First I mean, second Samuel chapter 11. Song I sang is entitled Keep Your Heart, which means guard your heart. Keep it pure. Be careful what goes in. And once you meditate upon, it will affect who you are.

The Bible calls David, in more than one passage, the man after what? God's own heart. But if you don't guard your heart, if you're not circumspect, watchful, bible tells us to be vigilant because we have an adversary, the devil, who's a roaring lion, roameth about seeking whom he may devour. Sometimes I think we get to thinking, well, you know, we're we got it. Not gonna happen to who?

Not gonna happen to me. But if we don't keep our heart, we don't guard it, we don't stay close to the Lord, we get complacent, the enemy will take advantage. And that's what happens here in second Samuel 11. Everything is going great for David. I mean, and David's been doing great, but he he was focused on winning battles, protecting his people, building his kingdom.

And the kingdom's pretty much built and things are pretty good for David. And oftentimes, that's when the devil sneaks in. Not when things are going bad, but when things are going what? Great. We think, hey, there's nothing to worry about.

God remember the spirit's willing but the flesh is what? Flesh is weak and David's flesh was weak. The flesh is is never going to just quit and give up nor is the devil. As long as we're on this journey in this world, there's gonna be a battle to fight between us and the flesh. We can overcome it.

Walk in the spirit and you'll not, what? Fulfill the lust of the flesh. Mentioned that this morning. But if you get complacent, you're not walking in the spirit, then the flesh is weak in fulfilling the will of God and you go you were likely to get tripped up. And boy, did David get tripped up.

Second Samuel 11, we'll begin reading in verse one. Came to pass after the year was expired Hold on a second. Came to pass after the year was expired at the time when the kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. Came to pass in the eventide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

David sent and inquired after the woman, and one said, is it not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite? David sent messengers and took her. She came in unto him and he lay with her for she was purified from her uncleanness and she returned under her house. And the woman conceived and sent and told David and said, I am with child. David sent to Joab saying, send me Uriah the Hittite.

And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did and how the people did and how the war prospered. David said to Uriah, go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his Lord and went not down to his house.

When they had told David saying Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, camest thou not from thy journey? Why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? Uriah said unto David, the ark and Israel and Judah abide in tents and my Lord Joab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open field. Shall I then go into mine house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As thou livest and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

Wow. Which one of these people has integrity? David said to Uriah, tarry here today also and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah bowed to Jerusalem that day. And the morrow when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him and he made him drunk and even and even he went to lie on his bed and the servants of his Lord, but went not down to his house.

Came to pass in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the late letter saying, set ye Uriah in the front of the hottest battle. Retire ye from him that he may be spitting and die. Came to pass when Joab observed the city that he assigned Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab and there fell some of the people of the servants of David and Uriah, the Hittite, died also.

Look down if you would to verse 26, and when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband and when the morning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord or was evil in the sight of the Lord? Another way of translating that last last sentence there in the passage. David had failed in the past. His judgment was not always perfect.

Sometimes he had let his anger get the best of him. One case, remember Abigail came out to meet him so he didn't go and completely destroy Nabal and he actually thanked her for that. But this was a was a bit of a different different matter. This was a clear moral issue. There wasn't a judgment call to be made.

There was just black and white. There was right and wrong. And David chose the wrong. So let's take a moment to delve into it a little bit greater before we conclude this evening. First, David's background.

Did David's background play a part in this sin? Is this sin just comes out of nowhere? The answer to that is no. This sin does not just come out of nowhere. This had been kind of building up under the scenes.

It has been noted in scripture several times already that David had married several women. And although he must have found a way to justify his indulgence, it was not right. Look, if you would, in chapter three and verses two through five. Second Samuel three two through five. And David and unto David were sons born in where?

Anybody see? Hebron. Now Hebron is the capital of Judah at this time. And David was king in Judah for seven years before he became king where? In all of Israel and then moved his capital to Jerusalem.

So this is early in David's reign. So he was in Hebron. Let's see. Where was I again? Three two.

And his firstborn was Amnon of Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess. Jezreel was in Northern Israel, Galilee. And his second, Chileab of who? Abigail, the wife of Nabal, the Carmelite. And I just mentioned her a moment ago.

After she helped David out of the jam, he married her. The third, Absalom, son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur. The fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith. The fifth, Shephatiah, the son of Abital. The sixth, Ithream by Eglah, David's wife.

These were born to David in Hebron. Six sons, all born to what? Six different wives. Okay. Six and it and it doesn't here even mention his first wife, who was Michael, who was Saul's daughter that was initially given him to wife, although they had been separated due to his fugitive status.

