You know, I was reading over in 2 Samuel last week and I noticed something. I was reading about David and Bathsheba, but I saw it with different eyes this time. If I am not mistaking in times past, all I did was read about David’s sin. But I didn’t read about David’s story.
David went through so much before he became king. God handpicked David to be Saul’s replacement. God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint David as king, but David didn’t immediately step into his position as king. For years, he remained a shepherd boy with the anointing of a king. When Saul realized God anointed David as his replacement, he tried to kill David on quite a few occasions.
Imagine that. Imagine being David knowing that you are anointed to be king; yet, you have to play the role of a shepherd boy until your appointed time. Imagine being on the run from the king because he wants you dead. Fleeing from city to city away from the king when you know that you are destined to be the king.
David was a mere shepherd boy, the least among his household. No one would have guessed that God would've picked him. But David found favor in the eyes of God because he was a man after God’s heart. Reading about how David went from hearing about the promises of God to actually receiving them was beautiful. It was a long time coming, but he finally received it.
Even after he became king of Judah, he still wasn’t the king over Israel. It would be another seven years before he become king over both Judah and Israel. But eventually David received everything God promised him. So, reading David’s story put a different perspective on how I viewed David’s sin. And here’s why.
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
(2 Samuel 11:2 NIV)
David was walking on the roof of his palace when he saw Bathsheba. That struck me because David was literally walking on God’s promises when he decided to sin against God. It saddened me because as I was reading it, I was thinking, “No, David! No, you finally made it. You finally have everything God promised you. Look how long it took you to receive all of your blessings. Look down! You’re literally walking on God’s promises. Why would you mess that up?”
But as the story goes, he fell into sin. David fell into a couple of sins. He laid with Bathsheba who was a married woman, got her pregnant, and then set up her husband, Uriah, to be killed. Once Uriah was dead, he took Bathsheba to be his wife. And all I could think about was how could David do that.
I mean, didn’t he have enough wives already? He was king, didn’t he want for nothing? How could he forget everything he went through and just sin like that? Reading David’s story before David’s sin made the sin worst to me. It was a travesty. Here’s what God had to say about it through the prophet Nathan.
…This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
(2 Samuel 12: 7-9 NIV)
Goodness! This part got to me too. God said I gave you everything, but if it wasn’t enough, I would have given you more. That’s how you know God greatly favored David. There wasn’t anything God wouldn’t have done for him. But David sinned. The anointed one fell.
And that’s when I realized that I need to tread lightly.
It’s easy for me to point the finger at David and accuse him of his sin. It’s easy for me to think that he was foolish for walking on God’s promises with lust in his heart. And although he was absolutely wrong and suffered dire consequences for his sin, he was God’s anointed.
So, what does that mean for you and me? It means that even the called, even the anointed, even God’s chosen people can fall deeply into sin if we aren’t careful. We need to be watchful. We need to pray daily that our hearts and minds are aligned with God and His will. Because look at how easily David sinned. We aren’t exempt. That can be me, and that can be you if we aren’t vigilant.
It also means that we should stop thinking that we will be 100% satisfied if we were walking in the overflow of God’s blessings. David had everything, but his eyes wandered off and his heart desired something that it shouldn’t have. His son, Solomon, had everything, but he fell into the temptation of marrying women who served other gods—something that God forbade. Adam and Eve had everything, but they ate of the one tree that God specified was off limits.
I am attempting to tell you that even if God gave you every single thing that your heart desires, you could still covet more. Even if God granted you everything you could ever wish for plus more, you could still sin against Him. You could literally be walking on God’s promises with your eyes on something that is forbidden.
The common denominator here is greed. Mankind has a history of being greedy. We have the tendency to be dissatisfied no matter how blessed we are. So today, I simply challenge you to be careful. Be careful of greed. Whether you have everything you desire or not, be careful. Whether you are walking on the roof of a palace or walking on the floorboards of a shack, be careful.
Wealth, health, and prosperity does not guarantee contentment. Success, overflow, and abundance does not mean that your eyes won't wander to forbidden things. Guard your heart against temptations. Do as Jesus said.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
(Matthew 26:41 NIV)
God always provides an escape route for us to flee from our greed and temptation, but it’s up to us to use the exit. Remain watchful of your heart’s desires and do your best to flee from greed. If what you have is too little in your eyes, pray about it. Who knows? Maybe God will give it to you just as He said he would have given David more if he would have only asked.
And with that, I will bid you all a farewell. Have an amazing day and week! Be blessed.
Quin Arrington's debut book "And Then You Shall Have Good Success: Attaining Good Success God's Way" is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook format. Link to book listed below.