I had the opportunity to read the link and watch the video in the next post, a few thoughts:
- coveting another man's wife was prohibited by the 10 commandments, so even if David had not gone through the adultery act and merely coveted it was still wrong. In the New Testament Jesus says that looking at a woman woman with lust is the same as commiting physical adultery.
- is there a reason why multiple wives is allowed but not 100? I saw the "it doesn't mean a whole 100, just multiple " point several times and i'm wondering
what is the difference?
In the Old Testament more than one wife is not prohibited in general. And regarding kings and multiple wives, the Bible says this:
Deu 17:17
17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold
So i don't really understand the emphasis on "it was not 100". And no, the Bible does not say David had 100 wives.
- the Bible does not say that David sent Uriah to die so he could marry Bathsheba. First he tried to get Uriah to go home to his wife (twice!), so the child she had conceived could plausibly have been his. Uriah declined (twice! ), and then David moved on to the plan of sending him to the front of the battle to die.
2 Samuel 11
4And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. 5And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6And David sent to Joab,
saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. 8And 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. 9But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10And
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? 11And 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 fields; 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.
12And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. 13And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
Why would David have tried twice to get Uriah to go home to his wife if his intention was to marry her from the beginning? It seems hiding his sin was his first plan.
- Here is the passage relating to the punishment as told to David by the prophet Nathan:
2 Samuel 12
5And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. 6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7And Nathan said to David, Thou
art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
. The prophet Nathan told David he would be punished on 4 counts (he would have to restore the lamb fourfold, 2Samuel12:6. This is also the punishment for slaughtering someone's lamb as seen in Exodus 22:1)
This was fulfilled when David and Bathshebas first son died (2Samuel 12:18), followed by 3 other sons, Amnon (2 Samuel 13:29), Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14), and Adonijah (1 Kings 2:25).
. Nathan said the sword would never depart from David’s house (2 Samuel 12:10-11) and he would raise evil against him from his own house.
This would refer to his own son Absalom attempting to overthrow him (2 Samuel 15-18)
. He also said what David did secretly God would expose to all Israel, 2 Samuel 12:12
This was fulfilled when Absalom “lay with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel” (2 Samuel 16:22).