Take Heed

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall 1 Corinthians 10:12.

The bible is a real book. It is God’s Word to us. And God always speaks the truth. He never attempts to make a person greater than he actually is. When a person misses the mark, no matter who that person is, the bible records the facts in exact detail. God never glosses over a person’s sin or failure to diminish the horror of it.

That fact alone should strengthen and encourage our faith walk. You see, the great people of faith have the same struggles that we have. They faced long struggles with doubt and fear, and in some cases they gave up. The situation was too much for them to bear. Yet in spite of it all, God made winners out of them.

If we were to name the most popular or well-known sin among God’s people, number one would have to go to Adam and Eve. I believe a well-established second place would go to David and Bathsheba. Even though David was a "man after God’s own heart"; even though he was anointed by God to be king of Israel; even though David truly loved God; when David committed a gross sin, God exposed him (see 2 Samuel 11).

No matter how greatly we have been used by God, we cannot become complacent and careless. We must be willing to be accountable to somebody.

David’s disobedience was magnified by who he was and how he mishandled it. But unless we take heed and consider ourselves, our flesh will lead us into similar traps. Our Lord, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" Mathew 26:41. My flesh is weak and your flesh is weak. His flesh is weak and her flesh is weak. If we follow the flesh, it will lead us into a situation that will bring us bitter consequences.

David was now about 50 years old. He had been king for 20 years. He was established as a man of God, a composer of psalms, a mighty man of valor and a faithful leader of his people. But no matter how long you’ve been where you are doing what you’ve been doing, we need to take heed lest we fall.

David restored the worship of Jehovah in Israel. He was not some sneaky pervert peeping in windows. He was sensitive to the spirit of God. Yet he fell into a period of sin, and the consequences hurt himself, his family, and his nation.

We need to understand one thing. David did not suddenly fall into sin. His lifestyle was a setup. And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people’s Israel’s sake. And David took more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David 2 Samuel 12-13.

David knew he was blessed abundantly of God. He knew that God had established him. But with great blessing comes great responsibility. So what did David do? He went and got himself more wives and more concubines.

David was successful in many things, but when it came to temperance with women, he was a total failure. No matter how many women he got, he wanted more. David was the type of man I warn my daughters about.

Men are tricked by this kind of thinking. They think they need more women to be satisfied. So they play around with as many women as possible. But what they fail to see is that more women do not satisfy our appetite, it excites it. Men flirt around at the office trying to satisfy something, but all the while they are exciting themselves.

Listen. If we cannot be satisfied with one woman, then one hundred won’t satisfy us. Men need to stop being so foolish in this area and grow up. Rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; be ravished with thy love Proverbs 5: 18,19.

There is something mysterious and God ordained in the one man / one-woman relationship. Eve was the only woman God made for Adam. He didn’t make him any concubines or spares. In order to make that one man / one-woman relationship work, I have to give to her and she has to give to me. And that willingness to give and sacrifice forms the ground that produces beautiful fruit and rich blessings in life.

But when a man attempts to please more than one woman, he is following a lustful emotion that will lead him away from God. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed James 1:14. That is what happened to David. Holding on to all those women eventually caused him to lose the things that God values most. God values strong homes and families; He loves men that care of their wife and kids; He loves people who are bold enough to fulfill the job that He called them to do.

Everything had been going well for David. He had the number one army and enjoyed public admiration. He had money, power, fame, popularity and unquestioned authority. Things were going so good for him, it never occurred to him to consider the choices he made with women.

When things are going well, that’s the time we need to take heed. When we can do whatever we want to do and no one dare question us, we better take heed. When a husband can do whatever he wants with the money and the wife has no say so about anything, we better take heed. When we start believing all the good things others are saying about us, we better take heed.

And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon ...2 Samuel 11:1. So here is a time when David appears to be at the peak of strength and victory, but in truth, he is weaker than he has ever been.

Instead of in battle, David was in bed. He was sitting around idle. When we are working hard, rarely do we struggle with temptation like when we have nothing to do. When we have a lot of time on our hands, take heed.

And it came to pass at evening tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and she was very beautiful to look upon 2 Samuel 11:2. When the bible calls a woman beautiful, she’s really beautiful. Bathsheba was physically attractive beyond description. I don’t know why she picked a wide-open window to take a bath, but she did. Women should do all they can to preserve their modesty. Anyway, David saw her bathing, and he looked and he looked and he looked. And his mind went into overdrive because he had this problem with women anyway.

No matter how spiritual we are, we can’t play around with immorality. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted he any man James 1:13. David looked, David lusted, David inquired, David planned and David got what he wanted. David knew she was a married woman, but he lay with her anyway. He enjoyed it. She enjoyed it. She never resisted.

I believed the intent was just a one-night ordeal, but she got pregnant. The devil only shows us the fun and excitement. He only let’s us see the adventure. But tomorrow comes the hangover, the physical problems, the broken home and the mental anguish.

David tried to cover up, but it didn’t work. It didn’t work for him and it won’t work for us. God desires truth on the inside. He knows our every dark and horrible secret, and He is our advocate in dealing with it. But if we try to cover up and go on like nothing is happening, one day our world will crash.

God won’t assist us with ignoring our problems. He is our High Priest, and He will give us the exact help that we need to live a life free of hindrances. He wants what is best for us. Don’t get distracted by the pleasures of this world. God has a better way to live.