JUN 7 

2 Samuel 11-12
Memorise Luke 8:13
“…be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.”

The story of how King David sinned against the Lord is well known. It is an example of how one person failed miserably at resisting temptation and the resulting consequences he had to suffer. As his army went forth to battle with the Ammonites, David decided to take a break from battle and stayed behind in his palace. In the evening, he lazily rose from bed, and from the palace roof top he caught sight of Bathsheba bathing. David succumbed to temptation, committed adultery, resulting ultimately in Bathsheba becoming pregnant with David’s child. David could have owned up to his sin at this point. However, he succumbed to further temptation and tried to hide the truth. To do so, David committed murder by deliberately sending Uriah to the battle front where he was killed. David then took Bathsheba for his wife. At each turn of these events, David was tempted and he gave in to each and every temptation. He allowed himself to succumb to his lust for Bathsheba, he tried to hide the truth which resulted in lying and even murder. David was an example of one who did not resist temptation and succumbed to every sin. 2 Samuel 11:27 tells us that David’s deeds greatly displeased the LORD. Although David eventually repented, he had to subsequently suffer the consequences of his sinful actions. The Lord took the child and in later years, David’s family was marked by discord, rebellion and even death. Further down the road, Solomon, David’s son, ended his reign in shame and the kingdom of Israel fell into sin and was eventually divided. 

What David did was dreadful. But before we conclude that we ourselves could not possibly be capable of such sin, remember that David was described as ‘a man after God’s own heart’, and yet he fell in such a manner. We too are capable of similar sin if we are not careful. We are no better than David, we are just as vulnerable if not more so. Do not imagine that there are no consequences of sin that result from temptation. This record of David is for us to learn that if we too succumb to temptation, we will suffer the consequences. We must be vigilant and sober with ourselves and resist sin at all cost. 

Thought: Can we say we are better than David?
Prayer: Lord, please forgive me, a sinner.