This weekly feature is dedicated to Adventists who are looking for biblical insights into the topics discussed in the Sabbath School lesson quarterly. We post articles which address each lesson as presented in the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, including biblical commentary on them. We hope you find this material helpful and that you will come to know Jesus and His revelation of Himself in His word in profound biblical ways.
Lesson 4: “The Cost of Rest”
This week’s lesson uses the story of David and Bathsheba to illustrate what it cost David to find rest for his soul after his sin of adultery and murder. The lesson, however, does not include the surrounding context Scripture reveals about David and Bathsheba.
To be sure, David sinned egregiously. This sin, however, was not the defining moment in David’s life. He did not have a crisis of loyalty or identity when his sins became known; he knew God, and it wasn’t David’s decision about how to deal with his sin that defines David’s character.
Rather, David already trusted God, and because he trusted God, his conviction of God’s faithfulness led him to repent and to move on in the certainty of God’s faithfulness.
God’s unconditional covenant
Before David sinned with Bathsheba, God had already made an unconditional covenant with David. David had wanted to build a temple for God, but God told him through the prophet Nathan that he would not build the temple because he was a man of war. He would, however, be allowed to gather the materials for a temple, but his son would build it.
God, however, had a more important message for David. We find this message—this UNCONDItiONAL COVENANT—in 2 Samuel 7:8–17:
Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. (ESV)
David was not allowed to build a house for God, but God told David He would “make you a house”. He promised that David would have an eternal dynasty—a lineage of Davidic kings who would always sit on his throne; he would have an eternal throne, and an eternal kingdom.
In fact, God said, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”
God had already chosen David and placed him on the throne of Israel. Now He promised him that this throne would never end. His lineage would be eternal, and his kingdom would also be eternal. He did not ask David to enter this covenant with Him. David made no promises and performed no acts of fealty. He simply believed God, and God’s promise was declared for all time and is still in effect. God is keeping and will keep this promise without any obedience or promises from David.
David’s big sin
In Second Samuel 11 we read about David’s sin with Bathsheba. The lesson correctly points out that David was shirking his duty to God and to the nation by not leading his troops in battle. As his men were fighting for their country and their lives, David dallied on his rooftop and seduced one of his soldier’s wives.
The lesson further correctly says that he tried to hide his sin when Bathsheba knew she was pregnant, and finally David had Uriah, her husband, killed in battle to try to cover her illegitimate baby. (Interestingly, there was never a question about her aborting the baby.)
In 2 Samuel 12 we read of Nathan’s visit to David:
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. 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. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil 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. 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.’ 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. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 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. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.” Then Nathan went to his house.
And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick (2 Samuel 12:7–15).
We learn here that David, the one who already knew God had made an unconditional covenant with him, was confronted by his pride and arrogance. His position had somehow blinded him, and he had stolen a poor man’s wife when God, according to the custom of kingdoms in that day, had already granted David Saul’s throne and household.
David, however, the chosen king to establish the throne on which the Messiah would one day sit, secretly sinned and stole the family of a loyal soldier. Nathan told him that God would make public what he had done in secret; before the whole nation it would be revealed that David had taken Uriah’s wife, that he had ordered Uriah killed, and that the illegitimate child would die. Even more, Nathan told David that members of his own household would rise against him, and that family member would take David’s wives.
This prophecy of inter-family treachery was ultimately carried out by Absalom.
God’s judgment on sin is just and sure—even when God’s people sin, but God’s promises and provision for His people never end, even when they are unfaithful. David did not stop being God’s chosen recipient of His unconditional promise.
David, however, was repentant. Unlike his predecessor Saul, David had a whole heart for God, and when God confronted him with his sin, he repented.
After Nathan’s visit, the child became deathly ill. 2 Samuel 11:16–23 tells us:
David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 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. 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.” 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.” Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 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.” 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?’ 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.”
David’s grief and recovery tell us some important things. First, David explains that his grief and mourning which preceded the child’s death was his throwing himself on God’s mercy in hope that the child might live. He trusted God, and even though God’s judgment on David for his sin resulted in the death of his child, David accepted God’s decision and ceased fasting, “arose, and ate food” after his death.
Many Adventists may ask, “How was this fair to the child? Why did the blameless baby die when David and Bathsheba were the ones who sinned?”
And here is one of the amazing insights of Scripture that rocks our Adventist paradigm. David said,
“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” (2 Samuel 12:23).
