1 Timothy 4:16

New International Version

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

For Meditation

A prophet went to a king with the story of a rich man who had many sheep and cattle. In the same town was a poor man who had only one ewe lamb he loved so much and raised it with his children.

One day, the rich man had a visitor. Instead of killing one of his sheep to serve his host, he took the only ewe that belonged to the poor man and used it to prepare a meal for his guest. How could the rich man do that to the poor man?

Fuming over what he heard, the king ordered the man to pay for the lamb four times because he did such a thing and did not have pity on the poor man.

The prophet looked the ranting king straight in his eyes and said, “You are the man!”

Of course, you know the story and the king I am talking about—David!

David’s pronouncement—or should I say—judgment in the parable did not match his actions. King David had slackened when he should have been mindful of the righteousness of God he lived to exemplify to his citizens. He was the king, and the people looked to him for moral leadership.

Instead of going to war in the spring, David stayed home for whatever reason (2 Samuel 11:1). Bored one day, he went up to the rooftop of his palace to take in the evening skyline of Jerusalem.

As David looked around, his eyes fell on a woman bathing in her house. Her name was Bathsheba—and she was beautiful!

David fastened his eyes on her, and looked, and looked, and looked! The snake had bitten David, and he could not rest until he had committed adultery with her.

The poisonous serpent went to another level—mockery.

See what you have done. Now, what are you going to do?

That same sly serpent shifted to a sympathetic gear that moved David to the next level on its plan to destroy him—coverup and murder.

Do not worry, David. You are the king, remember. You have the authority to do whatever your heart delights. Having the wife of another person is not a big deal. You make sure you do not do it again.

Does that sound familiar?

That lasted until the report came from Bathsheba to David.

“I am pregnant” (5).

The horror mounted in the heart of David. Whispers, accusations, and the sneering looks of the people around Jerusalem. The talk in the gossip lanes all over the country! David was choking on these in his bedroom. He needed some fresh air—up on the roof.

But No! The scene from the rooftop haunted him. So, he called for some wine and his harp. How could he sleep with the entire nation looking at his nakedness?

That is what the snake wants with every one of its victims. It is the best way to keep its prisoners locked up in its grip. It has more horrific scenes to whip up. So brace yourself for more, David.

He was in hot waters, but there was a way out. David was the king with absolute power to do whatever he wanted. Just send for Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, from the battlefront, and the king would be fine. The pregnancy was still fresh. Uriah could take responsibility for it. A warm welcome with some good refreshment would do the trick. Make him very merry and send him home to his beautiful wife, and the rest would be history. The man will not shrink from having a good night with his darling.

So, the order went out, and Joab, always a complying general with an excellent understanding of his master, sent Uriah to David’s palace and into a well-conceived snare.

“Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So, Uriah left the palace, and the king sent a gift after him (2 Samuel 11:8).

Never assume on people. Though morality has dropped to the lowest level in society, some honest people still have it. They maintain their integrity because they fear God. They have absolute respect for their calling and the welfare of other people. Though people may entice them with pleasure and monetary gains, they will not sell themselves to carnality.

Uriah did not go home. He chose the discomfort of sleeping at the entrance to the palace with all the king’s servants.

“Haven’t you come from a distance? Why didn’t you go home?” David asked Uriah the following day.

“The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men have camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

What a man!

You could hear the snake slither his way to David’s ear.

“Don’t mind him. You left the joy out of the deal yesterday. The food and, especially, the wine, David. The wine! You know it’s power. It always breaks the resolve to be upright with God. Apply it, and you will see where Uriah will find himself the next day.”

So, the next day, there was a sumptuous dinner and a late-night drinking spree with much music at the king’s palace. David got Uriah really drank, and you know why. However, there are some determined minds wine cannot break. Uriah had called up the honor of God when he mentioned the ark and his colleagues on the battleground, and that, my friend, is all God seeks from us. Remember Joseph’s famous rebuke to Potiphar’s wife? (Genesis 39:8-9).

That is the moment the enemy waits for every time with all of us—the times when we are most vulnerable—when we have tried everything, and they did not work. We are weary of the events of the day, and we want closure by any means.

“Go for the kill, king. Who does that man think he is? How could he think he is nobler than the man after God’s heart? Just get rid of him and take his widow for your wife. The child will then become legitimate for you,” the snake commanded.

So, it was. The king’s letter to General Joab, carried by unsuspecting Uriah, sent him to the wrong side of the battle, and he died alone, as Joab withdrew everybody from him (2 Samuel 11:14-16).

That, my friend, is the story of the person who does not watch over their life to make sure it always matches the moral high ground they profess. My counsel?

Let us study the examples of men like Joseph and Daniel and hold fast to the counsel of Paul in Philippians 2:12 and that of Solomon in Proverbs 4:23-27.

May the Holy Spirit help us all, amen.