Dangerously Disengaged

“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”” (2 Samuel 11:1-5 ESV)

King David was a mighty warrior, lover of God, worshipper, king, and a man. God referred to him as a “man after My heart.”

Unfortunately, some of the best men and women of God let their heart become divided between God’s will and their passion. It happened to David.

David pulled away from going to battle, sending Joab in his place. Nothing against Joab, but it was the king’s place to lead into battle. But for some reason, David disengaged.

Maybe he was tired. Maybe he had a doctor appointment. Perhaps he planned on seeking the Lord for a season. There could have been a number of reasons that made him choose to stay away from his responsibility that day, but, regardless of the reason, there he was. By himself. Disengaged from his calling, and open for temptation. That’s when Bathsheba caught David’s eye.

It would come as no surprise to discover David had noticed Bathsheba before. He’d probably seen her in the neighborhood, at church, maybe at the horse stable. Maybe her husband, Uriah, one of David’s best warriors, had introduced the two at some point. So when David pulled away from his duty, he became vulnerable to the tempter.

It’s not like this was the first time he had experienced temptation. In 1 Samuel 25, David was running throughout the wilderness, he and 600 men, trying to keep away from King Saul. Tired and hungry, they met a rich man named Nabal (which means worthless). When asked if he could donate some food for the troops, Nabal responded roughly, refusing to give assistance.

David was furious! However, as he began preparing for the slaughter of Nabal’s household, word had gotten to Nabal’s wife, Abigail, regarding the incident between David and her husband.

Abigail, upon hearing of the impending slaughter, went to David to intercede not only for her husband, but for David, as well. She said to David, “Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord taking vengeance himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from avenging myself with my own hand! For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” (1 Samuel 25:28-34 ESV)

David was reminded of his God, his calling, and his conscience. This helped David stay engaged in God’s business, and away from a spirit of vengeance.

How about you? Have you disengaged from your calling, your marriage, your family? Has your passion for God diminished? Has something or someone else caught your eye, pulling you away from your responsibilities? Have you left yourself unguarded to the tempter? You say you just need to rest, but, deep down, is there a desire for something exciting, out of the ordinary?

Stay disengaged from God’s will, His battles, and you just may find yourself in the battle of your life; for your life!

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?