The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Wednesday
May 28, 2008
So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to
deliver. The letter instructed Joab, "Station Uriah on the front lines
where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed." So
Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's
strongest men were fighting. And Uriah was killed along with several other
Israelite soldiers.
2 Samuel 11:14-17
What was David thinking? What inner turmoil led him to try to cover up his sin by committing another sin? Where is the heart of a man whom God would later call a man after His own heart? I can tell you where he is, he is caught up in the whirlwind of shame.
Shame leads people to do some strange things. When we first make a mistake or a wrong turn, we will feel guilty or maybe a little embarrassed; depending on the degree of the mistake. However, if we allow that guilt to lead us to conviction of the wrong we will turn around and try to right the wrong rather than cover it up.
David was a young king. He didn't want his subjects to take him off his pedestal. He didn't do this out of love. He didn't love Bathsheba at that time; he simply used her to satisfy the lust of the flesh. He loved his kingdom. Now, his kingdom was about to crumble and he resorted to the only thing he knew worked ¾ killing the enemy.
Like us, David had much to learn about leadership. His subjects had elevated him to such a high place that they were afraid for him to enter into battle and he allowed it. This was the man who had once proclaimed that the battle wasn't his ¾ the battle was the Lord's. He had gone from having a vital faith in God to having faith in himself. That will lead to a fall every time.
David had no clue what a high price he would pay for this wrong choice. However, it is recorded for us in 2 Samuel 17:26-27. "When Bathsheba heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was very displeased with what David had done."
As I read this, an old saying came to mind, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we first set out to deceive." Although that doesn't come from the Bible it rings true. One of the major battles we will face as Christians is the fight against the spirit of deception. It will come to everyone that God wants to use in a mighty way.
Father, I am so thankful for the vulnerability of Your Word. I praise You for keeping these horrible stories for us to learn from. I praise You and thank You for Your love for David and all other people like him that You covered with grace and mercy. Strengthen us for the battle as we try to reach the lost for Your Kingdom. Help us live to love, not live to lust.
