#71 David's Downfall

Lately I've been reading through the book of Samuel—2 Samuel, to be specific. Last week I came to the story of David and Bathsheba. I'm not sure there's another Bible story that disappoints me more than this one. Up until this point, David has come across as pretty close to a perfect human being. David stands up to and defeats Goliath. David perseveres through years of persecution from Saul, twice refusing to kill Saul when given the chance. He leads the people of Israel to victory over all of their enemies. He shows kindness to Saul's grandson Mephibosheth. And David's great desire is to build a temple for God. For twenty-six chapters we've seen David do a remarkable job of living up to his status as God's chosen king, the man after God's own heart.

And then David goes completely off the rails. He sleeps with Bathsheba, who isn't his wife but is instead the wife of one his elite soldiers, the so-called "Mighty Men." When David learns that Batsheba is pregnant, he tries to cover it up by bringing her husband back from the battlefield to sleep with her. When Bathsheba's husband refuses to go home to his wife because his fellow soldiers are still away from their homes and families, David has him killed. Then David takes Bathsheba as his own wife. He doesn't even seem to feel guilty until God sends a prophet to confront him.

I think the fall of David is so frustrating for a couple reasons. First, David's sins are outrageously evil. Not content with committing adultery, he quickly resorts to murder to try to cover it up. Second, David obviously knows better. He immediately confesses when confronted. There's no excuse for his actions, and he knows it. God forgives David and blesses him again in the future, but David is never really the same after this. He seems weaker, frailer, more indecisive. The illusion is gone: we no longer see David the hero, David the legend. We're left with David the man.

That's the thing. In the end, every single one of us, even the best and the brightest, are just imperfect women and men. We all do things that are clearly wrong. We all do things that we know we shouldn't do. If we treat ourselves like heroes, we're lying to ourselves. If we look up to other people as legends, we're bound to be disappointed. By the grace of God, many of us do avoid huge, public scandals, but every one of us fails, falls, and goes off the rails. David's story hurts because it's our story, too. There's sin in our hearts and blood on our hands. We need a savior. We need forgiveness. We need Jesus.

Grace and peace,
BMH