2 Samuel 11

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.

(2Sa 11:1-2)

IT HAPPENED… twice in these first two verses we read this foreboding phrase. The King James translates it as “it came to pass”. This phrase appears over 3,500 times in the Old Testament, and it always refers to something happening, some new development arising, or a new season beginning. Here in the life of David, it marks one of the greatest failures of his life; his sin with Bathsheba, and the compounding of that sin by covering it up rather than confessing and coming clean.

The central HAPPENING of this story is David’s sin with Bathsheba; it is the gut-wrenching climax of this tragedy, the event that throws David into a real tailspin. However, the two occurrences of this phrase “It happened” point us to two previous events that brought about David’s sin. Both of these events, on closer inspection, are directly related to CHOICES that David made. Let’s take a look at these two HAPPENINGS, and see what we may be able to learn and apply to our own lives:

1. David WASN’T where he SHOULD have been – It happened… David should have GONE to battle, but he STAYED in Jerusalem. The work was out on the battlefield, but David was back at the castle. When he should have been fighting, he was freeloading. Rather than being OCCUPIED with the work of the Lord, He was IDLE; too relaxed and too content. This was David’s first mistake… there was somewhere the Lord wanted David to be, and he wasn’t there! What about you? Is there a work that the Lord has called you to, something He is doing that He wants you to be a part of, but you simply aren’t doing it? What would this first occurrence look like in your life? “At the time when everyone else was busy doing the Lord’s work, _________ decided to stay home and take it easy”. The first mistake is FAILING TO BE WHERE GOD WANTS YOU.
2. David WAS where he SHOULDN’T have been – It happened… David should have STAYED in bed, but he WENT up on the roof. I think David knew what he might see up on the roof. He obviously was not looking up at the stars, but was instead scanning the rooftops. I have heard people ask “why was Bathsheba on the roof?!” Fair question, but I ask, “What was David looking for?!” Maybe he didn’t know what he was looking for, but aimlessly looking around in the middle of the night is never a very good idea. When David should have stayed in bed, he went looking for diversion. When he should have turned to the Lord, he looked out into the world, to see if there was anything that might satisfy him. This is David’s second mistake… David was looking for something from the world that he already had in the Lord. Could this be your story? Do you ever find yourself looking to the world to gratify a desire, when the Lord is really all that you need? What could this look like in your life? “When he/she should have trusted the Lord, ______ went out to the world, to find a little satisfaction”. The second mistake is LOOKING TO THE WORLD FOR WHAT GOD ALONE CAN GIVE.

David’s two choices; one to stay and one to go, radically affected his life. It set him up for one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. Bathsheba, Uriah, the whole mess… those things were the FRUIT of David’s earlier choices. My final question for you today is this: "What will the fruit of your decisions be?"