David’s faithfulness to
his friends was demonstrated again when Nahash, the king of the Ammonites died.
In appreciation of the kindness that Nahash had shown to David sent an envoy o
commemorate with Hannum, Nahash’s son. Unfortunately Hannum was ill advised and
he mistreated the servants of David. After discovering the evil they had done,
they quickly went to hire the Syrians to join them in a battle against Israel.
But he Lord was on the side of Israel even though the Syrians were many about
thirty three thousand at the first battle and more at the second. David smoke
them and they fled before him.
LESSON:
When leaders act in accordance with the will of God, God takes care of their
battles, he fights for them and their enemies are forced to be at peace with
them.
David and Bathsheba
David was at the
pinnacle of his success, he had fought many wars, and many nations were at
peace with him, his throne has been established and his people revered him.
However he was still consolidating his kingdom. It was a time when kings go to
battle, and David instead of going to war sent Joab and his men to battle. He
stayed back in Jerusalem and one evening as he strolled lazily on the roof of
his house, he saw a beautiful woman in the distance taking her bath. David was
so caphrated with this woman that he would not resist sending for her and
having an affair with her. This was in spite of the fact that he had
investigated and found out that this was Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hitite
one of David’s best and faithful soldiers. Bathsheba became pregnant as a
result of this affair and David in an attempt to cover sent for Uriah who was
then at war front. Uriah came home but home but out of his faithfulness and
integrity he refused to go and sleep at home with his wife. Twice, David tried
to make Uriah go home to his wife, even getting him drunk, but Uriah was
unflinching in his faithfulness. David therefore resorted to what he thought
was the best way out of the mess, he made Uriah to unknowingly carry his own
death warrant to Joab. Uriah was killed and Bathsheba became the wife of David.
LESSONS:
How are the mighty fallen indeed! Let him that standeth, take heed lest he
falls. Watch and pray for your adversary, the devil prowls about seeking whom
to devour. Beware when you are at the peak of your success, because then you
are more prone to temptations.
1. The
first mistake David made was to stay back at home when he was supposed to be at
the war front. How often do leaders tend to relax when they are supposed to be
in the fore front setting examples for their followers in service? David
relaxed when he was supposed to be working and the Devil struck.
2. David
was not watchful, he did not fall into sin, and he walked right into it with
his eyes opened. He saw the woman, thought about what to do; got information
about her sent for her and had an affair with her. Everything was carefully
planned and executed. Can you imagine a man who would not as much lift a finger
against his enemy king Saul even when he had the opportunity now committing
adultery and murder willfully? Talk about the danger of success, danger of
watchlessness, the danger of taking things for granted, the danger of thinking
we are in charge as leaders and we can do anything with impurity!. David fell
and great indeed was the fall. Any leader who would not be watchful at every
moment, who will become a Lord unto himself, will likewise fall. Leaders are
particularly susceptible to this same temptation especially when they become
secured in their position. Let us learn from David, we are never safe when we
remove our eyes from the lord even for a split of a second.
No comments:
Post a Comment