2 Samuel 11-12

Persons who may know only a smidgeon of the Bible recall the story of the shepherd boy who would slay a giant in the battlefield and later become a king. As a man his legend grew among the Hebrew nation and we can read today his psalms that sometimes implore mercy but more often praise and glorify God and his creation so magnificently. So how could he allow the horrible deed to ever begin? Were there small steps towards the ultimate sins? Was he simply given too much unlimited power? Did he ever ponder, "Oh, if I had simply gone to war with my men? If I had been about kingly responsibilities instead of coveting Bathsheba? Why did I force her to come to me? How could I have done the horrible deeds to brave and loyal Uriah?"

And then there's Uriah the Hittite. My commentary explains that his name means, "Flame of the Lord" or "The Lord is Light." A man who embraced and valued the faith and God of the Hebrews. As was the custom of the Hittites, he would not voluntarily take leave from the Ark and his men in battle to be with his wife. A respected and valued warrior, he was also an honorable and righteous man. So much more righteous than his king. And to think as David plotted his death, he had Uriah carry his own death plan back to the battlefield.

These scriptures cover some of the most tragic series of events in Biblical history. Was David haunted with guilt? In 2 Samuel 11-12, we learn that it took the bravery of the prophet Nathan to confront his king. Later, David would have sincere regrets and he would suffer tremendous loss from his cover-up and misdeeds. But we learn that his confession to God with a contrite heart and his confession to God and his people through Psalm 51, helped to begin the healing and cleansing of his heart. Helped to save his soul.

May God provide us windows of escape to flee from sin and the wisdom to respect the Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us to resist sin. For sin indeed is our human condition. And may we practice sincere confession to God. For we all fall short of His glory and are in need of His mercy.

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