Today’s reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-13:22
My selection: II Samuel 12:10-12
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’”
My reflections: This sordid chapter in the life of King David demonstrates how quickly temptation and sin can ravage a man’s life and the lives of many others. Notice the steps:
1. Lack of discipline and responsibility. David stayed home from the battle. He relaxed in his house and took an afternoon nap.
2. Boredom. I suspect he was bored as he had delegated his responsibilities for military leadership to Joab. This opened the door for what happened next.
3. Gross abuse of power for personal gratification and a deceptive cover-up. David used his rooftop to get a view of a woman bathing. He used his authority as king to learn who she was and to have her brought to him. She came and slept with him. When she became pregnant, he tried to make it look like her husband was responsible. When that plan failed, he again abused his power to attempt to cover-up his sin by having her husband killed.
The prophet Nathan confronted David about his sin. David responded humbly but the sentence would still have to be served. There would be violence and open sexual sin in his own family. It did not take long before Amnon would rape his half-sister and Absalom would plot his murder. Absalom would go on to mount a coup against David and commit adultery with his father’s concubines. Where? On the roof where David had stood spying on Bathsheba.
My challenge: Are you vigilant against sin in your life? Are you delegating what you should be doing yourself? Are you careful not to abuse the authority you have been given? Are you quick to confess your sin?
The gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to repent of our sin and believe the good news that He has taken our despicable sin on Himself. David was restored because of faith in the Messiah who would come and so will you be. Repent and believe. Your sin may not be like David’s or it may be worse but in Christ there is forgiveness and salvation.
Tomorrow’s reading: 2 Samuel 13:23-15:37
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