And during that time, later on, we find out that Saul had given his wife to initial wife to somebody else. Maybe he maybe he justified marrying Abigail initially because of that, but there is simply no justification for wife three and four and five and and six. You say, well, if that was, somewhat customary back then and, you know, God didn't say explicitly you can't have more than one wife. Although God did create just one wife for Adam, not two or three or four or five. Right?

We do have this little verse in Deuteronomy seventeen seventeen. In Deuteronomy 17, God is spelling out some restrictions for Israel should they have a king. So God anticipated that one day they would have a king. They didn't initially. God was their king.

But he spelled out some restrictions that applied to a king should they have one. And this is one of those restrictions. Neither shall he, the king, multiply, what? Wives to himself, that his heart turn not away, neither shall he greatly multiply himself silver, gold. There's a couple other things in the passage there.

Now, how many wives is multiply wives? Well, you know, one times one is one, but one times two is what? Two. And you begin your multiplication tables with one times two. Okay?

And we have three, four, five, and six here in second Samuel chapter three. Why does he say this in in reference to kings? Well, for two reasons. One, kings had great responsibilities to lead the people in the way of the Lord. And as we see in David's son, Solomon, his multiplication of wives turned his heart away from who?

Away from the Lord. So that's why it's mentioned in reference to kings. But second of all, a king has a lot of power and a king has a lot of wealth and therefore, kings and wealthy powerful people were the ones that were likely in Old Testament times to have more than one wife. The general person probably did not. And so, therefore, the temptation.

In second Samuel chapter five verses 13 through 16, after David had moved to, Jerusalem, we read, and David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem. Concubine was sort of a wife servant. They weren't quite on the same level as a a wife. They were kind of a step down. A servant that was a wife, at least one that he had relations with, relations with as a wife.

So David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem after he he was come from Hebron, and there was yet sons and daughters born to David. And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem, Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Eber, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, Eliphalet, and those are the names of the children. We don't know how many wives extra he took. He already had six when he came to Jerusalem and so well, he took several more. Okay?

Indulging one's fleshly desires, even when you think they can be justified, is a dangerous game to play. And David was doing that very thing. You can't make justification for why he needed 10 wives. The flesh is never what? Never satisfied until it brings ruin, destruction, and death.

That's exactly what it's going to bring to the house of David. James one thirteen and fifteen says, let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man when he is tempted, when he is draw is drawn away of his own lust and in but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. If you think, well, I'll just gratify the flesh in this area just this much, just a little, he made them his wives, but the flesh will not be what?

The flesh will not be satisfied. We are not called to indulge the flesh. We are called to get victory over the flesh, to overcome it. But David gave in in this one area. There is no justification otherwise, no reason for him to have this many wives.

He just could because he was king. How many a great leader, preacher, missionary has been destroyed because they innocently began to help counsel or show kindness to a young woman, allowed themselves to entertain wicked thoughts, which eventually led to wicked actions. This is the reason Christ warned us in Matthew five twenty eight. What did he warn us? He says this, but I say that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

He's not equating the thought with the action. What he is saying is you are not innocent if you have entertained thoughts and fantasies in your mind, even if you have not yet taken action to fulfill those. We'll see that is part of the sad story here that we read around in second Samuel 11. So this is David's background. He obviously has an issue with women.

Next, we'll just take a quick look at Bathsheba's background. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah and that fact is repeated in Matthew chapter one in verse six when it's giving us Jesus' lineage because, well, Bathsheba is in it. Why repeat it in Matthew one six to emphasize, I think, two things. One, the horrible nature of David's sin, but also the extent of God's grace. For as horrible as David's sins was, God's grace was what?

God's grace was greater. And through many terrible, horrendous mistakes and sins and misdeeds of people in that lineage of Jesus Christ, God, by His grace and power, still brought His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. Also, couple things here, Uriah, Bathsheb's husband, was one of David's mighty men. There's a list of his mighty men in second Samuel 23 in verse 39. Uriah the Hittite is listed as one of his mighty men, one of his his hall of fame of soldiers.

Therefore, he's a decorated soldier in David's army and though he was a Hittite by birth, his name means the Lord is my light. And his service to Israel declares his allegiance to the God of Israel. Bathsheba's father was Eliam who also is listed as one of David's mighty men in second Samuel twenty three thirty four. So not only was her husband one of David's trusted soldiers, but also was her father Eliam and likely one of David's personal friends. Why do I say that?

Well, because Eliam's father was Ahithophel. Anybody recognize that name? Ahithophel. Maybe not one you throw around on a regular basis, but Ahithophel. Sounds like you have to sneeze.

But Bathsheba's grandfather is Ahithophel, David's closest what? Adviser. David's closest advisor was Bathsheba's grandfather, Ahithophel. And thus probably the reason that Bathsheba and her husband lived on the palace, what, the palace grounds. They were privileged.

