Samuel 10-11; Proverbs 24:23-34

Read

 

Read 2 Samuel 10 - 11; Proverbs 24: 23-34

Passage chosen for meditation: 2 Samuel 11

 

Reflect

 

This is a classic story of temptation and sin, committed by a godly man who is none other than David, a man whom God calls 'a man after my own heart'.

 

Bathsheba, the other protagonist in the story does not get off scot-free either, though the attention is trained at the man.

 

What then leads to sin? And where is God in all of this?

 

Relate

 

I don't think there's anyone reading this who can't relate to the story. So, we're not to point a finger at either David or Bathsheba, but to learn from their mistakes.

 

A number of articles have been written on the stages of sin. One of the best so far is found in Scriptures. James 1: 14 - 15 says it well: But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

 

According to the passage, it all starts with an occasion. In this story, it's an ordinary day in spring like any other where everything looks normal on the surface. Except that it should not have been. David is supposed to be in the battlefield fighting alongside his men. Uriah, one of his elite men knows the drill, and so should he.

 

While there's absolutely nothing wrong with David taking a break, he should have been careful not to lower his guard. One could deduce from previous accounts that David has grown accustomed to sensing the presence of God whenever he's in a battle. More or less, it helps explain the relative absence of God or the lack of mention of God in the passage until the very end. This, of course, is an irony when he's about to face the greatest spiritual battle of his life.

 

How often have we found ourselves in similar situations, separating physical from spiritual battles? We've also heard the saying, 'The safest place is the centre of God's will'. In other words, David is at the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

In most of such cases, the object of one's lust, greed or revenge is dehumanised to a great extent when it's a person. We look at them as an object rather than as a person. At the point of sin or even temptation, they're not someone's child, father or wife, least of all, not one of God's. In the same way, Bathsheba is viewed not as one of his elite men's wives, but as an object of desire. Later on, when awkward connection gets in the way or complicates matters, the only way around is to find ways to dissociate it. All this then leads to another sin, which in this story is the premeditated murder of Uriah.

 

It's true that once conceived, sin grows.

 

There's a certain wilfulness in sin, a determined desire to do what one wants without caring what the other person wants or feels. Sadly, God is not usually present in the picture. 'What one wants' is it. To have it, every reason is justified, every urge rationalised and every truth defied. Simply put, sin pulls - out - all - the - stops.

 

During this whole time, God is also relegated to the margins of the transgressor's conscience. As seen from the narrative, God is not mentioned at all, not until the very end of the passage where it records his displeasure. This mismatch between sin and God is like the incompatibility of oil in water. They just don't mix.

 

For that reason, James 4: 7 tells us: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

There was once I felt the absence of God. It didn't take long to realise that it was sin that caused me to feel that way. This I discovered through his Word and the prompting of the Spirit. Or rather, it was God who searched me out.

 

David, too, was searched out.

 

Rest

 

Lord, search me for you know me inside out. Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. According to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. For I know that against you, you alone, have I sinned. So, do not cast me from your presence. Instead, restore to me the joy of your salvation. See, too, if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

Naville Chia