Summary

I want you to let this sink in: This is David, the man after God’s own heart; the hoped-for and long-anticipated king of Israel; David, the giant slayer; David, the sweet shepherd of God’s people and author of so many beautiful Psalms; David, who had refused so many times to take matters into his own hands, David, to whom God made all those incredible promises in 2 Samuel 7; David, who spoke so beautifully about integrity and worship-this David has taken one of his younger captain’s wives and slept with her and then had that loyal colleague and his company of soldiers murdered to cover it all up.

Sermon Questions

1. Do you run from temptation or try to resist temptation? Explain your answer.
2. Our problem is not a lustful body; our problem is an empty soul? In what ways has your soul been empty? How have you tried to fill that emptiness?
3. Martin Luther, the Reformer, used to say, “If your head is made of butter, stay away from the fire.” Don’t take a chance of having your head melted. Your head is too important to take chances with. How have you found that statement to be true for you?
4. Sexual sin destroys lives: David’s sin destroyed Uriah and Bathsheba’s home. We’re never told about the personal trauma it caused to Bathsheba--it says that when Uriah died, she mourned, and I wonder how much is hidden in that word--but we do know for sure that it led to the murder of several innocent men and the death of a child. How has sin destroyed people and things in your life?
5. David felt driven to possess Bathsheba because his soul was bored and hungry. It’s when YOUR heart is empty that you crave sinful pleasures and become willing to do whatever it takes to get them. The only way to escape those temptations is to fill up your soul with the love of the King. How are you doing that?