Overview of: 2 SAMUELToday's Reading:
2Sam. 11:1-27
"David's Sin against Bathsheba and Uriah"
Focus Verses: 2 Samuel 11:26-27
26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
Insight:
David learned how tragically easy it is to be corrupted by power and security. Once his reign as king of Israel had been firmly established, he discovered just how great his own capacity was for infidelity toward God, his loyal followers, his family, and himself. When the external threats diminished, the dangers of his own internal weakness emerged.
It's shocking to see David sink to such a level of self-indulgence and self-deception. How cold-hearted and blind David had to be in order to steal the wife of one of his most loyal soldiers! How desperately evil it was for him to heap on the lies, attempt to manipulate, and eventually murder that faithful soldier.
Response and Action:
It's very important that I recognize my capacity for sin and to be on guard against it. It is also important that I love the Lord, respect and value others, and keep my eyes focused on what is right.
Honoring God with all his heart, or loving others as he loved himself must have been far from David’s mind for him to commit such sins. I must devote myself to seeking God so fully that my energies, actions, choices, attitudes, and efforts are directed toward righteousness. Half-heartedness toward God is an open door for temptation and sin.
O God, help me to turn away from what is wrong and do what is right. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as I love myself. Grant me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, feed my spirit, stimulate my mind, and care for my body. Thank you for your faithfulness to me in times of temptation. Strengthen me to stand and give me eyes that see the ways of escape you provide. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov. 2:12-13
"Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways..."
New Testament for Today: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
In Context: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Recommended Reading:
When Godly People Do Ungodly Things: Arming Yourself in the Age of Seduction
by Beth Moore
