I Like David…

David is an amazing character in the Bible. I could read his story over and over again. David never took his eyes off of God, or I should say his heart never left God. He did take his eyes off of God long enough to get into real trouble…he saw Bathsheba bathing. Once he saw her beauty he had to have her and slept with her…while her husband was off fighting for the king. Now if things couldn’t get worse Bathsheba becomes pregnant…and David orders Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband to come home and to be with his wife. It just continues to get worse…You see David didn’t account for Uriah to be a good man. Uriah refused to go home not once but twice. David even loaded him up with a few drinks to encourage him and still Uriah refused to go home. Because of Uriah’s actions, David decides to cover his sin…does the unthinkable.

David the man who God said, “is the apple of my eye”…writes a letter to Joab the military commander to put Uriah in the thickest part of the battle and withdraw from around him…so he will be struck down.
The worst part is David had Uriah carry his own death note. Everything works, the note is delivered and Uriah dies. David brings Bathsheba into his house as his wife and none is the wiser. David thought he was in the clear, he had covered his tracks…but God saw everything.

Along come Nathan the prophet, who tells David a story…about an old man who had a lamb who he loved like a child. A rich man with many lambs, takes the old mans lamb for a feast. David gets very excited and says, “Who is this man, he deserves to die!” Nathan says, “You are that man.” Nathan proceeds to tell David the result of sin…in which David acknowledges his sin. From then on David, never looks back…He accepts the punishment and puts his trust in the Lord. Event after event, he loses his sons, his kingdom…and yet David never blames God, but continues to praise him in psalms.

I take from David this line from the end of 2 Samuel 22:20, “he rescued me because he delighted in me.” I take comfort in knowing God delighted in David, despite his terrible sin. It gives me hope in knowing God delights in those who seek him with their hearts.

-ps