Recently I was listening to a woke modern preacher speak on the topic of King David. The preacher was speaking about David and Bathsheba and David sending Uriah into battle to certain death. The behavior was despicable and a grievous sin. It was essentially hidden from the public eye and could have gone unnoticed. As you read Scripture, questions arise and independent thought is appropriate, but as we consider these passages, we need to look at the narrative, confirm what it says, and avoid making assumptions not revealed in the text.

The preacher rightly acknowledges the heinousness of David’s actions, but then goes on to imply that David forced himself upon Bathsheba. Don’t get me wrong, David is 100% guilty of sin. However, the account in Scripture does not include the preachers assumption that Bathsheba was NOT a willing participant in the sexual sin. The preacher goes on to use her assumption to support politics that surround the #metoo movement. It would seem her politics have been read into the Scripture. I support women reporting violence and inappropriate behavior and I support justice being carried out against those who commit sexual assault, but to use this passage for that purpose is to move away from the purpose for its inclusion in the Word of God. There are other passages that would rightly support justice for victims of sexual violence and punishment for the perpetrators of such sin. The point I am making is that the preacher should preach the Word as revealed and not twist it for a desired message.

On the other side of the coin, there could also be an assumption made that Bathsheba was on the rooftop and knew exactly what she was doing in full view of the king. But, that too would be an assumption not found in the text. The point here is that we MUST rely on the text and only what has been revealed to us through the Word of God. To do otherwise would lead to wrong conclusions.

What we do know is that sexual sin took place and that one ugly sin, escalated and led to even more sin, which would include murder. This is the nature of sin. You sin a sin and then cover it up, which usually means you sin even more. The more heinous a sin, the more heinous lengths you will go to in order to cover it up. This is what is happening in the narrative with David and Bathsheba.

The preacher in this case moves away from the truth of the passage to address a modern contextual issue. What we know is that David and Bathsheba commit adultery. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. David sends Bathsheba’s husband into battle to be killed. Sin is pervasive in the life of mankind. The preacher described above draws conclusions for man’s purposes rather than sharing what God is trying to communicate through his sovereign work in the life of an exemplary leader in Israel. I hope that description of David as an “exemplary” leader made you feel awkward given the content of this article and the particular chapter in the life of David presented in this article.