SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets DAVID AND BATHSHEBA Elementary Lesson Year One, Quarter Four, Lesson Six AIM: to teach my class how to avoid the steps that will take them to death, using the story of David and Bathsheba. OBJECTS TO HAVE: A picture of a scary snake, or many snakes A picture or a drawing of a set of stairs Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: There are many dangerous things in the world. For instance, fire is dangerous, because it can burn you very badly, and cause great damage. You should never play with fire. Electricity is dangerous, because it can hurt you or even kill you. You should never play with electricity. Water is dangerous, because you can fall in and drown. You should never play near the water without a grown-up around. The road is dangerous because a car can hit you. You should never play near the road. Who can think of something else that is dangerous? How do you avoid things that are dangerous? Today we are going to learn how to avoid being hurt by things that are dangerous, from someone who was not careful about dangerous things. The Bible says that the most dangerous thing in the world is sin. If we can find out how to avoid the danger of sin, we will learn how to be safe from all of the other dangers of the world. (Hold up the picture of the staircase). Who can tell me what these are? That's right, they are stairs. Now, stairs can be dangerous, because if you are not careful you can fall down the stairs and hurt yourself very badly. But I don't want to talk about the stairs being dangerous this morning. I want you to picture yourself standing at the top of these stairs. At the bottom of these stairs is a big, scary, nasty poisonous snake. Now let's pretend that this snake cannot climb up these stairs. So the only way that this snake can hurt you is if you walk down these stairs. We know several things: First, we know that if this snake bites you, you will die. Second, we know that if you don't go down the stairs, the snake cannot bite you. Third, we know that the best thing to do is to stay away from the stairs. You see, boys and girls, the best way to stay away from sin, and any thing else that is dangerous, is to stay off of the steps that lead you to sin. Today we are going to learn about someone who walked down the steps that led to awful sin, and before he knew it, he had done some horrible things. STORY: For the last few Sundays we have been hearing stories about one of the greatest men in the Bible, David. We have heard of some of the great things that David did, the great battles he fought and the great victories he won. But today we are going to learn about the worst day in David's life. David was the king of the nation of Israel. There came a day when the armies of Israel went to war. It was David's job to go with them. But instead of doing his job, David stayed home. Later that evening David was walking on the roof of his house. As he walked he looked into the window of a house nearby and he saw a beautiful woman. David should have looked away, but he kept looking. Before long, David decided that he wanted to meet that woman. He found out that her name was Bathsheba. He also found out that Bathsheba was married. In fact, she was married to a man who was a soldier in David's army. Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, was on the battlefield fighting for his country, where David should have been. But the fact that Bathsheba was married did not stop David from wanting to meet her. David had Bathsheba brought to his palace, and before long they had committed an awful sin. David sent Bethsheba home, and hoped that nobody would find out about their sin. David commanded Bathsheba s husband, Uriah, to be sent home from the battle. David was hoping that he could find a way to cover up his sin. But when David realized that there would be no way to cover his sin, he sent a message to the general of the army and told him to put Bethsheba's husband, Uriah, in a place in the battle where he would be

