Political Scandal

Scandal and Cover-Up

The account of David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:2–5) makes a point of the fact that David stayed at home in Jerusalem while his armies went to battle. That suggests that the affair occurred because David was neither where he should have been nor doing what he should have been doing.

However, regardless of why David fell into sin, most of the biblical account of it is devoted to the cover-up that David attempted once Bathsheba conceived (2 Sam. 11:6–27). David tried three plans to cover his sin (or so he thought):

Plan A was to make the pregnancy look like the result of normal relations between Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah. But as a man of conscience, Uriah would not allow himself a privilege that was denied the rest of David's troops (2 Sam. 11:6–11). In that way, loyal Uriah put unprincipled David to shame.

Plan B was based on the assumption that drunkenness would lower Uriah's well-guarded principles so that he would sleep with his wife. But again Uriah resisted the impulse (2 Sam. 11:12–13).

Plan C called for neither coercion nor deception, but outright murder. Uriah was to be sacrificed to the enemy in a way that would make his death appear to be a casualty of war. Then David could respond to the grieving widow by embracing her as his wife (2 Sam. 11:14–27).

Plan C might have worked, except that David was not some pagan king but the Lord's anointed (2 Sam. 12:7). In violating Bathsheba and arranging Uriah's death, David had “despised the commandment of the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:9). Thus the Lord sent Nathan to expose his sin and pronounce judgment (2 Sam. 12:9–12).

David admitted his sins (2 Sam. 12:13) and repented of his wrongdoing, turning to God for forgiveness and the renewal of his spiritual walk (Ps. 51). God forgave him (2 Sam. 12:13), but the child died. Once David was right with God, his union with Bathsheba was blessed with another child, Solomon (2 Sam. 12:24). Nevertheless, despite his cleansing from the Lord, David was permanently affected by this scandalous episode.

The sins of adultery and murder are grievous offenses before the Lord (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 5:17–18). But just as hateful in his sight are attempts to cover up one's sins rather than come clean (Ps. 51:17; Prov. 6:16–19; 1 John 1:8–9).