David, Old Testament, pre-cross David, knew that his baby had not ceased to exist. He knew that God was in charge of this baby, and his spirit existed still. He stated that the baby could not come to him, but he would go to his baby. David would one day die, and he would join his baby.
This confident statement was not a wishful thought or a metaphor saying, “He’s dead, and I’ll be dead as well one day…oh well, what can be done…”
No! David literally knew he would be united with his son, and he’s not speaking of resurrection at this point. He knew that his own spirit would join his dead baby’s spirit. He would go to him.
The end of the story
The lesson didn’t even MENTION the end of this story. Immediately after we read about God’s discipline of David and the consequences that would reign in his household as a result of his private sin, we read this:
Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD (2 Samuel 12:24–25).
After the death of their baby, David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and she conceived again. This time their child was a gift and a comfort, and God loved this baby.
Solomon was born after the grief of the couple’s sin. It’s hard to imagine how significantly this birth changed history. Bathsheba, who had likely had little freedom when she was summoned to the king in the first place, had suffered an illegitimate pregnancy while her husband was away. Then she became a widow, knowing that her husband had been betrayed and she had not been able to make anything right with him.
David, to his credit, did not leave her alone to face her dilemma, but he took her as his wife. Nevertheless, in this whole process, the true nature of her relationship with David became known.
In fact, this story is recorded in God’s eternal word; all history will know the darkness of these deeds.
Then Bathsheba lost the baby she had born to David. The loss and change and shame that occurred in that woman’s life within the span of one year is overwhelming—but God redeemed their sin and loss.
David, the man who knew and loved God but yet had sinned egregiously in front of Him and of his nation, repented. God honored his repentance, and in this process He also restored and loved Bathsheba.
God gave them a son—Solomon, the third monarch of Israel, and it was this son who built the temple God had not allowed David to build. The son of the woman who bore the illegitimate child of David gave birth to the first son of David to inherit the unconditional covenant God had made with David in 2 Samuel seven!
Conclusion
Once again the Sabbath School lesson misses the heart of the biblical account. The lesson asks at the end of Friday’s installment, “How can we find the balance between recognizing our inherent sinfulness and need for forgiveness and, at the same time, living like the forgiven sons and daughters of the King of the universe that we are?”
It further asks, “What can we say to someone, not a believer, who struggles with the suffering of innocent people, such as Uriah or the newborn son of David and Bathsheba? How do we explain the love and justice of God in such a situation? How does the perspective of the great controversy offer a helpful outlook?”
This story is NOT about balancing our sin and living like we’re forgiven. This story illustrates that even those who trust God will sin, yet our sin does not compromise God’s faithfulness to His own promises. Adventism cannot understand how to interpret these situations because they have never embraced the true gospel: Jesus died for our sins according to Scripture; He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to Scripture (1 Cor 15:3, 4).
When we trust Jesus’ finished work and completed atonement, we pass out of death into life (Jn. 5:24), and we are born again. We are not saved nor do we ensure God’s favor by obedience. We are saved by His grace giving us the faith to believe in His completed work. We are literally born again and saved eternally, never to die or disappear, at that moment we believe.
If a person has not trusted fully in Jesus, letting go of all obedience and behavior meant to please God (such as believing that keeping the Sabbath is necessary to demonstrate loyalty to God), that person is not a true believer. No one is forgiven of their sins nor adopted by God unless they have believed in the Lord Jesus ALONE.
Furthermore, the great controversy offers no help or hope in understanding these situations of God’s discipline and our sin. The great controversy is a paradigm of despair before a powerful devil and nearly insurmountable temptations to sin, of remembering sins in order to confess them, and in trying to vindicate God’s character by increasingly perfect obedience to the law. This paradigm is pagan!
The story of David reveals God’s sovereign choice and election, His faithfulness to His own promises, and His faithfulness to His own people who trust Him. God disciplined David for his sin, but he blessed him even in the suffering that ensued. He gave this sinful couple His forgiveness and blessing by granting them the first child to inherit the Davidic covenant.
God promised David an eternal throne and kingdom, and that promise still stands. Our Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of that covenant promise, and Solomon, the son of the shamed Bathsheba, was God’s redemption of the couple’s sin. Solomon built the temple for the Lord, and he became the king through whom the eternal throne would come.
God’s promises cannot fail, and human sin cannot thwart God’s will. In spite of David and Bathsheba’s horrific sins, God forgave them, and He is still blessing their offspring through the promised King whose throne and kingdom will never end. †
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