They lived inside the palace ground, close enough where David could simply be walking on the roof and look down and see Bathsheba. Since her grandfather is the most trusted adviser, she must have been a young woman, likely half David's age in the prime of her life. David should have followed the advice of Job. What did he say? I made a covenant with mine eyes.

Why then should I think upon a mate? Job was also a man of authority, power, and wealth. But David but Job chose to make a covenant to purpose as we talked about concerning Daniel this morning, not to make the same mistake to commit the same sin. Sadly, David did not have that same determination and commitment that Job had, and it comes to haunt him here. According to my thinking, there were at least five sins that David committed in chapter 11.

As David stayed home from battle, which would apparently was not his custom, Israel went forth under the command of Joab, a competent general, and carried out a siege upon an Ammonite city called Rabbah. However, sending his men into harm's way without their leader was not the pattern of David. Usually, David went with them, but not this time. David David stayed back. Now, there is something to be said.

I don't necessarily count this as one of his sins, but it was something that led to the opportunity that we see before us. In Ezekiel sixteen forty nine and fifty, it says, concerning the city of Jerusalem, this is God by the voice of Ezekiel the prophet to the city Jerusalem just as it was about to be taken by Babylon. God says, behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before me. Therefore, I took them away as I saw good.

It can be a temptation to be idle, to have all that you need and become idle and lazy and self what? Self centered and self focused. That was part of God's condemnation of the city of Jerusalem. Comparing it to the city of what? Sodom, another wealthy city.

It seems that when civilizations become wealthy and powerful that oftentimes the people get idle and complacent and the idleness and the complacency leads to immorality. Does that sound about right? I think so. I think we we can see that to some extent in our society today. So David, he decided to stay back.

I'm not counting that as one of the sins, though some you might. As he was at his castle while his soldiers were off at war, he was walking around the roof and he spied the young woman bathing. The passage does not necessarily suggest that she was wrong for bathing in an open place. And though some commentators do suggest it, it may be she was in an area. How many of you have fences in your backyard?

Privacy fences in your backyard. Alright. Do any of you have a pool in your backyard? Alright. One person.

Alright. Two. Okay. We've had at times a one of those pools from Walmart, you know, that you go and put up that's temp you know, it's about three or four years that it rusts through and I gotta take it down. But but you can't see into our yard.

We have a pullback there, but we have a what? A privacy fence. Okay? So this may have been something similar. Probably wouldn't have been uncommon for them to bathe inside a fence where nobody can see unless you happen to be up on the top roof of the what?

The palace looking down. Okay? And that's what David was doing. And so we have David's first sin. It wasn't that he saw, it was that he kept looking.

Is that that he began to contemplate in his mind and his heart and began to covet that which did not belong to who? Him. Is that not one of the 10 commandments? Thou shalt not covet. Specifically, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's what?

Wife. He already had several wives, did not need another one. Nonetheless, had he had none wives, none wives, no wives, it would still have been a what? A sin because he's coveting that which does not rightfully belong to him. He is considering things in his mind that is not pure and righteous.

And that's where this this begins. It starts with a what? It starts with a look. But even before the look, there was an issue with David's heart in reference to to women. But here we see the opportunity, at least up until this time, it would appear that David had not committed adultery with a woman, with some taking someone who was someone else's wife, but now that begins to change.

It starts with the look and with the thought as Jesus warned in Matthew five twenty eight. And then it continued. Sin number two. He brought her to his palace and he committed adultery with her. Again, it is not recorded it's not recorded that she resisted his advances, which can be read as compliance on her part, but you might also consider fear of disobeying the king might also be a reason that she complied.

So I don't know how much blame is to be put on Bathsheba, but we do know how much blame is to be put on David. David is the one who called for her. It was David's choice. David sinned. According to Leviticus chapter 20 in verse 10, for the man and woman caught in adultery, there was a price to be paid.

And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be, what? Surely put to death. That is how passionate God felt about this particular weakness, sin, immorality. Death is a pretty, pretty high price to pay. I bet there wasn't as much adultery under the law in Israel as there is today in The United States Of America because there is nearly no price to be paid in the sight of men.

But that has not changed the mind of who? The mind of God. And that does not still make it at all in any way, shape, or form right. So David's first sin was in his head and not turning away. His second sin, he committed adultery with another man's wife.

But did the sin end there? Sadly, it didn't. He tried to do what he's what did he try to do with the sin? He tried to cover he tried to cover up his sin. Is that a wise thing to do?

He that covereth his sin shall not, what? Prosper. But who so confesseth and forsaketh them shall have, what? Mercy. You try to cover your sins, you're just going to bring more harm and judgment upon yourselves and possibly others.

