Day 92: Proverbs 6:20–35

For a commandment is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective instructions are the way to life (v. 23).

We do not have the luxury of considering the events between David and Bathsheba a rarity. Unfortunately, many people of God allow their hearts to wander and fall into adultery. The threatened institution of marriage in our society, inside the church and out, beckons us to confront the actions of King David. His actions can teach us not only how adultery can happen but how it can be avoided or prevented. Let’s consider a few places David went wrong.

1. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Notice the very first phrases of 2 Samuel 11: “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war.” David had once been a very effective administrator and delegator; however, he had exceeded the wise bounds of delegation and left himself with little responsibility and idle hands. David handed to Joab a baton he should have kept for himself. David should have been leading his troops just as the other kings were leading theirs. He was obviously restless. Second Samuel 11:2 says, “David got up from his bed.” He had delegated so much responsibility that he left himself open to boredom and temptation.

2. He failed to protect himself with a network of accountability. At one time he had been sensitive to the thought of offending God. He sought the counsel of prophets and allowed himself to be held accountable. But we’ve reached a season in David’s life when he was answering to no one, apparently not even God. All of us need to be surrounded by people who are invited to hold us accountable and to question the questionable. No one questioned David’s actions, yet they knew he was wrong. I want people in my life who love me enough to offend me if necessary and help me not to fall.

3. He was lonely. He allowed himself to be placed so high on the throne that he found himself all alone. The words of 2 Samuel 9:1 hint at David’s loneliness and lack of peers as he cried, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Dave Edwards, a well-known Christian speaker, once said, “All rebellion begins in isolation.”

How can we avoid making the same kind of mistakes?