2 Samuel 11: David and Bathsheba (Part 1)

"But David remained in Jerusalem. . . .And David sent and inquired about the woman. . . .But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." 2 Samuel 11:1, 3, 27

We come this morning to one of the saddest chapters in all of scripture: 2 Samuel 11. In this chapter, we find the great failure of a great man. However, if we read this chapter right, instead of laughing at David for his failure, we can look at his failure and apply it to our lives that we might not make the same mistakes.

Most of you are probably familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba, but let me quickly summarize it for you. In the springtime, when David was supposed to be at war, he decided to stay home rather than going out to fight. One day, he found himself walking on his rooftop and saw Bathsheba bathing on her roof. Bathsheba was a beautiful woman, and David desired to have her. Thus, he sent one of his servants to get the woman from her house, and David slept with her, and she became pregnant. The story continues from there with David's attempted cover-up of his adultury by attempting to get Bathsheba's husband to sleep with her, and ultimately David's murder of Bathsheba's husband.

It's a sad story, is it not? Yet from it we can glean so many great applications. This morning, I would simply like to point out one application that is often missed in this story, that is, how laziness is the beginning of our sin.

The first verse of this chapter plainly points out for us that David should have been out at war when this all happened. Thus, David chose to be lazy rather than accepting responsibility for what he should have been doing at that time as king. This, in essence, was the beginning of his derailment. Because David was lazy, he gave the devil a foothold. He soon found himself walking aimlessly on his roof and lusting after that which was not his to have. And since he had nothing else to do in his laziness, he had the time to inquire of Bathsheba and sleep with her.

Our application for today is rather simple: don't be lazy. If you keep yoursef busy, you won't have time to fall into sin. "The devil finds work for idle hands to do" (Keith Brooks). Furthermore, if you reject laziness, you will fight for satisfaction in the Lord rather than simple, sinful pleasures. Are you struggling in your sin? Do you find yourself constantly falling back into the same sinful tendencies? Perhaps your solution is to get busy with something so that you don't have time to dive deep into your sin.*

So, are you lazy or busy? Now I want to be careful here, because what I don't want anyone to do is to fill their lives with busy tasks for no reason. Those who fill their lives with "busy work" that distracts themselves from godliness are no more sanctified that the heathen. However, there is certainly an aspect of how we will not fall into sin if we don't have time for it. So, get busy. When you feel tempted, don't inquire about Bathsheba. Rather, build a bookshelf. Bake a cake. Cook dinner for your mom or your wife. Oh, here's a good one, read scripture. And in summary, do anything but allow your mind to linger upon your sinful desires. Amen.

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." Romans 12:11

*J.D. Greear, who I refer to often, said in his sermon on this very chapter that "it's hard to take your pants off when you're playing rugby."