It's Complicated (S2): WK 3 - WED
2 Samuel 11:11-15
Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab
and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine
and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”
“Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So
Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited him to dinner
and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again
he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.
So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter
instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then
pull back so that he will be killed.”
Psalm 32:6-7
Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Every once in a while, the painful consequences of our failures are easily avoided, cleverly sidestepped, or simply don’t happen. However, as we feel the floodwaters of our poor decisions rise around us, we often turn to more deceptive schemes in an effort to escape. First, we try to create opportunities for our guilt to sink into the shadows. Eventually, we move from passive strategies to actively manipulating our surroundings, hoping to change the circumstances.
David’s problem is that Bathsheba cannot claim her pregnancy is the normal family growth resulting from her marriage. Her husband, Uriah, has been dutifully serving the king at the battlefront. Unless… The guilty mind searches for loopholes and opportunities, scanning the horizon for off-ramps of deniability and convenience. David finds one. There is a tiny window of time in which he must act. Uriah needs to be called home so David can rewrite the truth and avoid the consequences of his sin.
One of the biggest problems for the morally compromised is relying on a person with unwavering standards for their escape plan. Uriah has such high ethics that, when offered a stay-at-home vacation from the war, he refuses to switch from warrior mode to husband. Uriah does what David has not: he fulfills his responsibilities. All that is needed is for Uriah to sleep in his own bed for one night. Instead, he stays on the steps of the palace, guarding his betrayer. The bait remains untaken. It will be clear that the child is not Uriah’s. David must shift from passive opportunity to decisive action. He writes a letter to his general, orchestrating the death of his loyal neighbor, places it in the hands of his victim, and widens the circle of guilt.
Do you see the slavery of sin? Each step makes it harder for David to turn around, repent, and set things right. What about your footsteps? Are you headed in a direction filled with regret and distance from Jesus? If so, there will never be a better time to turn to Him, receive forgiveness, and unload the baggage of sin weighing you down.
1. When you travel, do you pack lightly, or do you bring as much as possible? Why do
you think that is?
2. When you problem-solve, do you prefer a wait-and-see strategy or an aggressive
approach to the situation? Why?
3. Is there something in your life you know you need to repent for and turn away from?
How is that going for you? What help could you get from Jesus?
Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab
and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine
and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.”
“Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So
Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited him to dinner
and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again
he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.
So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter
instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then
pull back so that he will be killed.”
Psalm 32:6-7
Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Every once in a while, the painful consequences of our failures are easily avoided, cleverly sidestepped, or simply don’t happen. However, as we feel the floodwaters of our poor decisions rise around us, we often turn to more deceptive schemes in an effort to escape. First, we try to create opportunities for our guilt to sink into the shadows. Eventually, we move from passive strategies to actively manipulating our surroundings, hoping to change the circumstances.
David’s problem is that Bathsheba cannot claim her pregnancy is the normal family growth resulting from her marriage. Her husband, Uriah, has been dutifully serving the king at the battlefront. Unless… The guilty mind searches for loopholes and opportunities, scanning the horizon for off-ramps of deniability and convenience. David finds one. There is a tiny window of time in which he must act. Uriah needs to be called home so David can rewrite the truth and avoid the consequences of his sin.
One of the biggest problems for the morally compromised is relying on a person with unwavering standards for their escape plan. Uriah has such high ethics that, when offered a stay-at-home vacation from the war, he refuses to switch from warrior mode to husband. Uriah does what David has not: he fulfills his responsibilities. All that is needed is for Uriah to sleep in his own bed for one night. Instead, he stays on the steps of the palace, guarding his betrayer. The bait remains untaken. It will be clear that the child is not Uriah’s. David must shift from passive opportunity to decisive action. He writes a letter to his general, orchestrating the death of his loyal neighbor, places it in the hands of his victim, and widens the circle of guilt.
Do you see the slavery of sin? Each step makes it harder for David to turn around, repent, and set things right. What about your footsteps? Are you headed in a direction filled with regret and distance from Jesus? If so, there will never be a better time to turn to Him, receive forgiveness, and unload the baggage of sin weighing you down.
1. When you travel, do you pack lightly, or do you bring as much as possible? Why do
you think that is?
2. When you problem-solve, do you prefer a wait-and-see strategy or an aggressive
approach to the situation? Why?
3. Is there something in your life you know you need to repent for and turn away from?
How is that going for you? What help could you get from Jesus?
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