How would you like it if your biggest sins were endlessly scrutinized by millions of people? That’s what Biblical scholars and religious folk have done to poor King David for years.
And we’re about to join them.
David is famous for killing a giant warrior named Goliath, ruling over ancient Israel for 40 years, writing some of the most beloved passages in the Bible, and being called a man after God’s own heart.
He’s also infamous for committing adultery and murdering a good man to steal his wife.
The romantic view of David focuses on these wrongdoings and his subsequent repentance. The rest of his life is often seen as more or less righteous.
But life is never a single redemption followed by smooth sailing—even for icons of godliness.
When you read between the lines, there’s much more to David’s sins than the oft-repeated tale of his love affair with Bathsheba. There are the misdeeds hiding in the backdrop of David’s story that nearly destroyed his life and kingdom—the silent sins of David.
David the feeble father
Funny how leading well at work doesn’t mean you can lead well at home. David may have been an impressive king who commanded respect from the world’s elite, but he melted into the background when it came to raising his children.
Who are the tableaus of David’s surprisingly modern, hands-off parenting style?
Introducing Amnon…
David’s first-born son, Amnon, is the reason why you shouldn’t let kids read the Old Testament unattended. Even Psalm 23 isn’t enough to distract from the Bible’s R-rated passages, presumably included to reveal human depravity in all its grotesque horror.
Well, here it is. Amnon took a passionate liking to his half-sister Tamar, forced himself on her, decided he hated her, and then cast her out of his presence (which made her look like the guilty party).
Would you let a guy like that off the hook? Well, David did.
2 Samuel 13 tells us that David was very angry about what happened, but no specific punishment is mentioned. Of course, the punishment might have simply been excluded from the text.
But if the possible heir to Israel’s throne had been appropriately punished for his crime, it doesn’t seem likely the author would’ve left it out of the tale. 2 Samuel covers many other controversies without censorship, so why would this story have been cut off?
Later, David permits Amnon to go on a supposedly fun sheep-shearing expedition with his brothers (v. 23-27), implying that Amnon wasn’t living under any severe restriction.
David’s reaction appeared to have consisted of little more than being angry at his son. So much for protecting Tamar, holding Amnon accountable, or acting justly as a king.
Amnon eventually paid for his crime. But it was at the hands of his vengeful half-brother—Tamar’s full brother—Absalom.
David’s failure to adequately respond to the crisis compelled Absalom to take matters into his own hands. As it turned out, Absalom’s unchecked tendency to usurp authority would lead to disastrous consequences for David, his family, and the kingdom of Israel.
“O my son Absalom!”
Emotional like his father but far more charismatic and self-obsessed, Absalom decided he’d make a far better king than David. After living in exile for avenging his sister, Absalom returned to Israel and began brazenly courting his father’s subjects, promising them stronger leadership and greater justice.
It worked. Afraid of his son’s growing power, David and his supporters fled Jerusalem and lived on the run. Absalom took over the palace and began establishing a new court.
Absalom had help from a highly respected counsellor named Ahithophel. What did Ahithophel have against David?
Ahithophel was Bathsheba’s grandfather. That’s right. David had an affair with Bathsheba and then killed her husband, Ahithophel’s grandson-in-law.
Once again, we see the past sins of David bleed into the foreground of the story, causing grief.
The Bible doesn’t directly say that Ahithophel sided with Absalom to get revenge on David. But it’s a good guess. It might have worked too, had Absalom been smart enough to listen to Ahithophel’s advice. Instead, he chose to listen to someone else—incidentally, a secret supporter of David. (2 Sam. 17:1-23)
Absalom’s story doesn’t just show the ripple effects of David’s tryst with Bathsheba. It also shows another longstanding sin of David, namely, his cowardice as a father. Ever the background dweller where his sons were concerned, David failed to strictly curtail Absalom’s rebellious ambitions and the nation of Israel subsequently suffered.
Like Amnon, Absalom eventually paid for his crimes. After being defeated in battle, his long, luscious locks got tangled in a tree and he was run through by the commander of David’s army, an uncompromising patriot named Joab.
David the reluctant king
Growing up, I heard all the legendary stories about David bravely defeating Goliath, Saul, Absalom, and countless foes of Israel. I pictured him as a strong, shining leader—a sword in one hand and the Good Book (however much they had of it back then) in the other.
Reading the Bible as an adult, I now see David’s portrait with many more colours and brushstrokes.
Overwhelmed by emotion, David would at times neglect his kingly duties, leaving the nation without a leader.
That’s when Joab would step in.
Officially, Joab was David’s Commander in Chief. Unofficially, he ran interference for David, easing behind-the-scenes political tensions, ironing out problems with the royal family, and sometimes giving the king a much-needed reality check. For example:
- Joab convinced David to bring back Absalom from exile, encouraging the two to reconcile following Amnon’s death (2 Sam. 14:1-21).
- Joab admonished David for turning the people’s victory into mourning after his troops defeated Absalom. David’s failure to validate the troops who risked their lives to save his kingdom was both demoralizing and ungrateful (2 Sam. 19:1-8).
- Joab questioned David’s desire to conduct a census. God punished David for the census, presumably because it was seen as an arrogant assessment of his kingly power (2 Sam. 24:1-17).
David’s inward focus and ineptitude with his household occasionally threatened the country, grating against Joab’s intense nationalism and prompting him to act murderously and vengefully.
Joab defied David’s orders to keep Absalom alive (2 Sam. 18:9-17) and murdered several military commanders to secure his position (2 Sam. 3:26-32, 20:8-13). Later, Joab supported yet another award-winning spawn of David, Adonijah, in his unsuccessful bid to take over the throne (1 Kings 2:28) and was killed shortly thereafter at David’s request (1 Kings 2:5-6).
Joab brought his fate upon his own head; his sins weren’t David’s fault. But David’s leadership failures created opportunities for Joab’s ruthlessness to spring into action, leading to unnecessary bloodshed.
Takeaways
The devil is in the details. While King David’s sin with Bathsheba has been thoroughly examined by Biblical readers, his sins as a feeble father and reluctant leader tend to fly under the radar. The young man who slayed a giant and became a legendary king experienced countless troubles because of his emotionality, cowardice and failure to govern his self-serving sons.
What can we learn from the sins of David? Don’t assume that the wrongdoings you ignore will simply go away. Whatever you don’t face today will come back to bite you tomorrow. When you’re overwhelmed by the consequences of your poor choices, remember David’s words from Psalm 32:
“Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered…
…I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin…
…Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found…
…Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.”