How I Have Hated Instruction

As David came upon the roof of his palace and saw Bathsheba bathing, he must have thought to himself that what he was doing was displeasing to the Lord. He lingered longer casting his eyes upon the beautiful woman bathing. Quietly summoning a servant to go to the house and found out who lived there and the name of the woman; he pondered his decision. As the messenger left could David have thought to himself that what he was doing was a dangerous liaison with temptation and that he should recall the servant at once. David lingers and the servant returns informing the king the woman he saw bathing is a married woman. In fact, she is married to one of David’s mighty men, Uriah (2 Samuel 11:3; 23:39). Bathsheba’s father was also a mighty man (2 Samuel 23:34) named Eliam whose father was Athithophel, an advisor of David (2 Samuel 15:12).

The son of Jesse was a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) and was schooled in the law of God. He was not unaware of the instructions of the law and penalties imposed for those who take another man’s wife. The instructions of the law were present in his mind but his desire for Bathsheba shadowed the righteous heart with evil intent. As a bird drawn to a net the king called for Bathsheba and against everything he believed in as a righteous man of God, he ignored what he knew was right and lay with her. Did David take caution for a moment to consider his actions? Afterwards he felt the fury of guilt and shame. Months later he would find his sin standing before him as Nathan the prophet pronounced Jehovah’s punishment on David.

In an irony of events the son of David and Bathsheba would write years later on the dangers of the desires of the flesh. Solomon warns in Proverbs 5 to resist the sin of adultery. There is no good end to it and only ends in bitterness. He writes, “Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one; lest aliens be filled with your wealth, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner; and you mourn at last, when your flesh and your body are consumed, and say: ‘How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised correction! I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! I was on the verge of total ruin, in the midst of the assembly and congregation’” (Proverbs 5:8-14). There are lessons David may have instilled in Solomon from his own experience.

Lesson one would be that David realized he should have just left the roof and not lingered. He may have thought he could enjoy the view and not be impacted but Satan was after his heart. Wisdom would have told him to be careful when he goes on the roof and if necessary to stay away from the ‘views’ about him. Joseph knew the power of temptation and when accosted by Potiphar’s wife he fled. He did the only thing he knew to do to save himself and that was to stay as far away from the immoral woman as he could. Paul instructs Timothy to “flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22). Why? The only defense is to “not go near the door of her house” and to run with all your might away from the temptation. David knew this. He knew how to run to his enemy (1 Samuel 17; Goliath) but he did not know how to run from himself.

Lesson two is that David knew that beyond the fleeting moment of pleasure there would be consequence. He was sleeping with a married woman. This was not the first time such a thing had happened in the world and no doubt in his life he had seen the grief that came upon those who found themselves victims of the passion of the flesh. Honor is taken away, years of shame and remembrance weary the mind, and life becomes a debt to pay to everyone. The story of David and Bathsheba happened many centuries before the birth of Christ but the Lord saw fit to remind us of the pain suffered in that single act. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham … and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah” (Matthew 1:1-6). Infidelity is as “sharp as a two-edge sword” (Proverbs 5:4) and the wounds are always tender.

The most difficult part for David is the knowledge when confronted by Nathan that he was the man who sinned. By this time he had also committed murder which is so far outside the realm of reality for a man of God; yet David stood condemned. How could the king have sunk so low in his moral code to first commit adultery and then to bury his conscience in murdering one of his own mighty men, a hero of his day? Lesson three came hard and swift to David. He knew what he was doing was wrong but he “hated instruction” and did not obey the voice of his teachers nor inclined his ear to those who instructed him (Proverbs 5:12-13). When Nathan said to David, “You are the man” (2 Samuel 12:7) the crushing blow of guilt flooded his soul with the lost lessons he did not heed that would have spared him what he now faced.

How many times in the quiet of the day – when the king meditated on the grace and mercy of a loving God – did David regret with all his fiber his refusal to do what he knew was right? He went into his sin with eyes wide opened. The voice of righteousness screamed loudly in his ears and the press of God’s presence surrounded him but to no avail. He was caught in the cords of his sin (Proverbs 5:22). As David laments his adultery he remembers the pain it brought him.  “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (Psalms 32:3-4). Regret is filled with the sorrow of a wrong choice. David knew better but the passion of sin moved his heart.

Joseph was convicted unjustly of seducing the wife of Potiphar but he lived with the blessing of a pure mind. He was able to fortify himself with the instructions of the Lord and built upon that strength to increase his courage and faith. David could not. He had failed the instructions and the admonitions. He could regain his life but at what cost? The great tragedy of sin is the lasting aroma of what could have been and what was. Moses Luzzato (1707-1747) wrote, “The evil inclination is to be compared to a conjurer who runs around among people with a closed hand daring them to guess what is in it … Everyone therefore runs after him. Once the conjurer stops for a moment and opens his hand, it becomes clear to everyone that it is completely empty.” David found at the end of his journey that passion was empty when sin was revealed. Had he listened to his teachers and heeded the wisdom of godliness – what a difference the story would have been. Courage is waiting five more minutes after temptation and learning the power of faith.

“My son, pay attention to my wisdom; lend your ear to my understanding, that you may preserve discretion, and your lips may keep knowledge” (Proverbs 5:1-2).