We will compare three tragic “couples”: Adam and Eve, David and Bathsheba, and Ammon and Tamar. God repeats a story three times to help teach us a lesson about sin and transgression.
He’s also introducing Absolom as a Messianic figure. From here, we will be following his life closely for messianic clues.
After the prophet Natan (Nathan) confronted David over his adultery with bat-Sheba (Bathsheba) and murder of her husband, Uriah, David expresses true repentance — revealed in Psalm 51 — and is granted mercy.
This is the second time Nathan had to come to David with a word from the Lord, at least the second time recorded in Scripture. But this time David spoke the prophetic word upon himself.
David committed a series of sins that started out minor and culminated in the most egregious of sins of adultery and murder. This tragedy sets up a series of later tragedies that nearly take David off the throne permanently but they also harken back to the story of Adam and Eve and their fall from grace.
This story has a story within a story. It begins with the death of Nahash, the king of Ammon (1st Samuel 11). David was touched by Nahash’s death and sent a condolence party. The prince of Ammon treated this party poorly and that insult was the beginning of the end of Ammon’s power.
We see another example of David as a messianic figure. He has “bloody hands” so his heir, Shlomo (Solomon), another messianic figure, will be able to reign in peace and build God’s temple undistracted by threats of war. There are a number of parallels between the David’s subjugation of Israel’s enemies to bring in Shlomo’s peace and the dual functions of Messiah Yeshua at His return as bringer of war to the enemies of God and the eternal peace of God’s presence on Earth.
Many who read this text think that God is somehow rejecting David or turning away from him, but this is not the case at all. God is not rejecting David but He is giving David a great insight into God’s purpose for him. David finds out what God really thinks of him. How many of us hear straight from God what He thinks of what we are doing for ourselves and our future generations? So, rather than thinking of this story as a type of rebuke to David, consider it God’s gift to David.