sure to be killed. The general obeyed the orders, and soon the word came to David that Uriah, Bethsheba's husband, was dead. Quickly, David took Bathseba to be his own wife. Now David thought that his sin would be covered. David had committed two awful sins. First, he committed sin with another man's wife; that is the sin of adultery. Then he killed an innocent man; that is the sin of murder. Because of these awful sins many terrible things began to happen in David's life. David and Bathsheba had a baby boy, and the baby boy died. David's daughter's life was destroyed by sin. Many of David's older sons were killed. David's son Absalom turned against David and soon was killed. All of these terrible things happened because of David's sins. That's why sin is so dangerous: because sin will hurt you and sin will kill you. God hates sin. Sin will destroy your life. Now let's see if we can figure out why David fell into sin. He knew that at the bottom of the steps was sin and death. But David thought he could go down some of the steps, without going down all of the steps. ONCE YOU START DOWN THE STEPS OF SIN, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP WHEN YOU WANT TO. The best way to stay away from the snakes at the bottom of the steps is to stay off the steps. You see, kids, at the end of sin is something much worse than snakes. At the end of sin is always death. What were the steps that David took that got him in trouble? 1. He was not where he was supposed to be. Where was David supposed to be? Fighting the battle. The first step towards sin is not being where you are supposed to be. When you skip church to go to the park, you are not where you are supposed to be. You have taken the first step toward sin. The best way to stay off the stairs that lead to sin is to always be where you are supposed to be. 2. The next step that David took is that he looked where he should not have looked. If it is wrong to do something, then you shouldn't even look at it. You won't steal if you don't look at something that you don't have wishing it was yours. 3. The next step was that he reached for something that he knew he should not have. Was it wrong for David to meet another man's wife? No, but it was one step closer to sin. By the time David had taken these first three steps, he could not stop himself from falling into sin. Remember, the one sure way to stay away from the snakes at the bottom of the steps is to stay away from the steps. If you don't get on step number one, you won't get to steps two and three. Nobody wants to go to jail, right? Then if you don t want to go to jail, stay off of the steps that will lead you to jail. Don t run around with the crowd that gets in trouble. Don t skip being at the places where you are supposed to be, like church and school. If you don t ever want to go to jail, stay off of the steps that will lead you there. Nobody wants to die of an awful disease, right? Then if you don t want to get an awful disease, stay away from the steps that will lead you to it. Taking drugs leads to awful diseases that will kill you. Smoking cigarettes leads to awful diseases that will kill you. Drinking beer leads to awful diseases that will kill you. Boys touching girls and girls touching boys without being married leads to awful diseases that will kill you. If you don t want the snakes, stay off of the steps. Kids, if you skip church just because you feel like it, you are playing on some dangerous steps. If you talk back to your mom and dad, you are playing on some dangerous steps. If you hang out with a crowd of kids that breaks the rules and disobeys their parents, you are playing on some dangerous steps. By the time you begin to fall down those dangerous steps, it will be too late. You should get off of those steps right away. I always like a story with a happy ending. There is no happy ending to this story, because sin never ends in happiness. But the good news for you is that your life does not have to be destroyed by sin, if you will stay away from the steps that lead to sin. Let s learn our memory verse: James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON Kings and Prophets DAVID AND BATHSHEBA Teen and Adult Lesson Year One, Quarter Four, Lesson Six Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. NEGLECTING YOUR ROUTINE OR YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES OPENS THE DOOR FOR LIFE-ALTERING SINS AND FAILURES. 11:1. Listen to this condensed, yet accurate, format of verse 1: It came to pass at the time when kings go that David sent. David got in trouble because he SENT someone else when he was supposed to GO. Because he was IN town while the warriors were all OUT of town, David found himself alone and in circumstances to which he was not accustomed. In his idle time, David roamed, and it led to the greatest failures and heartaches of his life. Let your routines and your responsibilities keep you in a safe place. II. III. IV. TO INVESTIGATE THAT WHICH YOU KNOW IS OUT OF BOUNDS IS TO TAKE A STEP CLOSER TO SIN. 11:2-3. It is unlikely that as David sent to find out who Bathsheba was, that he would have admitted that his intention was to commit adultery. If someone were to ask him, he would have simply said, I m just curious. But his investigation revealed his intentions he has already given in to temptation. When you take a few steps in the direction of sin, you say things like, I m not gonna DO anything, I m just curious. But your investigation is causing you to proceed towards sin. That s why God tells us to know as much as possible about right, and as little as possible about wrong. Romans 16:19. WHEN YOUR KNOW YOU VE SINNED, DEAL WITH IT THOROUGHLY. 11:4-5. If David had dealt with his sin right at this moment, if he had gotten on his face before God and confessed, if he had called Nathan the prophet and said, Tell me what to do to get right, and I ll do it! ; he would have faced some embarrassment, had a mark on his reputation, and faced the chastening hand of God. Because he did NOT deal with it, but instead tried to cover it, it led to a long string of sin and pain. Deal with your sin quickly and thoroughly. ONCE YOU START TRYING TO COVER SIN, IT ESCALATES OUT OF CONTROL. 11:5-25. At each step, David s actions grew more devious and wicked. If he had succeeded at getting Uriah to go in to Bathsheba, he and Bathsheba would have had to live with a number of lies the rest of their lives; that was bad enough. From there his actions added the offenses of abuse of power, betrayal of his own army, neglect of his nation s interests, personal betrayal of a number of his friends, conspiracy, and murder. He certainly didn t set out to do these things; but covering up sin instead of dealing with it makes you blind to the danger of adding more sin to your sin. V. SIN IS A DECEIVER, BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE ACT. 11:26-27. David was deceived by sin when he sent to find out who Bathsheba was. He was deceived by sin again when he began to try to cover up the results of his sin. He continued to be deceived by sin as he continued to try to cover his actions. Now it s nine months after the initial sin, a healthy baby boy is born, Uriah is gone and forgotten, and everything seems to have passed. It seems like it s going to be alright. But this is, again, sin the deceiver at work. Sin blinded David to the fact that his God was not pleased with what he had done. As long as you are willing to believe sin s lies, sin will keep on lying to you. Sin is a relentless deceiver.

