2 Samuel 11:2

New International Version (NIV)

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

For meditation

1. What was David thinking when he sent his army to war and decided to remain in Jerusalem? Was it not springtime, the season when kings led their armies to war (2 Sam. 11:1)?
2. How much rest did David need and how long did he expect it to last before boredom set in? And when idleness takes over the moment, how could the body resist the propositions of the mind?
3. Can you understand why David’s legs couldn’t refuse taking him to the roof top of his palace one fateful evening (2)? Do you see why his eyes couldn’t help but settle on a very beautiful woman, who was bathing? Having caught the bait, how could David resist Bathsheba’s attraction? You get the point, don’t you?
4. “Gossip always finds a friend in an idle mouth”, as a proverb of the Akans of Ghana goes. Isn’t that profound? So, do you see how we court trouble when we choose to idle a bit while work is begging for our attention?
5. Do you see how King David brought the house down on himself with one careless decision to shirk the responsibilities he shouldn’t have delegated (4)? From that moment, what was there to hold back the floodwaters when the dam was broken?

I pray we’ll take heed when Peter counsels us to, “Be self-controlled and alert. [For our] enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Pt. 5:8-9)”

So: May you find strength to resist any inclination towards the flesh; and may we be sensitive to the Spirit at all times and spare ourselves the pain of suffering through the consequences of our irresponsible choices (Gal. 5:16).

Shalom