She [Bathsheba] became [David’s] wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord. (2 Sam. 11:27)
KING DAVID TRIED TO COVER UP his sin with Bathsheba by sending a letter to General Joab that instructed him to arrange Uriah’s death on the battlefield. He even had the audacity to send the execution letter with Uriah (2 Sam. 11:14). A dead Uriah could not be his accuser, David reasoned.
Joab obeyed King David, and Uriah was killed, but Joab’s message to David included the news of Israel’s defeat at the hands of the enemy (vv. 22–24). Sin weakens us and leaves us vulnerable to defeat by our enemy, the Devil.
Often one sin leads to another like a domino effect. David’s sin of adultery led to the sin of murder and to defeat by Israel’s enemy. The sin of hatred can lead to lying or even a physical assault. How often a person denies having had an affair, and then tries to enlist others to supply strong character references for him. With Uriah out of the picture, David married pregnant Bathsheba. He may have thought his malicious plot had worked, but God was displeased with him, and his sins would soon be exposed.
Numbers 32:23 says: “Be sure that your sin will find you out.” It is always best to resist temptation, but if we sin, we should confess the sin promptly and then turn from it by God’s grace.
Don’t do anything today that you might want to cover up later!
Jim Dyet was born in Scotland and grew up in Canada. Married fifty-eight years, he and his wife Gloria live in Colorado Springs, where Jim enjoys golf and daily walks with their dogs.
© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