David and Bathsheba The Deadly Trap of Sin I. 2 SAMUEL 11:1-5 David s First Great Sin 11:1 The setup for sin 11:2-4 The steps down to sin. 11:5 The fallout of sin. II. 2 SAMUEL 11:6-13 David s Failed Cover-up 11:6-8 David first attempt. 11:9-11 Uriah s integrity. 11:12-13 David s second attempt. III. 2 SAMUEL 11:14-25 David s Second Great Sin 11:14-15 The letter. 11:16-17 The murder. 11:18-24 The report. 11:25 The rationalization. IV. 2 SAMUEL 11:26-27 God s Displeasure 11:26 Bathsheba mourns her husband s death. 11:27a David makes his desperate move. 11:27b God is displeased with David s sin. Adult Bible Class

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA David s sin with Bathsheba teaches us that if we will avoid the steps that lead to sin, we will stay further away from the things that destroy our lives. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:15

David and Bathsheba Using the words provided, fill in the blank to correctly complete each statement from the Scripture passage and from today s Bible story. wife meet war killed cover king sin God roof took 1. David was the of the nation of Israel. 2. At a particular time when David was supposed to go to, he stayed home instead. 3. From the of his house, David saw a beautiful woman in her home. 4. David sent his servants to bring the woman to him. 5. The woman s name was Bathsheba, the of Uriah, one of David s soldiers who was away fighting the war. 6. David committed the of adultery with Uriah s wife. 7. David tried to his sin by having Uriah brought back from battle and sending him home to his wife. 8. When David s plan to cover his sin did not work, he sent Uriah back into battle with battle plans that would be certain to have Uriah. 9. After Uriah was killed in battle, David Bathsheba to be his wife. 10. David thought his sin was covered, but was displeased with David s sin. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:15

David and Bathsheba The answers to this week s puzzle 1. David was the king of the nation of Israel. 2. At a particular time when David was supposed to go to war, he stayed home instead. 3. From the roof of his house, David saw a beautiful woman in her home. 4. David sent his servants to bring the woman to meet him. 5. The woman s name was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David s soldiers who was away fighting the war. 6. David committed the sin of adultery with Uriah s wife. 7. David tried to cover his sin by having Uriah brought back from battle and sending him home to his wife. 8. When David s plan to cover his sin did not work, he sent Uriah back into battle with battle plans that would be certain to have Uriah killed. 9. After Uriah was killed in battle, David took Bathsheba to be his wife. 10. David thought his sin was covered, but God was displeased with David s sin.