The "Goliath" David Did Not Defeat

"In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army... But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing.  The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her... Then David sent messengers to get her.  She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.)  The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."  II Samuel 11:1-5

This is an old story that has been told a countless number of times, and I am retelling it too.  This story is told so often because it involves a harrowing scandal in the life of a prominent man of God.  This story is about a situation that began with a seemingly benign decision on David's part.  Instead of going off to war with his very capable army David decided to remain at home in his palace.

It was a seemingly harmless decision at the time that it was made, but the results would be anything but benign and harmless.  David started on a path to a destructive action that began with a "neglect of duty."  He should have gone off with his army.  It was a 'should a' situation that would have a decisive impact upon David's life from here on out.  He has come to a turning point in his life and does not yet know it.

One evening while walking around on the roof of his house he saw an amazing woman taking a bath.  David was taken aback by her beauty.  Indeed, while David's army was out defeating the enemy, the king was being defeated by the beauty of Bathsheba.  Temptation is the hardest when it is within the parameters of one's particular weakness. Sexual temptation is very difficult to handle, and yielding to temptation has caused disaster to many lives.  Businesses have been ruined, counseling practices have been sued,  homes have been shaken to the foundation, careers have been cut off because of sexual impropriety.  

David found Bathsheba wonderfully irresistible, but there was an intrinsic problem to this particular situation because Bathsheba was married. Not only was she married, she was married to one of David's bravest and most loyal soldiers.  David must now use his power as head of state to cover over his sin.  We must note that the decision to sin is sin-ful because we have planned a behavioral action that will harm God, others, and oneself.

David has stepped outside of God's will and into his own will.  He has initiated an action that will have him do things that otherwise he would never do.  He will use cunning and subterfuge to cover his actions.  He will instigate a plan to hide his sin that God will not allow him to hide.  David will find himself using his power as king to manipulate a desired outcome for an action that cannot have a different outcome.

All actions whether positive or negative will have a predetermined end.  History is filled with stories of those who have tried to hide behind lies.  As Dr. Martin Luther King said:"  Truth crushed to earth will rise again." Such prophetic words may not be believed by those who hide behind the the prestige of power and riches but, alas all men are mortal.

David's illusion of hidden success about his sin will be shattered by the news of Bathsheba's pregnancy. Sinful actions create realities that greet us with an insistent and persistent hammering at the door of our earnest denial.

David could run from his sin, but he could not hide.  He would have to face his sinful actions no matter how long delayed.  David's best thinking in this situation was deeply flawed because his premise was flawed.  He had been wounded by his behavior and so had others.  Manipulation was futile and exhausting because he was fighting the intrinsic personal teleology of the universe.  He was fighting with God.

We want our interpretation of our behavior to either be seen for all to see or hidden. David wanted to hide from his sin.  The giant Goliath had morphed in David's life.  This form of the 'giant' was not to be easily conquered.  This time David had fallen by an act of the will.  David's attempt to conceal his sin is very sinister and clever.  His attempt to cover his sin will involve self-deception, conspiracy with Bathsheba to deceive Uriah, Uriah's murder, the death of the child conceived through the affair, the impact of this situation with his faith, and countless others involved in this heinous lie.

From a human viewpoint David's plan to hide his sin could have worked, but God saw that it did not happen.  God does not allow us to profit from sinful actions.  God's providential action brought into the open area of history what David had done.  What would you do if God allowed your most private sin to be exposed before the world?

David would pay for the sin with another's wife in ways that were beyond his imagination, and yet he is still God's man.  David was and is a great man of God, but he was also a child of God who was responsible for his actions.  Just as God holds us accountable for our sinful actions.

Beware of counseling that seeks to minimize the power and presence of sinful actions.  Or counseling that seeks to ignore or discount sin as old fashioned or not relevant.  Death is old fashioned and yet people still die even if they disagree with this one indisputable ontological fact.

Ignoring the reality of sin does not make it disappear.  It does create unreality within the heart of the person so disposed.  The fiction of unreality is lethal and fosters havoc within the soul.  There is no escaping oneself  though many have tried it.  For nearly a year David hid from his sin.  However, during that fateful year David and others within his periphery suffered too.

The "Goliath" that David did not defeat was sexual lust.  This is a "Goliath " for many, many persons in many professions including ministry.  David is not alone in this compelling temptation.  Watch out for the "Goliath" within the heart that can overthrow without mercy.  Many are suffering today because they have compromised themselves through blatant and destructive sexual misconduct.

Our culture is suffering from sexual corruption and scandal.  Our culture is disintegrating through sexual behavior that has removed the sacred I-Thou from relational encounter to the abyss of I-It moral disintegration.  There is only one way to handle sinful actions and that is to confess them to God.

Confession means to agree with God that one has sinned and in need of His forgiveness.  There is no other way to get free.  Creative diversion or stubborn rebellion will not work either.  Confession heals the split within created by sin.  Confession opens the door of the darkness of sin to be exposed to the light of rest in Iesous.

Do you need to go before God today and confess your sinful actions and receive His restorative and redeeming Grace?    Amen

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