King David

Okay, I tried to let it go, but I've had four cups of coffee and can't. Gov. Sanford of South Carolina compared himself to King David: who saw another man's wife and took her.

I'm not going to talk about Governor Sanford, that's his business. Although they've sort of made it the world's business by calling in the media. But I think there are a few issues there that need to be cleared up about David.

He's been used as a scapegoat for bad choices for years. "Well, David did it and he was still a great man of God."

TRUE.

God's grace covers a multitude of sins. No doubt, God forgave David. But does that mean David's sin was okay with God?

A year ago we did a study of David.
This is what we learned. If David had been serving his people, he wouldn't have been at home, watching Bathseba take a bath. HE would have been away, leading his men who were fighting a battle. David had momentarily forgotten his duties to his people.

WHY? Maybe he was distracted, or tired, maybe he'd forgotten the calling God had put on his life. There are a lot of reasons that we get distracted. There are things that distract us.

There are steps that take people from temptation to sin.

Step One: David wasn't where he was supposed to be. If he had been, he wouldn't have gotten into the trouble with Bathsheba. How many of us get into trouble because we aren't where we are supposed to be?

Step Two: David looked at Bathsheba. He was tempted. He could have put on his big boy robe and turned away. Instead he acted on the temptation.

Thus is the fall of man. (and woman) It isn't the temptation that gets us, it's acting on the temptation. It happens to all of us, probably daily. It's just that not all sins hurt the way David's sin hurt the people in his life.

Step Three. David didn't immediately repent. Once he'd taken Bathsheba, he could have recognized his mistake and sent her away. Instead he kept going. He not only looked at Bathsheba, he acted on his temptation and had her brought to him. And then he tried to cover up his mistake by creating a bigger problem for himself: having her husband murdered. The chain reaction of sin.

THE FINAL VERDICT: Consequences. I'm constantly telling my kids to make good choices, because there are consequences. Bad choices follow us for a long time. The child David had with Bathsheba died. That pain stayed with him, I'm sure for the rest of his life.

David was redeemed by God's love. But he didn't walk away unscathed.

I wonder if there was a moment when he recognized that what he was doing was wrong? Did he have a moment when he knew that he shouldn't, but he told himself that it wouldn't matter? Did he tell himself it was his decision to make, and no one would get hurt?

Did he drop his guard because he thought he was such a great servant of God, he couldn't possibly be tempted to do something like take another man's wife?

And how many people were hurt by the choices he made? His wife was hurt. Bathsheba. His son. Bathsheba's husband. The people he dragged into his scheme, the ones who were ordered to carry out his plans. And the people of his land. People who looked up to him. His children.
God.

In the end, he did find his path back to God. He was a great man of God. His is a story of Redemption.


This is a little different for me and I hope you'll forgive me for going in a new direction with today's post but this was on my heart and I have a bad habit of speaking, and then regretting. Hmmm, also not a good thing. I need to work on that.