Articles
Lust - The King's Greatest Battle
Lust. It has destroyed many men and it ate like a cancer in the life of King David, long after the deed was done. The great warrior had won many battles but he lost this one. It was the big one, the one that hit his weak spot, the one where he laid his armor aside, suffered a shot and never completely recovered.
I'm not sure that he saw it coming. One evening, unable to sleep any longer, he arose from bed and walked upon his rooftop. From the roof, he saw Bathsheba bathing and she was very beautiful. He continued his gaze until he lusted for her and desired her. He sent for her. She came. They slept together. In a short while, she sent the message, "I am with child." One can only imagine the fear that swept through David's heart. Then he switched into a grand cover-up scheme. He calls her husband Uriah home from battle and encourages him to go home. If this had worked, he could always claim the baby was Uriah's. It didn't work. Uriah was too loyal to his fellow soldiers to enjoy such pleasure. David then tries to get him drunk to loosen his resolve. Still Uriah refuses. A drunk Uriah is making better decisions than the leader of the nation. Finally he sends Uriah back to the battlefield with a message to the commander. The poor fellow doesn't know it but he is caring his own death note. It says, "Put Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die." The order is followed and Uriah is killed. Now, the kind-hearted king can do the loving thing and marry the man's widow (2nd Samuel 11).
How could David have ever done this? This is the one who was called "the man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22). Doesn't much seem like it, does it? There's one thing I do know. Lust was not just David's greatest battle, it is every man's battle. Isn't Jesus trying to tell us that men have to take extra precautions with their eyes? He said, "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Mt. 5:28). David's problem was not that a pretty woman came within eyesight. The problem was he fixed his eyes on her. Men must learn to bounce the eyes away from all sexual attractants (TV, billboards, magazines and scantily clad people). A look that lingered is where this all began.
Beware of over-confidence here. God spends a lot of time, especially in Proverbs, warning the man about sexual sin. And it is the strong man he singles out. "All who were slain by her were strong men" (Proverbs 7:26). Don't think gentlemen that this could never happen to you. "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1st Cor. 10:12). "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mt. 26:41).
I'm not sure of all the factors that made David vulnerable. I think men are vulnerable at any age. I do wish though to caution men at mid-life. Most believe David was at mid-life when this adulterous relationship came about. Beware of mid-life when the career has reached its peak, your body begins to fail a bit and you have allowed your marriage to lose it luster. This is one of Satan's favorite times to drop the bait. He loves working on us little by little. Be sure not to miss reading James 1:14-16. David's picture could well be pasted next to those verses. He walked that road and seemingly missed all the signposts that were warning him. Desire - desire conceived - sin - death.
There is no such thing as a simple sin. In this one episode in David's life, he busted 6 of the ten commandments. Number 10 - he coveted his neighbor's wife. Number 7 - he committed adultery. Number 8 - he stole what did not belong to him. Number 6 - he committed murder. Number 9 - He prepared to bear false witness against his neighbor. Number 5 - he brought dishonor to his parents.
Fortunately, we see David in 2nd Samuel 12 repenting & receiving God's forgiveness. We have every hope of seeing him in heaven. However, we must not miss this lesson. Forgiven people often have to continue to suffer great consequences from their sin. We do indeed reap what we sow. Before David died he would see the child of this union die, watch his family fall apart, feel crippled rebuking a child of his for sexual sin, and witness nations blaspheming God because of what he had done. A sinful world will get all the mileage it can out of a righteous man's fall! No wonder David would later say, "My sin is ever before me" (Psa. 51:3).
I've always thought the words of 1st Kings 15:5 were so wonderful yet terribly stained. "David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite" (emphasis mine). I am certain he wishes with all his heart that one chapter was not in the book of his life.
Even one sin can ruin an otherwise good life. If you don't believe it, just ask David.