But if you will admit it, confess it to God, and forsake it, God is what kind of God? He is a merciful God. Do you think that every adulterer or every adulteress in Israel was executed? Probably not. A matter of fact, in John chapter eight, there was a woman caught in adultery brought before who?

Jesus. Now, it's interesting they didn't bring the man. They said they caught her in adultery, which means there should have been a what? A man. But they didn't bring the man, they just brought the woman.

Did Jesus condone her sin? No, he did not. He said, go and sin what? No more. However, he showed what?

He did show. He did show mercy. He did show mercy. Maybe because he could see her what? Her heart.

And God knew. But David didn't confess it. He didn't seemingly repent of it. He just sought to hide it. He knew it was wrong, obviously.

Even for the king in Israel, the king is still under the law, Moses, so he sought to hide it. Upon receiving news from Bathsheba that she was pregnant with his child, he called for Uriah from the battle hoping that he would go home to his wife and thus not discover that the child was David's and not not his. A premeditated deception on David's part to avoid detection of his sin. That simply lied, simply tried to deceive others, particularly the man he sinned against. He he sinned against God.

He sinned against Bathsheba. He also sinned against who? Uriah. And he tried to cover it up. Sin number three.

He sought to deceive Uriah. But Uriah refused to go home. No matter what David did, Uriah refused to go home. And so his plan didn't work. So then he came up with another plan.

So then Uriah after Uriah refused to go home, David sent him into battle to be what? To be killed. He sent a letter with Uriah to Joab to tell him to put him in a spot in the battle where he would be killed. How terrible. And that is essentially murder.

And that would be sin number four. After the death of Uriah, what did he do? He took Bathsheba into his home and made her his, what, fourteenth wife, seventeenth wife? We don't know what the number is by now. Sin number five.

You see how he just kept digging his whole what? Deeper and deeper. Oftentimes, people, even God's people, have a problem with the thoughts that go through our mind. But what are we supposed to do when those evil thoughts pop up in here? Confess them to your father in heaven.

Forsake them. Don't dwell upon them. Don't justify them. Don't sweep them under the what? Under the rug.

And a lot of times, that's what we do. It's just a thought. And maybe we we give end of temptation and we we follow through with an action. Is all lost? No.

If we confess our what? Sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. We don't have to be bound in that sin. We don't.

God is a merciful God. Life isn't over because we sin. Confess it. Confess it before God should you sin and forsake it whatever the sin may be. God is still what?

He's merciful. But keep digging your hole deeper. Ignore your sin. Justify your sin. Deny your sin.

Cover your sin. And the sin is still what? The sin is still there. And like an infection, it begins to what? To grow and to fester.

And it gets bigger and it gets bigger and it gets more destructive in our lives. And we see that in David to the point that the man who was earlier called the man after God's own, what, heart, premeditatively sends one of his most loyal soldiers off to be killed trying to hide his sin because he was unwilling to confess it and forsake it. He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Did the day come when David confessed his sin? Yes, that day would come.

But he will have a lot more to confess than he would have if he would have done so on that rooftop when this all started. Not only did he have more to confess, but he has a whole lot more in his life to try to straighten out. His sin has affected a lot of other people. Yes, it did show him mercy and that God did spare his life, but not before consequences had been set in motion that would haunt David and his family for the rest of his life. Thus a lesson, be sure your sin will find you out.

David may not know it yet, but it has already found him out. But we'll read the next chapter when it is revealed to him that he has been what? Found out. Because God knows. God sees.

Sin has consequences even if nobody else on earth knows about them. Sin has consequences. But praise the Lord, we have a God of mercy. And if we'll confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Be careful if you think ye stand, lest ye what?

Paul, we all need God to help us to give us victory over sin, and we all need to recognize it in our lives and confess it so that he can do that very thing. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for showing us not only the good parts of David's life, but also the bad. Lord, David was a good example in many areas of his life and you blessed him for it. But his sin, though forgiven in light of eternity as we will see bore terrible consequences as we will see in his life.

Lord, help us. When sin enters our mind and our heart not to forget that you were watching. As David himself wrote in Psalm one thirty nine, you know when I sit down and you know when I stand up. The darkness does not hide us from thee. You know the words of my mouth, Lord, before they ever come out and even the thoughts of my heart and mind are not hidden from thee.

Lord, forgive us of our sins. Lord, help us to guard our heart with all diligence. Lord, help us to confess our sins and to see them for what they are. And Lord, deliver us from temptation and from the temptation, Lord, to cover and hide our sins. May we not find ourselves in the same position as David.

Give us grace and mercy, we pray, and wisdom from above. In Jesus' name, amen.