Articles
That Is All It Took
“…From the roof he saw a woman bathing.” (2 Sam. 11:2)
A song, “Just One Look,” came onto the music scene in 1963. The premise was a person who took one look and felt it to do whatever necessary to get the other person’s affection. The subject of the lyrics is willing to go to disturbing lengths. They say, “I’m gonna keep on scheming ‘til I can ah make you, make you my own…I’ll get you someday.” Many see this as a love song, but the words suggest otherwise. Can we see how fitting this song parallels David and his deadly pursuits of Bathsheba?
We can easily overlook a vital detail at the beginning of this account. David was not supposed to be home! Verse 1 tells us that it was spring at the time, but most importantly, the kings were naturally away engaged in war. However, David was home. One may object and say, “Why is this a big deal?” Firstly, David is showing a lack of leadership. He fails to lead the people and relegates that responsibility. Secondly, we get a sense of his ease and comfort since he is far from physical harm. When this is the case, temptation can be lurking just around the corner, which was the situation with David.
Knowing our surroundings is crucial. A midnight stroll may seem innocent, but in David’s case, it proved extremely dangerous. David placed himself in quite a predicament. The key thing to remember is that at this moment, he had a choice. We know that he gazed upon the woman (v. 2) and then could have realized that it was wrong. Unfortunately, he failed to follow God’s commandments (cf. Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21). The king abused his privileges by taking what was not rightfully his. With this mindset, David does not weigh his or Bathsheba’s consequences of their actions. He has already set in motion the lust cravings of his heart (vv. 3ff).
This all started with one gaze which quickly escalated to lust, adultery, deception, and murder. James 1:15 says, “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death.” See how quickly a man after God’s own heart can fall! In the heat of passion, David may have foolishly thought that his actions would go unnoticed. However, God is not blind and sees everything (cf. Job 28:24; Prov. 15:3).
Jesus famously said, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). Moreover, Christ urges His audience, which includes us, to remove this sin from our lives (vv. 29f). Many can misunderstand the point that Jesus is making here. The Lord is letting everyone know that our thoughts can condemn us just as quickly as our actions. Not only are we to avoid any sinful actions, we must eradicate sinful thoughts from our lives!
Have you ever heard someone say, “Well, everyone does it!” Or, “I am not hurting anyone; I’m only looking!” That is simply justifying and rationalizing sin! Paul wrote, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Furthermore, we are told to flee sexual immorality and not seek to gratify the desires of the flesh (cf. 1 Cor. 6:18; Gal. 5:16). We are to be holy as God is holy! (cf. 1 Pet. 1:16)
The next time the opportunity to look arises, think about what we are doing. Is this individual an object or a person made in the image of God? This man or woman is someone’s child, sibling, and possibly even spouse. Finally, we need to ask ourselves, “Would I want someone to objectify me?”
We will face many temptations in our lives. No doubt there are/have been times where we have failed. Let us strive to remember that the Lord provides a means to escape and the power to say, “NO!” (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13)
