Lonely Places

I have been going over and over a certain passage of scripture and really thinking on it and trying to enter in that day, time, and the repercussions of ensnaring sin. So, I go into this with prayer that the Lord Jesus would guide my mind, heart, and fingers.

I have extensively study the life of David over the last decade. If you ever have a person that you relate most to in scripture, he is the one I relate with. He came from nothing, was considered little more than a flea by the worlds standards. He was on the run from his enemies for years and escaped being murdered many times. Then, this man becomes the king over Judah. This is a man who had to completely rely on the Lord as he was on the run from Saul, his best friends dad. His family is mentioned later but they are not on the run with him. He had no comfort but to take comfort in the Lord. There are so many ways I could take this because I don't want to turn it into a novel. If you have never sinned grievously, you may want to stop reading now.

We know of the heroic David (where the Lord fought his battles), we see his heart through the psalms as he is constantly running to God pouring out his heart to Him. He was a shepherd, warrior, worshiper of the Most High God, friend, and at times we find him on the run seeming as if he were a criminal when he wasn't. We see him multiply wives and gain a kingdom. We are also told that he shepherded his people with integrity of heart. We see him with nothing and then everything at his disposal. So how like him to we handle those two extremes with contentment?

Then, the downward slope begins. Bathsheba. I hear so many people just focus on the sin but I want to get into the feeling of it. I want to learn from this but also look at how fallen we are and what need we have for a Savior. Let's face it left to our self we will eventually jump head first into a pit of sin "the sin that so easily entangles us"(Hebrews 12:1).

Here you have David at home, in the spring, during the time when kings were off at war ( 2 Samuel 11:1). He was idle yes. He sent Joab off to do his bidding while he remained in Jerusalem. So it is evening time and David gets up from his bed and goes for a little walk on the roof of the palace. Push pause real quick. It is "evening time" and it looks like David had been sleeping. Do you think he was depressed and worn out from all that he had been through to get to where he is now? These are just my thoughts. He knew the law of the Lord and I just wonder if he decided he just needed to chill for a while instead of going to war AGAIN. After all, he was king. This poses a problem because clearly he should have been off to war shepherding and guiding his people, yet it seems as if he is pulled away and has isolated himself.

We also know that David was a handsome man. How many women do you think would be attracted to someone like him? Someone they had heard about with the victories that were won and the victory over Goliath and the Philistines. He was the guy with the looks, and a whole lot of power that was intrusted to him. I imagine him to be level headed as well seeing as he came from the sheepfold. I am a very demonstrative passionate person and I know from reading God's word that David was most certainly passionate about God. There is something about having nothing but God that causes you to be so blessed as you cling to Him because you see that He really is all that you need or all that can fill you. Women are attracted to power, wealth, looks and etc. As a christian woman those things can't be the priority in seeking God's will for a husband or wife. Money can be taken away, looks fade, and you can also fall to low depths.

We are told in detail of David and Jonathan's friendship. Jonathan amazes me when he makes a covenant with David knowing that he would be king next even though Jonathan was heir to the throne (technically). How selfless. They were the type friends that stick closer than a brother. And his friend was gone. I wonder how many times he had imagined the day that would draw near when he would finally be settled in as king. Did he feel inadequate, was he afraid of the task ahead. Being a king has to come with a lot of pressure. I can just imagine at this state he feels lonely, maybe there is a void in his heart, and he wasn't doing what God had called him for. Had his heart become proud?

As he is on the roof he saw a woman bathing. OK lets break it down. Dude is on the roof and a naked chick is within eye sight. Also, Bathsheba is VERY beautiful. I wonder how many heads she turned and what kind of attention she was used to getting from the opposite sex. Did she feel and desire the power of having attention from men? Did she need it to define her or make her feel of worth? David sends someone to find out about her. The man he sent said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Don't you know that a lot of the men at the palace already knew of her and the fact that she was married (because of her beauty).

-David sees her. He lusts after her. He has all of this power yet he wants to feel powerful by being with this trophy wife. He was being deceived. David went by how he felt, instead of faith and obedience, he let feelings dictate the course.
-David seemed above reproach. This is one reason why we need to be around other people who are walking with the Lord. No one was calling him out on this because they were more afraid of losing their head then helping snatch someone from the flames. That is not a good place to be AT ALL.

He clearly knows that she is married. What was it in him that made him do this? We know that in Deuteronomy 17:17 the Lord warns not to multiply wives "¹⁷ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold"
He had already multiplied wives. They didn't fill the void. He had wealth, it didn't satisfy his hunger. He was standing mighty tall with a fall awaiting him.

David sends messengers to go get her. Again, they don't even question him. People in a position of authority and leadership need people to counsel them and call them to the carpet if need be.

Now I want to talk about Bathsheba for a minute. When David tries to cover up his adultery with Bath (nickname for short) we see how devoted her husband Uriah to his job. He was gone a lot I am sure, especially when you are traveling on foot or by horses and etc. Did Bathsheba feel neglected? She had no children at that point. What did she do all day. Did the one person she wanted to love her and be attracted to her even know she existed? The reason I say this is because she never says no! I won't go with you...I am married. I am sure she got caught up in the prestige, if you will, of being summoned by the king. Did she purposely position herself to take a bath when she knew David would see her. Maybe she was trying to seduce him in some way so she could feel alive again with the emotional death she had experienced from her husband who didn't know if she were dead or alive...but if only she could get the attention of one of the most powerful people...then she would feel special. Did she think she could go and then flee the temptation. Maybe so. Then, she found herself not being able to turn back. Duped by their own lusts and longings, their few minutes of passion would turn into some very long term suffering. One of the reasons the bible says to flee from idolatry, sexual immorality, and greed is because we can't walk around those areas without sinking in quicksand. Running from them "burning sinful bridges" (as Melissa quoted last week on the LPM blog) is the only way to withstand those things.

She felt used, deceived, and dirty. They had their one night stand and then she was sent away after David was done with her. That is what you call desperation. When your feelings take over to the point that you operate purely on your feelings. When I hear the famous words "follow your heart" I want to scream NO!!!! Don't follow your heart!!! STOP! Why because it is our seat of emotions in the Greek. It is deceitful until we have allowed God complete access and covering. When we are seeking Him we can have His heart and be able to trust certain things. We just can't be trusted in our natural man.

This was more than they bargained for.

Bathsheba conceives, and sends word to David that she is pregnant.

(To be continued I have to go to bed...and remember these are just my thoughts)