King David faced a bigger giant in his life than Goliath. This Giant was much uglier than Goliath as well. This giant would require more than a sling to see it defeated. Even worse, David could have defeated this giant easier if he wasn't the one helping it to grow.
It is evident that David dealt with a specific "Stronghold" of sin in his life. Sexual Sin had become a stronghold of sin for King David. One sin doesn't make a Stronghold in someone's life, but it is the first step of the journey, and King David had taken many steps on a journey of feeding a fleshly desire.
A stronghold is a fortified place or a fortress. It is place of survival or refuge. It is an area dominated or occupied by a special group, or distinguished by a special quality such as: a feminist stronghold; a stronghold of democracy. - or in the case of this blog - a stronghold of sin!
Strong - Hold
Something can have a weak hold on you or it can have a Strong Hold on you!
Either way sin is holding you back from God's best for you in life!
The above definition I spoke of included the examples of a feminist stronghold and a stronghold of democracy, but there are countless other examples. Some are good Good and some are Evil. The word "Stronghold" itself is nothing evil at all. As I mentioned, there can be good Strongholds and bad strongholds.
The Stronghold of sin however is a bad stronghold. A sin itself doesn't constitute a Stronghold, and there is a difference between a sin and a sin stronghold. When a sin becomes a sin pattern and it develops a sinful mindset. When this happens you can say a stronghold from a particular sin has developed. Developing a Stronghold is a process!
Let's take a look at this in David's life.
2nd Samuel 11:2- 5 say's,
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."
Now for the rest of the story. David sent the message by Joab for Uriah to come to him. David made small talk with Uriah - asking about how the war was going - how was Joab, etc.
Problem is - King David had committed adultery and conceived a child, but now he needed to cover this up.
Look in Verse 8
8 And David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food from the king followed him.
David then told Uriah to go home. David I think even felt some guilt if you consider the gift of food he sent with him. Uriah stayed at the door of the Kings house and slept along with the servants instead. So when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house,"
David asked him why and just listen to his reply in found in verse 11.
"The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."
There should've been enough guilt heaped up on David at this point to make him fall at this man's feet and beg his forgiveness and most of all repent to the Lord. My point is that throughout this process David had his chances to stop this sin, but he just kept it going. Why? Because this sin had become a stronghold in King David's life.
What the bible does not say is how many more moonlight strolls David took on the rooftop during this time. Maybe none - he did already commit the sin. He most likely sent for her often - after all he had the power to - being King. I personally believe, and feel that there is biblical evidence that David developed a Stronghold of Sexual Sin.
David had 12+ wives, 3+ concubines estimated (at least) and to keep it clean we'll just say David had an addiction, okay? Anyways - We got king David picking up women right and left.
We know that this wasn't God's perfect will, why? Because later in 1 Timothy 3 - We see that Bishops and Deacons are to only have one wife - This also implies strongly that it is an across the board thing. The Bible has progressively revealed the Character of God to us, and mankind has figured out these things along the way.
Although God seemed to not hold polygamy against David as far as we can tell, let me ask you - Was it God's perfect will for David? Obviously not.
As we now know God's character better now and have a broader understanding of His perfect will due to reading the bible. We have this advantage over David. Thanks to having more scripture than David had teaching us about God, and thanks also to having God walk amongst us in the flesh as Jesus (something David couldn't read about in his scripture of the day) we have a better understanding of God's will.
Let's look at David feeding his appetite
1 Samuel 18:27
therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.
2 Samuel 3:2-5 - Let's just say that David was a busy man.
2 Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; 4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, by David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
2 Samuel 5:13
13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David.
Then there is the above passage we've read about David and Bathsheba. My point is what?
Sin Carries Consequences
2 Samuel 12:8
1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!
Now Nathan had more from God to say than this, but the main thing David needed to hear was…. You are the man!
I believe those words tore his heart out because he finally saw himself hopeless in his sin and before an Almighty, Holy, God. Nathan, by using wisdom from God, knew what buttons to push with David. God fired up a furnace of righteous indignation within David with this parable.
In the end David - in a sense - had judged himself and he didn't even try to make excuses. He didn't even attempt to justify his actions. Why? Up to this point he thought Nathan was speaking of someone else and it's so much easier to call it sin when it somebody else doing it.
If you went out to plant a pumpkin seed would you expect onions? You can plant onions and boom - in no time you got them sprouting up all over. Does this happen with pumpkins?
No - it's a longer process! It's the same with sin. Sometimes the consequence is small.
Telling a lie could mean this consequence - Confess it to God and ask for His forgiveness, lose some character, then gain some character back by apologizing to the person and asking his or her forgiveness.
Murder someone - This is bigger!
Consequence - Get arrested, make the paper, go to prison, shame entire family, maybe even lose your life!
Most of us have sins that are like onions, and probably some of of even have a pumpkin or two hidden in the cellars of our heart
By nature God has set laws in place that are irrevocable. Gravity, Electricity, etc...
Another law God has set in place is called Sowing and Reaping. What you sow - you reap!
Whether it's vegetables or whether it's sin - you will reap what you sow.
Getting back to King David
What was David's consequence for his sin? Let's find out….
2 Samuel 12: 7-15
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.'"
13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." 15 Then Nathan departed to his house.
We know as we read on that the child David & Bathsheba had together became ill, David fasted for 7 days in hopes that God may intervene and the baby died. The sword never departed from his house and there was always strife.
