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| Volume 18 Number 3 March 2016 | Page 12 |
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| Volume 18 Number 3 March 2016 | Page 12 |
Thomas Baxley
Though it started out as a daytrip for David, his episode with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) turned into something far worse. David saw a beautiful woman bathing, but instead of averting his eyes or leaving the roof, he sent for her, even when he found out that she was married to one of his mighty men, no less. Perhaps he thought that since her husband was far away that he would never find out. Whatever the case, something unexpected happened; Bathsheba became pregnant.
As the account unfolded, Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband) was brought home to be with his wife, to cover things up. David underestimated his loyalty. Uriah refused to go home to his wife, so he slept at the gate of David’s house. Finally, David sent Uriah back to the front carrying his own death warrant. David got rid of the problem the only way he knew how. Do you think David ever thought his one-night stand would ever end up with him murdering one of his mighty men? If David knew that his daytrip would turn out this way, do you think he would have ever started down that road?
[Editor’s Note: Of course, we can learn something from that old-time soap opera whereby we can guard our paths through this life to eternity. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
Learning from the Past
Thomas Baxley
Some people never learn. They neither learn from history in general, nor do they learn from their own past. Take the nation of Israel, for instance. Even by the time of David, the vast majority still had little faith in God. In 1 Samuel 17, the armies of God were fighting the Philistines. Each army was encamped on a mountain with a valley between them, and each was waiting for the other to go down into the valley first.
As the armies were working themselves into a frenzy, the Philistine behemoth of a man, standing (conservatively) anywhere from 9-9.5 feet tall, challenged any of the Israelites to single combat. The winner of the fight would be the winner of the war.
For 40 days this giant from Gath, named Goliath, challenged the armies of God, and for 40 days his challenge went unaccepted. Goliath was quite a large man, thus very intimidating, but it seems that, once again, Israel forgot how big God is. Despite all the thousands of soldiers that Saul had under his command, the challenge was accepted by a young shepherd boy who remembered the past, specifically his own. This boy remembered that God delivered him from the paws of the lion and the bear, and he trusted that God would deliver him from the hand of this Philistine. If we will remember that God is bigger than any giant we could ever face, who knows what we could accomplish!