Humpty Dumpty
I like the Bible. Sure, it seems a given that a person in my position would, but I like it for more than just the obvious reasons. Reasons such as, it’s God’s Word, our directions for living, a history of Christianity.
No, I like it for another reason, as well. The Bible tells it like it is. We read about these heroes, but not just the great things they have done, oh no. We read about their failings, their wrongdoings, the evil things they did, their dark sides.
Think about it. Noah got drunk. Moses disobeyed God, Jonah was vindictive. Jacob cheated his brother. Peter denied Jesus. Paul used to persecute Christians. Abraham passed off Sarah as his sister. There’s a list of “heroes” for you.
And then you have David. Here was a man God had anointed as a youth. Here was a man who, as a youngster, had defeated the mighty Goliath. He was the general over Saul’s army. David was a man blessed by God, of whom it was said, “He is a man after God’s own heart”. But he was not perfect.
As we read in our scripture for today, he was human, with human failings. David’s sin both shocks and surprises us. Up till now we’ve read about the great things David had done. But like I said, that’s what I like about the Bible. It’s definitely not a view through rose colored glasses. It gives us the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let’s walk through this passage and see what made David human.
READ VERSE 1. Do you see the first problem? It’s at the end of the verse. “David remained at Jerusalem.” Now you might wonder, “Why, if kings go out to battle, was David at home? Well, it is true that, generally, kings lead their men into battle, but this battle was close enough to Jerusalem that David decided to stay home and have Joab report to him daily on the battle. BIG MISTAKE!
Maybe David was feeling his age, or nursing an injury or illness. Maybe he was unconcerned because he felt that his men had everything under control, or maybe he was just lazy. For whatever reason, David in the wrong place at the wrong time. He would have been safer fighting the midst of a fierce battle than walking alone on his rooftop.
READ VERSE 2. David was tempted! We can ALL relate to TEMPTATION!! There is no one here that has never been tempted in some way at some time or another in our lives. We all face temptation, maybe every day. Now, granted, some of the things we are tempted by are relatively insignificant.
Maybe we’re tempted to have an extra scoop of ice cream, or stay up a little later than we should watching the end of a movie, or not marking down a stroke on the golf course.
The problem is that pretty soon we face bigger and more serious temptations. Maybe we drive 70 in a 55 zone, or we cheat on our taxes, or we look at pornography on the Internet.
And we justify our giving in to temptation by saying, “Oh, I was running late. I usually do 55.” Or, “the government is always stickin’ it to us, so it’s only fair.” Or, “I’m only looking at women I don’t know. No one’s hurt.” BIG MISTAKE!!
There are 2 lies that Satan wants us to believe.
1. Just once won’t hurt.
2. Now that you’ve ruined your life, you’re beyond God’s use, and you might as well enjoy sinning.
Sin is always fun………at first.
READ VERSES 3-5. David not only looked and lusted, but he invited it into his house with him. If you have a weakness for sweets, don’t buy cookies at the store and take them home. If you’re an alcoholic, don’t buy a case of beer. If you have a gambling problem, don’t go to the boat for dinner.
David sent someone to get Bathsheba. He knows she’s married, but he sends for her anyway. Then he goes from the frying pan into the fire. Bam, she’s pregnant. Just like watching a soap opera, isn’t it?
Of course, David, being a “man after God’s own heart”, does the right thing and fesses up to her husband, right? Well, let’s see. He sends for Uriah the Hittite and says, “Hey, you’ve been fightin’ a great battle for me. Why don’cha take a break and “go down to your house”? Wink. Wink.”
Well, Uriah has some integrity and he’s having none of that. David wants to cover up his sin by tricking Uriah. READ VERSE 11. Here’s Uriah, well within his rights to sleep with his wife, refusing the order to do so by the one who has no problem sleeping with another man’s wife.
David’s going, “Mmm, that didn’t work. I know. I’ll get him drunk so he won’t be so concerned with his ethics. Then he’ll sleep with Bathsheba and I’ll be off the hook. He’ll think that baby’s his and no one will be the wiser.” WRONG.
Uriah disobeyed David’s order. David got him drunk, which didn’t work. So now David’s panicking. He sends him back to the front, along with a letter of instruction as to his demise.
Let’s recap these verses:
+ David has been home while his army is off fighting.
David was in the wrong place.
+ David sees a woman and figures, “Hey I’m the king. I can have anything I want and I want her.”
David gives in to the temptation and commits adultery.
+ David sends Uriah home to sleep with his wife one night and gets him drunk another night.
David tries to deceive Uriah twice.
+ David’s carefully laid plans all backfire so he pulls out all the stops.
David has Uriah bumped off.
A tragic account of one man’s fall from blessing to punishment. A story that has been played out and replayed numerous times down through the centuries with equally tragic consequences, brought down by the temptation to commit adultery.
Bill Clinton, Magic Johnson, and others all guilty of committing adultery. And now Kobe Bryant. In case you haven’t heard, the star guard for the L.A. Lakers has been arrested in Colorado on charges of assaulting a woman (and it’s not his wife). In a news conference Bryant denied the charge, saying he was guilty only of adultery. Guilty only of adultery!
Famous people, like athletes & movie stars or people in power, like politicians & kings are easy targets. They need to be extremely careful not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
David had been on solid ground. He had been chosen by God. But he got careless and he didn’t even know it. Just like a sheep that sees a tempting mouthful of grass over there. Then another one a little farther. And then another one. And another one. And before you know it, he’s lost or in the sights of a predator looking for an easy meal.
“Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” That’s what happened to David. Here’s this tempting little morsel of eye-candy, and David is lured a little closer away from solid ground to the edge. With each successive lie, David takes another step closer to the edge. Then another step. And another. Before long, he’s at the edge.
Then with murder, he’s going over. He’s tumbling down the rocks. He’s crashed and burned. And the last thing he hears is the devil singing in his ear, “Another One Bites the Dust”.
I think David’s problems all started in verse 1. “But David remained at Jerusalem.” David was in the wrong place. Kind of reminds me of Humpty Dumpty. I mean, have you ever asked yourself this question about Humpty Dumpty: Why was an egg sitting on the edge of the wall in the first place? Eggs belong in an egg carton where they won’t be easily broken. Humpty was in the wrong place.
David’s acting just like Humpty Dumpty. He’s sitting on the edge of his palace rooftop, looking at a woman taking a bath, looking square into the eyes of temptation, instead of being at the battle with his men. David was in the wrong place.
On the TV show “Hee Haw”, Doc Campbell is confronted by a patient who says he broke his arm in two places. Doc replies, “Well then, stay out of them places!” You know he hit the nail right on the head. We can’t get so close to the edge. We can’t regularly put ourselves in the face of temptation and remain unharmed. When faced with the problem of temptation, we need to take the good doctor’s advice and “stay out of them places.”
We need to stay out of them places and stay within the will of God. If we do then we, too, can be called “a man or woman after God’s own heart.
