One of the things I look forward to on the other side of eternity is meeting the men and women of the Bible. Individuals memorialized by God. David will definitely be one of those individuals.
As an adolescent David defeated the giant Goliath. As a man he practiced repentance on an ongoing basis. As king he learned the hard way that obedience is not a natural human tendency.
Like King David, we all have allowed our flesh to rule our lives at one time or another by believing this lie.
I’ve earned the right to be happy.
It happened in the spring of the year. At the time when kings go out to battle that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel. They destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 11:1
Why did David stay behind? Did David believe that as God’s anointed king he deserved special treatment?
For years David had pursued and defeated the enemies of the Lord. Enduring unpredictable and harsh weather. Eating sparingly and infrequently. Suppressing his sexual needs. It was time he took a break and enjoyed the benefits of being king. After all, he had earned it.
Even though that was not the Lord’s will.
Read the first two sentences again. It happened in the spring of the year. At the time when kings go out to battle that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel. David should have been on the battlefield, not in the palace.
Like Adam and Eve, David
- was somewhere he should not have been.
- decided he alone was capable of making decisions about his life. Even if these decisions were in opposition to the Lord’s will for his life.
Like David, God gave Adam and Eve authority to rule. All God’s creation was theirs except for a single fruit. They had been forbidden by God to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of the difference between good and evil.
Then why were Adam and Eve standing next to this tree when the serpent— the devil spoke to them?
Were they admiring the tree’s fruit?
Wondering why God would deny them something that was so beautiful?
Rationalizing if the Lord had given them dominion over every living thing on earth? They had the willpower to be near the forbidden and still resist it?
When you begin to question God’s righteousness and trustworthiness. You have opened the door of your heart to sin. Making it easier to believe sin’s destructive promises.
Sin wraps itself in a beautiful package that promises
- happiness if opened.
- the adoration of others.
- to numb the emptiness that has slithered its way into your heart.
Your enemy— satan is cunning. Blinding you to his plans of destruction. Persuading you that submitting to the Lord’s righteousness is optional.
What was David thinking as he stood on the rooftop of the palace? Was he regretting his decision to remain in Jerusalem? Lamenting his disobedience, his sin?
I doubt it!
More likely he was contemplating what he could do to fill the emptiness within his heart. Emptiness created by his sin— his disobedience. David’s actions would suggest that his thoughts were centered on himself and his needs, not than the Lord and the Lord’s will for his life.
Creating the perfect breeding ground for more of the devil’s lies. Lies leading to an act that had disastrous consequences for David and others.
Be a VOICE shouting into the wilderness.
“CHRIST is returning!”
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