Life Notes—July 26, 2012
“It happened late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.” 2 Samuel 11:2
“It is a good thing to follow the first law of holes; if you are in one, stop digging.” D. Healy
Israel’s King David found himself in a hole. He sees a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, bathing on her roof, inquires about and sends for her. In doing so he coveted another man’s wife. He slept with her, committing adultery, and she became pregnant. Her husband, Uriah, was one of David’s military leaders. David calls Uriah back from the war and encourages him to sleep with Bathsheba, hoping the child of his adulterous act will then appear to belong to Uriah. But Uriah refuses to sleep with his wife out of respect for his fellow soldiers who cannot leave the front to sleep with their wives. So David has Uriah sent to the front of the most intense fighting, ordering the other soldiers to draw back from him. Uriah dies in battle and David has committed murder.
David tried to get out of the hole of his own creation by continuing to dig. In the process he violated at least four of the Ten Commandments. Despicable behavior on the part of our much admired hero, wouldn’t you agree? It makes me think of the quote by Lord Acton: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” David lived a life of royalty, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Maybe he was used to getting whatever he desired, so when he laid eyes on Bathsheba he thought he deserved her, too. David’s wrongdoing is exposed by Nathan, the royal prophet at the time, through a parable that made David furious at the villain, saying the murderous, thieving, adulterous villain should be put to death—at least until Nathan exposed the villain as David. Only then did he stop digging. He repented and God continued to bless the people through him.
I’ve been told we should always tell the truth unless we have a very good memory. When we regularly lie, deceive or otherwise sin it quickly becomes an impossible task to remember what we have said or done to whom. We get caught in our sin, needing either to invent additional deception or to confess, repent and seek forgiveness. That we sin is one thing, and a common characteristic of humanity. How we respond when we’ve sinned is quite another. Usually it’s wise to first stop digging…
The seven-week sermon series on David continues this Sunday, with David Peterson downtown and Mitch at the west campus. Their sermon title will be “David and Bathsheba,” based on 2 Samuel 11:1-5. Life worship is at 10:00 AM in Brady Hall, traditional worship is at 8:30 and 11:00. West campus worship is at 9:00 and 11:00.
Come home to church this Sunday. Is there a hole in your life that is deep enough?
Greg Hildenbrand, Life Music Coordinator
Contemplating Grace 