- araratchurch
- Jun 3, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 19, 2024
“Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.””
2 Samuel 11:2-3 NLT
Oh no! King David, weary of battle, stays home to rest, and has let his eyes wander from what is right. Now he sees something that has caught his attention and he is about to enter into temptation.
Temptation is when you have gone beyond the point of just observing or looking at something, gone beyond a random thought. Now, in reaction to some stimulus, desire is stirred. As desire is stirred, thought processes kick in to plan a way to fill that desire as consideration is given to what it would be like to have that, or to do that, etc., if that desire is acted on. That imagination, fully engaging in what had been just an observation or thought, becomes the corridor to destruction.
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
James 1:14-15 NLT
Now, there are people who have been doing wrong for so long that it’s anyone’s guess as to when it all began. But make no mistake, it had a beginning.
Even when someone has been doing right for a long time, if for some reason (weariness, disappointment, frustration, boredom, and so on), they waiver from their steadfastness, a perfect storm for sin is on their horizon.
So, King David sees a beautiful woman. [Please bear in mind that at this time, Kings had many wives. And, there’s no need to get into a debate as to whether this was something God ordained or not. It’s just the way it was, and is descriptive, not prescriptive.] Naturally, David wants to know who she is.
Now, here comes his moment of decision: David hears that this very beautiful woman is someone else’s wife. Prudence would have ended the matter in David‘s heart and mind, knowing that Bathsheba belonged to someone else. But, when you have wavered from your steadfastness and looked away from what is right, upon seeing something that stirs desire, the carnal mind will attempt to block any argument of conscience, often, by employing rationalization (see “Day 2”).
Many times, when confronted with temptation, we tell ourselves that we’re just having a flirtation in our mind about something and we will know when to stop. After all, we know where the “line” is.
You may look at someone who has done something so heinous that you wonder what “sort” of a person could do such a thing. Well, many times, it is the sort of person who—just like you—thought they would never cross the line they are about to cross. But getting too close to that line, proved to give a place for the devil to push them from temptation into evil doing.
Think of it, haven’t you engaged in some dangerous behavior (e.g., peeling something towards you with a sharp knife, looking away from the road when driving, not chocking a car on an extreme slope, etc.), and nothing went wrong…until it did?
“and give no opportunity to the devil.”
Ephesians 4:27 ESV
James’ admonition in the above scripture, is regarding continuing to allow anger to fester. But this admonition is applicable to the entertaining of any sort of deviation from what is right before God, deviation from what is holy.
But, back to King David. He has seen something he wants, and been told that it belongs to somebody else. Surely he knows where the “line” is. Doesn’t he?
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jun 2, 2024
- 2 min read
“In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.”
2 Samuel 11:1-2 NLT
When you get weary in what you’re doing, you become easy prey for something else to catch your eye. And, that something else is rarely going to be an impetus toward getting you back into action for what is right.
Indeed, things pursued as a result of battle fatigue (and pursuing what is right is often a battle), generally only serve to distract from what is most important.
Yesterday we looked at the fact that King David had apparently become weary with battle. Rather than going to war—as was his usual practice—he stayed at home to “rest.” Today we see that something else will capture his attention. Something not right, something not good, something not just, will be presented to David and he will step out onto that slippery slope we were discussing yesterday.
On that note, King David, walking on the palace roof, sees Bathsheba taking a bath (actually, a ceremonial cleansing related to her menstrual cycle). As we have noted, he is (apparently) weary of war, weary of struggling, and “needs” a distraction. But, beware! If you “need” a distraction, the devil will see to it that you find one of his making.
Yes, being distracted from what is right, always leads to calamity.
“This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.”
Jeremiah 17:5 NLT
There’s just something about spiritual “inertia” that begs a prod toward evil. That is why it is so very important to guard the state of your heart, never letting it look away from what is right, never looking away from the Lord.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Proverbs 4:23 NLT
If King David had been doing as he always did—leading his men in battle—he would not have had the opportunity to let something else catch his eye. But, he was at ease, and everything was about to change for him as he slides into doing the unthinkable.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jun 1, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 19, 2024
“In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.”
2 Samuel 11:1 NLT
What does it mean to “back off’ of something? Well, when we back off something, it means that we are relaxing our efforts and losing intensity in the direction of that effort. Think of one car pursuing another. Backing off can mean just taking your foot off the gas, all the way up to slamming on the brakes.
Yesterday we talked about King David’s confrontation with the prophet Nathan. He had become blind to his own acts of injustice and could only see his sin through the lens of what “someone else” had done. As promised yesterday, we begin a little journey into how justice becomes perverted by a close examination of the story of King David and Bathsheba.
For many well-meaning people, the slide toward injustice begins with the first venturing out onto a “slippery slope” (a concept we have recently employed here). Often, that slippery slope comes masquerading as just “relaxing a bit,” “not being quite so intense about things.” “Chilling.”
Of course, we know that stress can damage us in many ways. However, what we are referencing here is not keeping a high stress level, rather, it’s about maintaining our steadfastness in righteousness.
Think about it, just a “slight” laxness in your thought life, can be the “crack in the door,” giving access to what will—at a later time—become full-blown disregard for what is right, disregard for what is just.
“A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”
Proverbs 24:33-34 NLT
Just as laziness can lead to poverty, just so, spiritual laxness or laziness leads to poverty of spirit. And, poverty of spirit, can lead you to disregarding God’s ways. We do well to heed this warning:
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 NLT
Instead of King David going out to conquer the enemy, he stayed at home to “rest.” So, what was wrong with his resting? That the fact of his staying home, rather than going to war, is mentioned along with the remark, “In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war,” signals a cause-and-effect relationship between his staying home (when he should have been at war), and what would later occur.
Beware of slippery slopes in your life. You might think you have on the right “shoes” to handle it, but beware, there are many at the bottom of that slope who thought the same thing. Don’t join the stranded victims at the bottom of a slippery slope by backing off from your pursuit of what is righteous!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!