2 Sam 11 - Turning Points

Here's a lesson in human nature and leadership. Just as we can learn from any moment in history, we can certainly all learn from David’s poor choices in chapter 11. David was a man typically on task, he always seemed to consider where and what he should be doing in light of God’s desire, until now.

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her.” – Samuel 11:1-3

This crossroad sprung up primarily because of one act of sloth: Idleness. Scripture clearly states that it was a season when Kings, which he was, went to war. But not David. For whatever reason, he stayed. David was not doing what he should be doing. Neglecting his responsibility, his oath, his calling.

David was a warrior. With that in mind, I can imagine a bored King. Walking around on the roof, probably thinking about the war, thinking about his life, then boom… there’s Bathsheba. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And he did the wrong thing. It’s a downward spiral that could have been avoided. David had multiple opportunities to “do the right thing”. But each step of the way, he kept pressing into what was wrong. I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that most of his advisors (let’s call them accountability partners) were at war.

Scripture says he told “Someone” to go get her. Later it describes him as the “man” he told. No name, no relationship, just another guy… so when he spoke truth to David, he blew him off.

So lesson #2, don’t disconnect from those who speak truth to you. Keep them close. And listen. I bet you if it was Jonathan who spoke those words of warning, David would have stopped. He probably would have never called for her, or even mentioned it to him. But that wasn’t the case. David was alone. He was idle. He chose poorly. And the result? Verse 27 let’s us know:

“But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.”

So the questions are: Where should we be that we're not? Where are we that we shouldn’t be? What are we doing that we shouldn’t be doing? What is our pursuit that is not God’s pursuit? What steals our affections from the things that are God’s? And the big one: What warnings are we neglecting as we inch closer to the cliff?

Father, none of us are beyond falling. Your word is clear on that. We deceive ourselves. We chase our selfish desires. We justify our actions. Each of those things are about US and not YOU. Keep our focus on Your Kingdom. Keep our relationships authentic, raw, vulnerable, accountable and responsive. And deliver us from evil… even our own evil. Amen.