Chapter 271 of 1163

2 SAMUEL 11

How we wish that “the matter of Uriah the Hittite” (1 Kings 15:5) were not in the Bible, but it is here for our warning and learning. Believers can thank God that our sins are not written down for everyone to read!

Disobedience. You start on the path to sin when you neglect duty. David was in more danger in Jerusalem than with his army on the battlefield. He laid aside his armor (Eph. 6:10ff.), allowed his eyes to wander, and lust took over (James 1:14–15).

Deception. Like our first parents, we try to cover our sins, but God will find us out (Gen. 3:7; Prov. 28:13). David the adulterer became a liar and a schemer, and then a murderer. Uriah was one of David’s mighty men (2 Sam. 23:39). While David was sinning, Uriah and his fellow soldiers were risking their lives for him on the battlefield.

Displeasure. From the human point of view, the scheme worked, but God was not pleased. See what David wrote in Psalms 5:4 and 11:5, and note Proverbs 6:16–19 and 1 Thessalonians 4:1–8.

Before you yield to temptation . . . look back and recall God’s goodness to you; look ahead and remember “the wages of sin”; look around and think of all the people who may be affected by what you do; look up and ask God for the strength to say no (1 Cor. 10:13).

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