Fridays with David

Read 2 Samuel 11:1-4 – 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; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. (NKJV)

Much is typically made of David’s sin with Bathsheba starting when he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. But why did David stay home from battle? His recent victories had formed alliances and strength that perhaps he is relying too heavily upon. Bottom-line: He didn’t go to war because he didn’t think he needed to. But it’s hard to imagine a Middle Eastern kingdom being so secure that its king can take a season off. David’s pride and inflated sense of success not only has him at home, but also fuels his decision that he can have the wife of one of his men. David’s sin with Bathsheba didn’t start when he saw her in the bathtub. It started with the pride that changed how he approached his work as king. When our confidence grows into pride, we take advantage of our success in ways that frequently prove unhealthy—cutting corners on truth, taking advantage of employees, neglecting others and expecting them to focus on our desires. Pride almost begs God to respond. After all, a loving God can’t allow us to stay on a path that will steal our hearts from Him and accelerate our destruction. His love compels Him to bring us low when we fail to humble our own hearts.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.