What were the steps in David’s temptation, sin, and cover-up (2 Sam 11) with biblical references?
At a time when David should have been with his people and fighting for Israel, he stayed in Jerusalem (2 Sam 11:1). David seems to believe that as king he can do whatever he wants and starts to think of himself as a god, much like other Near Eastern kings. Since David, as king, stayed back in Jerusalem, verse one points to David possibly becoming lazy instead of fighting with his mighty warriors like he should have. The allusion to laziness is seen even more in verse four as David arose from his bed when evening came. The next step in David’s temptation is David moving to the roof to gaze upon the city. As he looked around, he saw a woman (Bathsheba) bathing. Instead of averting his eyes or not looking in her direction, he continued watching her bathe. At a time when David could have avoided letting the temptation progress any further, he harbored it. The lust inside him grew until he could no longer stand it and he had to act upon it. As mentioned in the module videos, it is possible that Bathsheba’s bathing is a signal that her menstrual cycle is over and it is a safe time to have sex. Next, David inquired of who she was from his servants and was told that it was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam 11:3), one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam 23:39). In spite of her being married, David sent his messengers to bring her to him and then had sexual relations with her (2 Sam 11:4). As king, David was to set an example for the people to follow and act as God’s appointed servant, yet this sinful act brought others into it and showed that David pursued his own pleasure instead of pursuing God.
Bathsheba then conceived and told David she was pregnant (2 Sam 11:5). It is not recorded or known in this passage, but there is no appearance of remorse and repentance from David for this sinful act. David then tries to cover up his sin by commanding Uriah to come back to Jerusalem from the battlefield. Upon arriving, David sends Uriah home hoping that he would have sexual relations with Bathsheba and cover up the pregnancy. However, Uriah disobeyed David’s orders and slept at the door of the king’s house with all the other servants refusing to sleep in the comfort of his own home while his men and the ark are on the battlefield (2 Sam 11:8-11). The next night, David showed his lack of integrity again by trying to cover up his sin by getting Uriah drunk so that he would go to his home and sleep with Bathsheba. However, Uriah once again stayed with the servants and did not go home (2 Sam 11:13). Uriah provides the example that David should have set by being where he was supposed to be with the army, and refusing to enjoy the comforts of home while the rest of the soldiers are in harm’s way.
David saw that he could not cover up his adultery and moved on to the next stage of the cover up by writing a letter to Joab and sending it back with Uriah. Joab was to put Uriah in the front line where the battle was the fiercest and then purposefully withdraw the men from him, leaving Uriah exposed to the enemy (2 Sam 11:14-15). Joab followed David’s orders and Uriah was killed in battle. Once Bathsheba’s time of mourning was over, David married her and she gave birth to a son. “But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Sam 11:27).
After the child was born, God sent Nathan to confront and convict David. Nathan told David a story and pointed out that David was the evil rich man that took the poor man’s lamb and was guilty of sin (2 Sam 12:1-14). The Lord took away the sin of David in which David repented of (Ps 51), but the Lord brought judgment on David for this sin. While God told David that David would not die (2 Sam 12:13), the child died seven days later (2 Sam 12:18). David would experience a total of four sons ultimately dying untimely deaths.
Does the text state or imply that Bathsheba was partly guilty in the matter?
I agree with others that the text does not say that Bathsheba is responsible. If there was any sign of her tempting or seducing David into sin, I believe the Bible would be more clear in this matter. In this particular case, I do not see any evidence that points to Bathsheba having any culpability in this matter. Reading the text, it appears the Bathsheba was following Jewish law by taking a ritual bath that would make her clean since she was made “unclean” by her menstrual period (Lev 15:18-30). It was David that made her come to him and his pursuit of her, not Bathsheba’s seduction.