The Shadow of David and Bathsheba

For many years, I have been puzzled why David fell with Bathsheba. Most of the detailed prophecies concerning Jesus came from David. That the entire incident occurred has puzzled me. Much of David’s life was symbolic of the church age.

I now understand this symbol, this shadow.

Let me set the stage.

We know that without Holiness, we cannot see Jesus (Hebrews 12:14): we will not pass the judgement seat of Christ.

But what is holiness?

This is simply answered for us in another shadow of the Old Testament: the day of Pentecost. Almost all believers know Pentecost was the day the Jesus had the Father send the Holy Spirit. But then the significance is somewhat lost. But what happened on the day of Pentecost in the Old Testament? That will tell us what significance God places on that day.

That was the day God delivered the Law: the Ten Commandments.

Even today, people look to the ten commandments as the standard of what holiness is. “Did you break the commandment? Then you sinned. You are unholy.”

This standard, however does not hold for the believers. In the body of Christ that cast the shadow that is the ten commandments, Jesus delivered a new law, a new standard of holiness.

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit!” (Ephesians 4:30.)

When you grieve that Holy Spirit, you have committed an unholy act.

Christians are to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and obey him as he leads us.

And now I can explain the shadow of David and Bathsheba.

When the Holy Spirit lets us know we are grieving him, and we go ahead and commit the sin anyway, we sear our conscience over (I Timothy 4:1-2). Eventually, we no longer sense the Holy Spirit when we commit that sin. Then, we assume it isn’t a sin.

We are knowingly living in sin, and we no longer feel the Holy Spirit correcting us.

This is a very dangerous spot to be in. If the Lord were to return... well, let’s not leave ourselves in this position.

Many times we wind up in this condition because we didn’t recognize that the Holy Spirit was saying no. Nobody told us it was wrong to grieve the Holy Spirit! Nobody showed us how to recognize his leading!

Yet, here we are, committing things we know are evil, and not feeling one twinge of conscience concerning it.

That is where David’s sin comes in. Not that he committed the sin, but in how he got out of it.

Psalm 51 is the supplication David prayed. Yes, he reminded God of his mercy. Yes, he fully owned his sin. But what I want to look at is excerpted below:

Psalm 51:10-12, 16-17
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

David got right to the heart of the matter: he asked God for a new heart, a broken and contrite one.

One that was sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

That is what we need to do when we find our hearts have become calloused to the Holy Ghost. We need to repent with the same goal in mind: a heart that remains with its attention on the Holy Spirit, sensitive, quick to back away from what grieves him, quick to obey what brings him pleasure.

Now I know why David fell. It was so out of character for the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).

And now, so do you.

Copyright © 2012 Burley Ward. All rights reserved