I am sinking in the deep mire. No foothold. Psalm 69:2. These words ring in my ears. So, David decides to forego his responsibility "to go out to battle." It's the time when kings go. But not footloose David. He wanted something more than his God. He could not have been at rest, at peace. Or he would be in his rightful place.
David sent Joab in his place...oh, and his servants also...oh, and all Israel. They besieged Rabbah. David remained in Jerusalem. Looks good on paper. The king's decision. But David's heart was heavy and sinking and wandering.
"It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. David sent and inquired about the woman. He sent more messengers and took her while her husband was away at the war where David had sent this loyal follower, Urriah. She could have said "no" to the king, couldn't she?
And, then...David secretly conspires to kill her husband. No one would know. Except David and God. But, wait. Someone sees through this.
David has a friend. And this friend was loyal beyond words. And it was his words that pierced David's heart: "David, you have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites."
2 Sam 11:12 "For you did it secretly," but God will move before the sun. And David's immediate response to being found out---after an affair and murder. His response is strikingly unbelievable:
"I have sinned against the LORD." 2 Samuel 11:13. And our Merciful God "put away [David's] sin." David did not die---but this child he conceived did---the baby died.
Oh my God! Put away all of our sins. We are all guilty before You of breaking your law in every which way. Have mercy on us, O God! May we deal quickly with the promptings of our hearts. Before the sun sets. And may we, on our faces, worship You and You Alone, just like David did when his baby died.
Father, this story reads every single one of us. We have all sinned against You. Oh, we haven't sent a warrior into the heat of battle to remove him, but we've removed other people from our lives. Oh, we haven't taken another man's wife, but we've taken something that doesn't belong to us. Put away all our sin this day, forever. In Your Name, we pray, we worship.
PHOTO: One of the most telling places I've visited: Chambers Bay, Washington on the Puget Sound. Windswept thoughts as I walked these dunes. Fescue grasses surrounding my story. A masterpiece with all the hidden secrets and unspoken thoughts my heart holds. May we lay bare before our God all that I am. May the Great I AM meet us here.
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