By Choice – We Choose to Do What’s Right or What’s Wrong

Have you ever, by choice, chosen to be somewhere you should not have been?

King David found himself in that exact position.

Hopefully, your choice turned out better than David’s.

Choice #1

When he should have been out on the battlefield with his men – he chose to stay home.

Choice #2

His first choice, to stay at home, made room for him to make this next choice.

“On a beautiful day like today – I must go out on my balcony and have a look around to see what I can see.”

What did he see?

He realized that he was looking at a young women having a bath on her roof – which would have been shielded by a curtain wall preventing others from seeing her – except for the king whose palace balcony was high above all their homes.

Will He Chose to Do the Right Thing?

Once he realized what he was seeing surely he turned around and headed right back into his palace.

By Choice — He did not do the right thing in this instance – she was so beautiful that he decided he must have her for himself.

Choice #3

While David was in this staring questioning phase – his servant tried to bring him back to his senses by saying isn’t this Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. Listen boss – “SHE’S MARRIED.”

He chose to ignore what he was hearing and asked for her to be brought to the palace.

Back in that day the penalty was death if you did not come before the king if your attendance was requested.

Choice #4

So she came – and David took his lust for her to the next level.

Did His Choice Have Consequences?

However, his dalliance into sin was about to come back and bite him in the face.

What Does King David do now?

Choices 5, 6 and 7

By this time David is so caught up in his sin that he decides to try the old cover up trick.

Verses 6-25 – tell us how David sent for Bathsheba’s husband Uriah and offered him a wonderful treat – the opportunity to go home and be with his wife. Uriah wouldn’t because he did not feel that he deserved a reward that none of the other soldiers were getting.

David was furious and tried to manipulate Uriah into going home to be with his wife by getting him drunk. Uriah, still did not go home. (I believe that God kept Uriah from going home – this was about to become a big lesson for King David.)

What king David thought would be the cleanest way to cover up what he had done has failed. Uriah did not cooperate with his thinking.

NOW WHAT? – He realizes that the only way he can cover this up and have Bathsheba and the child for himself is to send Uriah back to the battlefield with papers to General Joab requesting that he put Uriah into a position where his death is the only possible outcome for him. Joab obeys and Uriah dies.

Where are we so far?

BY CHOICE:

King David was in the wrong place.
He went onto his balcony.
David chose to continue to gaze upon the young woman.
The King chose to ignore the servants hint that the young woman was married.
King David had her brought to the palace.
David slept with her.
The King decided to try to cover up the matter.
He had Uriah killed when his planned cover up didn’t pan out.
David marries Bathsheba.

Next Week We Will Continue This Story

Next week we will see, how God deals with David.

This chapter does not have a happy ending.

Hope is just around the corner – although God is displeased with David and has every right to be – there is more to this story – next week we will continue the journey — to see just how much God does love us and the fact that He never does leave us or forsake us – by choice.

Have you ever found yourself in trouble and realized that had you been where you should have been you might not have gotten into this mess?