King David was far from perfect. Maybe it was this awareness of his flaws and failures that drove him toward God so completely and humbly. But that isn’t a hundred percent true in the Davidic narrative in II Samuel. There is one instance when he did not turn to God quickly after his sin and did not deal with the guilt he carried. That guilt was burdensome, clouding his brain.

You know the David and Bathsheba saga in II Samuel 11. David was a warrior, but, for whatever reason, in the spring of one particular year, he did not go into battle even though it was “the time when kings go out to battle.” Instead, David sent his top general, Joab, to lead the army into battle against the Ammonites. But David remained at Jerusalem. (II Samuel 11:1)

I don’t intend to overextend the possibility that David was particularly susceptible to temptation because he wasn’t about what he was usually about, but God’s inspired Word made it a point to make sure we know David was not on the battlefield, even though it was the season for kings to go into battle. Instead, he idled away in Jerusalem, moving from the couch to a walk on the roof.

From there, he saw a beautiful woman bathing. His high vantage point allowed him to see into the private area of her residence. Her name was Bathsheba. The narrative in II Samuel is brief and direct in what results from this:

• He found out who she was.
• He sent for her.
• He had sex with her. (Was she a ready participant or did he leave her no choice, seeing as how he is the king? We don’t know.)
• But we do know this—David used his kingly authority and the power God gave him to do this.
• She became pregnant.
• David sent for her husband, Uriah, and brought him home from the battlefront.
• David tried, twice, to get Uriah to go to his house and spend time with his wife, hoping that people would then believe the child she carried belonged to her husband.
• Uriah proved more honorable than King David as he would not do this while his fellow warriors were still at the front.
• David sent him back to Joab carrying his own letter of death.
• David instructed Joab to put Uriah on the frontline and then pull all support away from him, guaranteeing that he would be killed.
• Bathsheba lamented and mourned the death of her husband.
• But now that she was a widow (at the hands of the king), David could marry her. Which he did.

But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. (II Samuel 11:27)

Time elapses quickly at the end of II Samuel 11 as David marries Bathsheba and she has a son. The next chapter continues the story.

It’s usually bad news when a prophet shows up in the Old Testament narrative. He is carrying a message from God, sometimes harsh and filled with warning. Nathan enters the scenario at the beginning of II Samuel because God “sent (him) to David.” David broke three specific commandments in the Bathsheba affair (pun intended):

• The 10th commandment—do not covet another man’s wife.
• The 7th commandment—do not commit adultery.
• The 6th commandment—do not murder.

David had not confessed his sins. He had not admitted his guilt. He buried it. In the conversation he has with Nathan, his clouded judgment, perhaps impacted by his own weight of guilt, comes to the surface.

Unresolved guilt affects us. It can bring about mood swings, anger, unfair harsh judgment toward others, depression, and even harm our health. Our emotions become a jumbled mess, and our usually clear-headed thinking becomes anything but clear.

The Nathan and David confrontation next week.