David’s Transition from Lust to Murder

There is a lot that can be learnt about the life of David. He was called a man after God’s own heart in 1 Samuel 13 vs 14 and in Acts 13:22. By no means was David perfect and he had some not so stellar moments in his lifetime. One of those moment is chronicled in 2 Samuels 11, which recounts the story of David’s infidelity with Bathsheba and the resulting repercussions.

The verse highlighted I believe sets the stage for what is about to occur. It establishes that David was not to be at the palace, but he was to be on the battlefield with his men. While at the palace, one evening David decided he was going to walk on the top of the roof. While on top of the roof he noticed a woman bathing, enquired about the woman (he found out that she was Bathsheba the wife of Uriah). Not only did David enquired, but he also sent for her and he slept with her and soon thereafter she sent news to say that she was pregnant.

When David heard of the pregnancy, he sent for Uriah who was at war. In trying to cover is tracks, David wanted Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba so it could be said that the child was Uriah’s. In Jamaican terms he wanted to give Uriah a ‘jacket’. In Jamaica, a ‘jacket’ is a slang used to describe a child whose alleged father is not in fact the biological child.

David wanted Uriah to go home and make love with his wife, but Uriah did not go because he wanted to stand in solidarity with the men who were at war. When David heard this, he got Uriah drunk the next night in hope that he would sleep with his wife- but this last-ditch attempt did not produce the fruits that he was hoping for.

Determining that he was not able to get Uriah to sleep with his wife, David decided that he would have Uriah killed instead. David gave Uriah a letter to give to Joab- the instructions was given to put Uriah at the front of the battle where the fighting was fiercest and to withdraw so that he would be killed. Uriah died, Bathsheba mourned and then David made Bathsheba his wife and a son was born.

The preceding events are covered in 2 Samuels 11. So, in summary, David neglected his duty by not being at war, He saw Bathsheba and lusted after her, he and Bathsheba committed adultery, he tried to deceive Uriah and finally had Uriah murdered.

There are many lessons that can be learnt from this scripture. For me, the take home messages are:

1. It is important to be mindful of your location.
2. The enemy can engage us in untoward activity when we are idling.
3. Its quite easy for one sin to lead to another (the multiplier effect).

David was supposed to be at war at that time of the year. There is a possibility with him at war he would not have seen Bathsheba on the roof bathing. It is so in life we could have avoided certain situations, if we were at the place we were called to be OR not been in the place we were not supposed to be. Sometimes it is not the place that is the issue but the persons or persons we are in that place with.

Per adventure, as a Christian if I am dating someone, it would be ill-advised to spend the night at that person’s home, especially if there is no one else living there. Why, you may ask- there is no telling what sequalae of events may happen. I would be setting up myself to fall into temptation and I am not of the view that I am too strong to be incapable of falling into sin. 1 Corinthians 10 vs 12 reminds us “If we think we are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall”. After all we are humans, and we are not infallible. So, we should not “set up ourselves” for failure. No matter how strong I believe I am- that one sleep over may lead to something more that I will end up regretting.

In this time, we see that David was idle at home. Proverbs 16: 27 states that “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece”. And oh, was David idle to the point that he was able to cook-up a whole elaborate scheme. What started with David not being at war led to murder.

David spiraled into committing one wrong after another. He just continued to dig a deeper pit has he went along- the sin multiplied. In the words of DJ Nicholas ‘sin add so much till sin multiply’.  Maybe in the moment of self-gratification, David was not thinking about the repercussions of his actions. He got a little jolt when Bathsheba got pregnant, but he schemed and lie with the result being murder.

Though we are in a different era from the times of David, are you able to see any similarities to how he handled the situation he found himself in? I can, as humans we always try to cover one transgression with another. Its like when I told lie as a child, I would use one lie after another to cover my tracks. It extends beyond this and applies to a myriad of situations.

Sound off in the comment section what you may have learnt from the situation that David found himself in and how it applies to us nowadays.

Dear Lord,

I thank you for your grace and mercy. Lord I pray that your words will become more real to us has the time goes by. Help us to be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit when you are trying to steer us in the correct way. May we position ourselves in the appropriate location at the appropriate time. Being human I understand that we have sometimes yielded to temptation, I pray that we will remember your word in 1 Corinthians 10 vs 13 that reminds us that no temptation that we face is not uncommon, we will not be tempted beyond what we can manage, and you always provide a way of escape. May we occupy our times and space with wholesome things, so that we do not deliberately place ourselves to be dragged away and enticed.

AMEN.