Living in the Spirit
July 21, 2015

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-15

Then David said to Uriah, ‘Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.’ –2 Samuel 11:12-15

David did everything he could to make Uriah think the child Bathsheba carried was Uriah’s. When none of that worked he arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle. It doesn’t get much more sordid than that. I have always thought it odd this story compared to the stories of David’s loyalty to Saul even in the height of war. Strange ethics, he would cause someone to be killed to avoid what: Being found out as an adulterer or saving Bathsheba from being treated as an adulterer even though he had had several wives himself and concubines. He went out of his way not to kill Saul but saw nothing wrong with having Uriah killed.

We have seen it happen many times when people who have proved to be good, even great, leaders suffered from, even damaged their leadership, by moral failures. How does that apply to our lives? My first thought is we should read the story of the woman caught in adultery where Jesus instructed anyone who was without sin to throw the first stone. We all have sinned. Spiritual development is a journey.

My second thought is when God gifts us with skills as he did David, we need to be diligent in using them for God’s purposes and not fall into the trap of seeking personal gain through their use.

Prayer: God who Gifts us with our very lives, guide us in all that we do so our work is devoted to the development of your Kingdom. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.