It's Complicated (S2): WK 4 - MON
2 Samuel 11:26-27
When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the
period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and
she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was
displeased with what David had done.
Psalm 51:1-3
Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Last week, we started studying 2 Samuel 11-12, focusing on David’s rapid decline into the life of a mass murderer. Today, we go back to the beginning of the story to examine David the adulterer and his sexual sins.
Today’s passage concludes both themes as Uriah is dead, and Bathsheba goes to the palace to join the king’s harem. Soon, everything will become public when Nathan confronts David. But, before we reach the showdown between the prophet and the king, let’s take a moment to revisit how it all began.
The second verse of chapter 11 states, “Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.” There is nothing inherently sinister about viewing the city from above, and it’s reasonable to understand that when his eyes caught sight of a beautiful woman, naked in her rooftop bath, during what she likely believed was a private moment, he would notice. It’s important to recognize that there is a significant difference between temptation and sin. Temptation occurs when the opportunity appears through no fault of your own. Jesus was tempted. You and I will be tempted. Sin happens when we yield to the temptation and deliberately choose to do something we shouldn’t.
The opportunity David encounters is available to you and me every day. Roadside billboards, social media algorithms, entertainment, and even the presence of those around us can be trivial chances for our minds to wander into dangerous, lustful territory. Ubiquitous online invitations urge us to take things a step further and engage in pornographic materials. Once our eyes linger, we are a heartbeat away from crossing the line from innocence to guilt.
If only David had tried something I learned years ago—the practice of “bouncing your eyes.” The idea is that, in the inevitable moment we see something that triggers the warning lights on our radar of God’s call to pure thinking, we look away (bounce our eyes) while repeating a protective phrase. The mantra I find most effective is from Job 31:1, “I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a woman.”
So here’s the hope: during the time between stimuli hitting my cornea and registering on my retina, my defenses activate, eyes bounce, and the thought, “I have made a covenant with my eyes,” flashes through my brain. Commitment restated. Disaster averted. Make no mistake, this takes practice.
Whatever previous efforts David made to protect the purity of his heart, he fails at this moment. He looks long enough to entertain inappropriate possibilities, inquires about her identity, and finally, sends for her to meet him. In a short afternoon, he indulges his eyes and falls into selfish actions that will change his life, his family, and his kingdom forever.
1. Which sense do you value most? Why?
2. What are your thoughts on the idea of “bouncing your eyes”? Which scripture mantra
would be most helpful for you to memorize for moments of temptation?
3. What temptation have you recently needed to be delivered from? What do you need
to ask God for forgiveness today?
When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the
period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and
she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was
displeased with what David had done.
Psalm 51:1-3
Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Last week, we started studying 2 Samuel 11-12, focusing on David’s rapid decline into the life of a mass murderer. Today, we go back to the beginning of the story to examine David the adulterer and his sexual sins.
Today’s passage concludes both themes as Uriah is dead, and Bathsheba goes to the palace to join the king’s harem. Soon, everything will become public when Nathan confronts David. But, before we reach the showdown between the prophet and the king, let’s take a moment to revisit how it all began.
The second verse of chapter 11 states, “Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.” There is nothing inherently sinister about viewing the city from above, and it’s reasonable to understand that when his eyes caught sight of a beautiful woman, naked in her rooftop bath, during what she likely believed was a private moment, he would notice. It’s important to recognize that there is a significant difference between temptation and sin. Temptation occurs when the opportunity appears through no fault of your own. Jesus was tempted. You and I will be tempted. Sin happens when we yield to the temptation and deliberately choose to do something we shouldn’t.
The opportunity David encounters is available to you and me every day. Roadside billboards, social media algorithms, entertainment, and even the presence of those around us can be trivial chances for our minds to wander into dangerous, lustful territory. Ubiquitous online invitations urge us to take things a step further and engage in pornographic materials. Once our eyes linger, we are a heartbeat away from crossing the line from innocence to guilt.
If only David had tried something I learned years ago—the practice of “bouncing your eyes.” The idea is that, in the inevitable moment we see something that triggers the warning lights on our radar of God’s call to pure thinking, we look away (bounce our eyes) while repeating a protective phrase. The mantra I find most effective is from Job 31:1, “I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a woman.”
So here’s the hope: during the time between stimuli hitting my cornea and registering on my retina, my defenses activate, eyes bounce, and the thought, “I have made a covenant with my eyes,” flashes through my brain. Commitment restated. Disaster averted. Make no mistake, this takes practice.
Whatever previous efforts David made to protect the purity of his heart, he fails at this moment. He looks long enough to entertain inappropriate possibilities, inquires about her identity, and finally, sends for her to meet him. In a short afternoon, he indulges his eyes and falls into selfish actions that will change his life, his family, and his kingdom forever.
1. Which sense do you value most? Why?
2. What are your thoughts on the idea of “bouncing your eyes”? Which scripture mantra
would be most helpful for you to memorize for moments of temptation?
3. What temptation have you recently needed to be delivered from? What do you need
to ask God for forgiveness today?
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