“In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Israel. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim.”-2 Samuel 11:1
David’s downfall didn’t start with Bathsheba..
It started in verse 1 of Chapter 11.
His behavior here is no different from a typical gentile king.
And the Hebrew makes this even clearer.
Look at the phrase: “David stayed in Yerushalayim.”
The Hebrew word for “stayed” is YASHAV or יָשַׁב .
This means “he sat,” “he dwelled,” or “he remained.”
It’s a verb often used in the Bible to describe residing in a place, sitting down, or staying somewhere.
Here are some other uses of this word in Scripture.
Genesis 4:16 – “Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt (וישב – vayeishev) in the land of Nod.”
Psalm 1:1 – “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked… nor sit (יָשַׁב – yashav) in the seat of mockers.”
The whole point is that YASHAV is the opposite of YATSAH.
Recall we did a little word study yesterday on YATSAH which means to “go out.”
The nuance is that instead of being proactive and taking the lead in “going out” with his army…
David deliberately decided to “sit” and NOT “go out.”
When our English Bibles say “David stayed in Jerusalem”…
The fact that David refused is not quite appropriately communicated.
What did David refuse exactly?
He refused to obey the Lord’s command in terms of how a king should behave and act.
A Godly king is to “go out” and “lead” instead of kicking back in his palace lounging around without a care in the world.
Right from the outset, David’s disobedience is on full display here.
Verse 2 makes this even clearer.
“Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.”-2 Samuel 11:2
So again, we can see while his army was out fighting…
David was chilling at home…
Living an easy life during the spring season.
Then one hot afternoon…
After waking up from a nap on his breezy rooftop…
David went for a stroll.
That’s when he saw something that struck him like a lightning bolt.
Down below, a beautiful woman was bathing.
At that instant, David’s heart went from zero to a hundred in a millisecond.
It was all downhill from that point onward.
Here’s the takeaway:
Wanna know what the biggest cause of temptation and sin is?
It’s idleness and boredom.
It’s when we’re sitting around with nothing to do that the urge to click on that porno site creeps in.
Ya feel me?
That’s why even on your days off, it’s smart to plan refreshing, rejuvenating activities.
Otherwise, the temptation to click on that porn site…
Down a whole bottle of whiskey…
Or demolish a whole bag of Cheetos…
Will be too darn irresistible to resist.
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