Bathsheba

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1 Kings 1:30 Be A Person Of Your Word

I will surely carry out this day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place. 1 Kings 1:30

Millions of promises are made every day all over the world. Many are just made with speaking, while many are made with some type of signed contract or agreement.

Although all of these promises are made, many of them are also broken, sometimes almost immediately. Since so many are broken, most will require a signed contract for any promise.

As David was nearing his death, Adonijah tried to take the throne as king. David said he would fulfill his promise to Bathsheba that Solomon would be the next king and made him king.

Over the centuries of time, God has made many different promises to people. The majority of those promises have been fulfilled, while others are still in the works of being fulfilled.

Believers are to be just like God in fulfilling their promises. Yet, it is common for people, both believer and non-believer, to pull back on their promise and not fulfill it. Excuses are made to give reason why they cannot or will not fulfill the promise.

It would be better for a person to never make a promise than to make one and not fulfill it. God will hold a person accountable for every idle word he makes, this includes all of his promises made in haste of the moment.

While the world is quick to break a promise, believers should be separate and different in fulfilling their promises each and every time. Doing so will show integrity and that God will also fulfill His promises. Believers are the representatives of God here on earth.

Most likely you have made some promises to other people at some point in your life. You must be willing to work at fulfilling those promises. Seek God’s help and strength to fulfill all the promises you have made.

In your future you may also seek God for wisdom on what promises you should or should not make. Do not be hasty with your words and get yourself trapped into a promise you cannot keep.

Can people count on you to be a person of your word, just as God is a God of His word, fulfilling every promise?

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that God will give you strength to fulfill all of your promises; that you will seek God’s wisdom in making a promise; and that people will see God’s faithfulness through your faithfulness to fulling your promises.

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2 Samuel 11:15 Covering Up Sin

In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 2 Samuel 11:15

Very few people want to be found guilty of doing something wrong, so it is common for them to work hard to cover it up. Most often the cover up is attempted with telling lies, though there are some that do not know any boundaries as to what they will do to cover up their wrong, to include murder. Their hope is that the distraction will be enough so that no one will see the wrong done.

David had slept with Bathsheba and got her pregnant. He tried to get her husband, Uriah, to sleep with her. When that did not work David had Uriah put into a battle to be killed.

Just as the world works to cover up crimes that have been done; many believers strive to cover up sins that they had committed against God. Very few will go to the level of murder as David had done, but many will harm others in the process with false accusations to change the focus off of themselves or to make themselves look better. Some will use their power and authority to remove another person to keep their sin from being exposed.

Covering sin up only delays when it will be dealt with. The more it is covered up, the greater the penalty will be. Ultimately the penalty will result in judgment of death for eternity by God.

Instead of covering up a sin, believers are to confess their sins and repent. God is always ready and willing to forgive what has been done wrong. Repenting will clean up a sin faster than any cover up will do.

You will make mistakes and fall into sin at different points in your life. Each time this occurs, you will have the option of dealing with that sin or attempting to cover it up. No matter how little or great your sin is, covering it up does nothing but delay judgment against you.

Own up to your sin and repent before God and anyone you have sinned against or that it involves. Allow for forgiveness and restoration to occur when repentance has been done. Whether another person will forgive you or not, God will, and He can work in the hearts of others.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will repent of any sins you have committed against God or others; that God will give you strength to own any sins you have done; and that God will restore anything broken from any sin committed.

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2 Samuel 12:20 Moving On Past Tragedy

Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. 2 Samuel 12:20

After David found out that Bathsheba had become pregnant by him, he had her husband killed. Although this was done in secret, God knew and sent Nathan, a prophet, to him to confront him about it. God chose to take the child’s life. While the child was sick, David prayed and fasted, hoping God would relent from taking the child’s life. Once the child had died, David did not spend time mourning the loss of the child, but got up and started eating and worshiping God again.

Tragedy is something that hits people very hard. Loss of a loved one, extreme illness, loss of a job, loss of a part of the body, or one of many other things in life that are hard-hitting. It is very difficult when tragedy hits a person.

Most people begin a time of mourning and weeping at the loss or the tragedy. It is very common for people to go into a time of depression and blaming God for what had happened. Some will even walk away from God because of the tragedy.

Once David’s son had died, he realized there was nothing more that could be done. He cleaned up and went to the temple to worship God. He trusted God’s choice in taking his son’s life. David was willing to worship God, despite the tragedy, and then move on with life.

Staying in depression will not solve or change anything, but keep one miserable.

You may be going through a great tragedy now, or have gone through one in the past. Focus your life on God’s love, mercy, and control. Trust that God knows what He is doing and allowing. Do not get angry with God, but worship Him in spite of the tragedy. Then move on with life.

God has given you the gift of life, don’t waste it in depression about a tragedy in life.

I pray today that you will see God’s hand at work in your life; that you will trust all that God is doing in your life; that God will strengthen you in a tragedy; and that you will lean on God for strength.

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2 Samuel 11:2 Wandering Eyes

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 2 Samuel 11:2 

David had sent his army out to war, but chose not to go himself. One night he got up to walk around some and saw a woman taking a bath. He was told that she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. He sent someone to go and get her and he had sex with her that night and got her pregnant.

David had made two mistakes in what he did. First, he did not go to battle with his army. Second, he let his eyes wander and look at what was not his to look at. Both of these led to his third mistake of having sex with her.

When a person is not doing what he is supposed to be doing, temptations will rise very quickly. It allows a person’s eyes and thoughts to wander into places they should not be. Once the eyes start to wander, it becomes very easy to give into temptation to do things that should not be done.

The problem still occurs to this day. It is very common to see pornographic pictures or movies and think it is acceptable. Others will even go into establishments to see nude women. Many of these things occur even among Christian men and women.

Jesus took the idea of looking at someone even further. He said that if you lust for someone in your heart or eyes, you have already sinned.

To prevent these things from happening, you must keep your focus on what God wants you to be doing. If you are working for God, you will not have time to let your eyes and thoughts wander.

Working for God can be praise, prayer, reading the Bible, witnessing, or doing some ministry.

Where are your eyes today?

Are they wandering?

Or are they focused on God and the things of God?

I pray today that you will know what God wants you to do; that God will strengthen you to keep your eyes from wandering; that you will turn your eyes from all sin; and that God will help you change old habits.