd Samuel 2:12-13
esv
Even getting him drunk did not make Uriah
compromise his faith. That’s some self-will.
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
David is beyond freaking out at this point. The only
solution appears to be Uriah’s death.
When David realizes that Uriah stayed away from
Bathsheba he writes a letter to Joab – a man he
knows is brutal and beyond moral scruples – and
invites him into the plan to have Uriah killed. Uriah,
devoted soul that he is, unwittingly carries his own
death sentence and delivers it into the hands of his
executioner.
I love what George Williams wrote about this:
…and so this false step also led to the moral
wreckage of this chapter when David further
surrendered himself into the hands of Joab.
—George Williams, The Complete Bible Commentary
Joab does what’s expected, and through messengers
he and David basically congratulate one another on a
job well done.
Bathsheba mourned for her dead husband one week,
and married David the next. They’d gotten what they
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
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wanted. They were together at last, and no one could
stop them now.
Honestly, does this remind anyone but me of the
Lifetime Movie Network?
But the thing that David had done displeased the
Lord. 2nd Samuel 11:27
esv
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after
receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful
expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will
consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set
aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the
evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much
worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by
the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God,
and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which
he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of
grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is
mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
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judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31 esv
David very much falls into the hands of the living
God.
It is generally believed that about a period of one
year passes between the end of Chapter 11 and the
beginning of Chapter 12. During that time, the
newlyweds are presumably living it up, celebrating
their new baby, and thinking they’ve gotten away
with murder…until that pesky ole prophet shows up.
And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him
and said to him, “There were two men in a certain
city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man
had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man
had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had
bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with
him and with his children. It used to eat of his
morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,
and it was like a daughter to him. 2nd Samuel 12:3
esv
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
Uriah was never afforded the chance to tell his side
of the story – and so God does, through the prophet,
Nathan.
Uriah had loved Bathsheba, affectionately and
deeply. He shared his own portions with her, and she
drank from his cup. They were like the young couple
you see in the restaurant, so gaga over one another
that they are feeding each other off their own plates.
Uriah was a man wholly in love with his wife, and
she was sacred to him. He held nothing back from
her. Furthermore, she was all that he had and he was
delighted to have her.
4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he
was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to
prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he
took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the
man who had come to him.” 2nd
Samuel 12:4 esv
A traveler came to the rich man. The Hebrew word
for traveler is hēlek, and it can also be translated as
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
wayfarer. This is a person who travels from place to
place on foot.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking
someone to devour. 1st Peter 5:8
esv
This traveler, this wayfarer, the devil, comes
prowling over to David’s place, looking for someone
to devour, and he finds it. David is not being sober-
minded. Judging from his actions over the past year
or so, we can just about guess where he’s at in his
Bible study. He’s supposed to study the Law every
single day, (Deuteronomy 17:18-20.) and he’s been
given a directive to shepherd the flock. Well, the
flock has been dispatched without its shepherd for a
considerable period of time now. David is still in
Jerusalem and the flock is still out there fighting the
Ammonites on their own.
Nathan is saying to David here, the devil came to
you with some carnal desires and had to be fed. And
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
instead of going to your own harem, you exploited
the sacredness of good man.
Make no mistake, these carnal desires will demand
to be fed, and if we’re not sober-minded and
watchful somebody is going to get devoured.
5 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the
man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the
man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall
restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing,
and because he had no pity.” 2nd Samuel 12:5-6
esv
David is so moved with compassion at the story that
he blasts, he deserves to die.
Isn’t it funny…we can always see the gravity of sin
in someone else, but we’re completely blind to our
own. Didn’t Jesus say something about that?
Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the
judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and
with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
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eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own
eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me
take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log
in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log
out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew
7:1-5 esv
David invokes the Law with which to punish this
guy Nathan is talking about – God’s penalty for such
a crime is to return the stolen property fourfold
(Exodus 22:1). And in that, David prescribes his
own judgment.
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says
the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king
over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of
Saul. 8 And I gave you your master's house and your
master's wives into your arms and gave you the
house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too
little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have
you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
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in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite
with the sword and have taken his wife to be your
wife and have killed him with the sword of the
Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never
depart from your house, because you have despised
me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be
your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will
raise up evil against you out of your own house. And
I will take your wives before your eyes and give them
to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in
the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I
will do this thing before all Israel and before the
sun.’” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned
against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The
Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have
utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to
you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house. 2nd
Samuel 12:7-15 esv
And in the weeks to come we will see how David’s
own judgment plays out in his personal life. He will
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
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pay back that lamb he stole fourfold…and judgment
begins immediately.
And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife
bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David
therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And
David fasted and went in and lay all night on the
ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside
him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not,
nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day
the child died. And the servants of David were afraid
to tell him that the child was dead, for they said,
“Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to
him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we
say to him the child is dead? He may do himself
some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his
servants were whispering together, David
understood that the child was dead. And David said
to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He
is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and
washed and anointed himself and changed his
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and
worshiped. 2nd Samuel 12:15-20
esv
David worshiped. David was trying to come back to
the Lord. He’d been on his face before God for
seven days, possibly writing Psalm 51. In his
repentance he recognized the work of the Lord in his
life. The baby died, but look what David
acknowledges here:
He then went to his own house. And when he asked,
they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his
servants said to him, “What is this thing that you
have done? You fasted and wept for the child while
he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and
ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still
alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows
whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the
child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I
fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him,
but he will not return to me.” 2nd Samuel 20:20-23
esv
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#6 – An Affair to Remember
Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
In the whole lesson, my greatest comfort comes
from verse 23. Let me tell you why.
Thirty years ago at Thanksgiving time Jim and I lost
a baby. This verse gives me hope that I will go to
that baby someday. David believes he will see his
little one someday, though he knows he can’t bring
him back to this place. I know that too.
That David possessed a deep understanding of
God’s character is evident by the way he
responded to God’s judgment. Before the blow
fell he prayed, knowing that Jehovah was a God
of mercy. After the blow fell, he worshiped
knowing that Jehovah was a God of
righteousness. He forgot the things that were
behind, accepted the divine discipline, and
looked ahead to the future. He did not despair
because he knew that God would yet bless him.
He was right.
—William McDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary
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Rebuilding the Temple Series – Unit 4 – The Lion of Judah, © 2014 Ta`Mara Hanscom
November 16, 2014
24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba… 2nd
Samuel 12:24 esv
The Hebrew word for comforted is n am, and this
is the definition from Vine’s Concise Dictionary of
the Bible:
“to repent, comfort.” [… ]to bring acts of
kindness and favor, and encouraging words to
another. David “comforted” Bathsheba after the
death of her child born in sin […] this probably
indicates his repentance of what had happened in
their indiscretion.
Put simply, David repented of his sin against God,
but also how he’d sinned against Bathsheba. He’d
seduced her away from the arms of a man who’d
loved and cherished her, and now here she was
grieving the death of her child. David was sorry for
what his sinful actions had brought to her life. As a
result, he went to her with kindness and
encouragement, and repented of his actions, and God
blessed him for it.
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[David] went in to her and lay with her, and she
bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And
the Lord loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan
the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because
of the Lord. 2nd Samuel 12:24-25
esv
This new little one, Solomon, has been conceived
not in the sinful will of the flesh, but within David’s
tender repentance toward Bathsheba. This is an
important aspect of repentance.
David acknowledged that he’d sinned first against
God Almighty, and then he went to the injured party
and repented – and God blessed David’s sincere
actions with a new life. With Solomon, and the Lord
loved him.