The Syrians realized that they had been defeated by the Israelites, and so they called all their troops together. …the Israelites drove the Syrian army back. …the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.
Foolish pride comes with an expensive price tag (Juges 12:1-7). May I forever remain humble, Father (Psalm 131:1-2; Lamentations 3:27-30).
The following spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, David sent out Joab with his officers and the Israelite army; they defeated the Ammonites and besieged the city of Rabbah. But David himself stayed in Jerusalem.
Was David resting on his laurels after his victory over the Ammonites (Luke 12:16-21)? May I ever keep my foot on the accelerator, Lord (John 5:17).
One day, late in the afternoon, David got up from his nap and went to the palace roof. As he walked around up there, he saw a woman taking a bath in her house. She was very beautiful. So he sent a messenger to find out who she was…
Was it the first time David saw her? Was it the first time that Bathsheba saw she was seen? Or was the whole fling thing planned in advance without a word being spoken?
…he …learned that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.
One of “The Thirty” – someone with whom David would have fought with side by side (2 Samuel 23:24-39). Ouch.
David sent messengers to get her; they brought her to him and he made love to her. (She had just finished her monthly ritual of purification.) Then she went back home. Afterward she discovered that she was pregnant and sent a message to David to tell him.
Normally this would have been the ideal time not to get pregnant! (I do believe this encounter was planned.) How we try to minimize the consequences of sin but… With the trap sprung, the question remains: how will David respond? Heaven and earth awaits…