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Leviticus 20:10 “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife,
he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the
adulteress, shall be surely put to death.”
There is no example more apparent than that of King David who made a terrible mistake
in judgment by committing adultery with another mans’ wife.
The Terrible Sin of King David
Very strong temptation was placed before King David’s eyes at a weak moment in his
life. This led to his not only coveting another man’s wife but acted on that very strong
desire by having her brought to him and bedded her in an act of adultery:
II Samuel 11:2-5, 15, 25, 27 Then it happened one evening that David rose
from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof
he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So
David sent messengers and enquired about the woman. And someone said,
“Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Elam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
Then David sent messengers, and took her, and she came to him, and he lay
with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her
house. And the woman conceived, so she sent and told David, and said, “I
am with child.”
After learning Bathsheba was carrying his baby David tried very hard to cover up his act
of adultery by having her husband brought back from the war and tried enticing him to
bed his wife. He failed! Knowing of no other way to deal with this problem David sent a
note by Uriah to his leading general to have him placed in an area of battle whereby he
would be killed.
II Samuel 11:15 And he (
David
) wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the
forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck
down and die.”
Uriah carried his own death warrant to Joab and it was carried out:
II Samuel 11:23-25 And the messenger said to David . . . your servant Uriah
the Hittite is dead.” Then David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say
to Joab: do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as
well as another.” . . .
This was a true statement! However the problem was that David intentionally had him
killed to cover up the evil he had done and save his own honor. David then took her as
his wife.
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