It flabbergasts me how David did what he did to Uriah and Bathsheba. First, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time; the bible tells us that David remained in Jerusalem at the time when the Kings went to war. He chose the wrong time to chill for whatever reason he had. In the midst of his chill, he went to the top of the roof, and suddenly his eyes beheld the most intriguing woman he had ever seen. This move right here was the beginning of his downfall. It is just interesting how one wrong move can change the trajectory of one’s life forever. May the good Lord order our steps always to be at the right place at the right time in Jesus’ name. One would think that he would flee in the face of temptation, as he had fled in the face of killing Saul, his sworn enemy, multiple times, not King David at this time. Even after two beautiful wives, his eyes still yearned and desired another man’s wife. He was so intrigued and curious to find out who this gorgeous woman was, so he sent his servants to do the digging.
In their research, they found out that she was married, in fact, married to one of his soldiers. One would think that would deter him from going through with the evil his mind had conceived, but not exactly. David sent for Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, slept with her, and sent her away. He really thought he could just do that without any consequences; he really was just going to commit adultery and keep it hidden from everyone. Sadly, by the mercy of God, Bathsheba became pregnant. Even in the face of what stared at him, repentance was still far from sight at this point for King David, his conscience completely dead – Apostle James sure knew what he wrote about when he said, “then after desire is concieved, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death“- James 1:15. David definetly died in this moment, he lost every bit of his conscience, a man who knew the Lord suddenly lost it – sin was fully blown inside him now.
As soon as he heard about Bathsheba’s pregnancy, he sent for Uriah, her husband from the battlefield field with the expectation that Uriah would sleep with his wife and then pin the pregnancy on him. Unfortunately, Uriah was such a loyal soldier – he didn’t deem it fit to enjoy intimacy with his wife at such a time like that when war brewed- I Samuel 11:11, his loyalty was with the king and God’s people. Sadly, the King’s loyalty wasn’t with him – poor Uriah. As soon as David realized this, his now dead conscience continued to scheme, and he sent a letter to Joab, who seemed to be the commanding officer of the battalion, through Uriah. Only if Uriah knew that the letter he was holding contained his death sentence, I wish he had just opened the letter out of curiosity. His loyalty lay with the King, David. Joab followed the orders of the King, positioned Uriah at the forefront of the battlefield where he could be easily killed, and sadly, Uriah lost his life because the King failed to be at the right place at the right time. He lost his life because a king failed to control and subject his desires to the authority of the Lord.
You know, I think it is wild how King David was comfortable in all of this and didn’t even think of repentance until the Lord sent the prophet Nathan. This just goes to show how deadly sin is. Sin to a man’s soul is as cancer to a human body – they both slowly kill if not quickly attended to. I mean, you may have heard stories of great people humiliated or brought down by a single action of immorality or a spiral of actions that started from something small. We hear about these great men and women because they are in the limelight. But let us talk about you and me, whose desires are bubbling inside of us. What kinds of thoughts are we entertaining? What kinds of places are we going to? What kinds of content do we consume? What plans do we have ahead? Are all our answers pleasing to the Lord? Is God happy with you and me? Is our Lord God happy with all of the answers you gave to the questions I posed to you?
Guard Your Heart with all Diligence
Today, I write to Christians whose hearts, minds, and spirits should be regenerated by the Spirit and power of God, whose minds should be fully and always guarded because out of our hearts flow the issues of life -Proverbs 4:23. A Pastor I listen to shared an anology of guarding our hearts – he said and I paraphrase that we can’t exactly stop birds from flying over us or whatver belongs to us but we sure can stop it from nesting over us and our belongings. In this same way, we may not be able to control the sudden thoughts or pang of emotions that the devil may raise in our hearts, but we have the power and authority to bring them under the subjection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the ability and capacity by the Spirit of God alive in you to deaden every thought that is contrary to the mind of Christ. The sudden thoughts of envy, of bitterness, of jealousy, of covetousness, of evil comparison, of taking your life – bring them all under the subjection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The bible tells us to think on things only true, pure, right, and noble – Philippians 4:8. Weigh your thoughts, imaginations, and even actions on this scale of truth, purity, nobility as recommended by Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8
Renew Your Minds With The Word of God:
Yet again, Apostle Paul prescribes the renewal of our minds. He recommends that after we first present our bodies as living sacrifices, Holy and acceptable to the Lord, we should continue steadfast in renewing our minds. I see the process of renewal as a mind cleanse with the word of God; cleansing the mind daily of dirt, impurities that may have come in throughout the day. I am almost certain that if King David had occupied or renewed his mind with the word of God that morning or the night before, he probably would have been saved from the claws of sin. Ultimately, it took the word of God from Prophet Nathan to cleanse him of all the evil that sin had wrought in his life. Renewing your mind with God’s word is like taking a vaccine against the wiles of sin; it protects you, and if for some reason sin finds its way into our bloodstreams, the word of Godis able to spur us to action for a cleanse. The Passion Translation of Apostle Paul’s admonition to us puts it so perfectly –
be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes. – Romans 12:2
Fill Your Eyes with Light:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the man whose life we are called to model, highly recommends that we fill our eyes with light because it determines the health of our whole bodies. Apostle Matthew cited this recommendation in Matthew 6:22-23, and Dr. Luke cited this recommendation in Luke 11:34-36. Jesus, the lamp of the body is the eye; therefore, if our eyes are good, then our whole body will be full of light, but if our eyes are bad, then the whole body will be full of darkness. King David’s corruption all started with his eyes, the lamp of his body. Immediately, it got corrupted with the nakedness of Bathsheba’s nakedness, and the darkness began to journey through his bloodstream. We sure can take charge of the things that enter our minds through our eyes, ears, and so on. By the mercy of God, please ensure that all that enters your eyes and ears is light.
Finally, to my friend, brother, or sister who may have ravaged, who may have failed to guard your heart, filled your eyes with light, or renewed your mind with the word of God. There is a cure for this cancer – sin. The first step is diagnosing and calling it by its name; for King David, Prophet Nathan helped him to diagnose his disease. You may not need a prophet; you could be your own prophet. Examine your thoughts and life, do you see the symptoms of a life ravaged by sin? Great! Thank you for admitting it. The next step is repentance. Psalms 51, like the whole of Psalm 51, was King David’s prayer of repentance after he realized the state of his heart. You sure should use Psalm 51 as a guide to pray for forgiveness and repentance from every sin you have acknowledged.
God sure went ahead to do great things through King David. He can also do great things with you, too – stay committed to living for God, do not allow sin sift you like wheat.
Till next time, stay blessed and keep your eyes filled with the light of God.