This Road Leads to No where!

It doesn’t matter how good and tarred a road is, if it doesn’t lead to a good destination, you will surely get lost at the end. Proverbs 16: 25 say ‘There is a way that seems right unto a man, but in the end it leads to death.
Over the few days, I have been reading about the story of David ‘the psalmist’. As a shepherd, God had anointed him to be the next of Israel. He was made the King at the age of 30 and ruled Israel for 40 years.
God loved David very much because of his faithfulness and trust in him. Indeed, Jesus Christ was from the line of David. This depicts the relationship God had with King David.
Though David had favor and grace from God, he made one mistake which changed his life, his family and the future.
Relationship with Bathsheba
David's adultery with Bathsheba was a sin of passion, a sin of the moment that overtook him, but his sin of having Uriah killed was a premeditated crime that was deliberate and disgraceful.
Their story is told in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, set against the backdrop of David's war against the Ammonites. For no reason David was not at the battlefield with the army. King David was relaxing on a palace above the city when he spied a beautiful woman taking a bath. Through his messengers, David learned that she was Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, who had gone to battle for David.
‘The Devil finds work for the idea hands’. If David had been at the battlefield he probably would have escape the temptations of Bathsheba.
Bathsheba could not have rejected King David’s offer to have sexual intercourse with her. After all, David was the King and as such refusal to obey his orders can spell doom for her.
Sometimes we need to stay foot for Christ instructions rather than directions from men. If Bathsheba had rejected David, she would have save David and his household as well as saving her marriage. Instead, she went to David of her own free will, and thus bears some responsibility for what happened afterward.
But David cannot be ignorant of his actions because he found out that;
1. Bathsheba was a married woman
2. Bathsheba’s husband Uriah the Hittite, had gone to battle for him.

Nonetheless, David and Bathsheba engaged in sexual intercourse, and she returned home. But Bathsheba was cleaning herself after her menstrual period when she had an affair with David. The biblical text stated that Bathsheba was pregnant for David. King David had tried to cover up his affair by arranging Uriah to sleep with his wife on two occasions but did not work. With his instructions, David had Uriah killed at battlefield to save him from disgrace.
Most times we try to cover up sin with sin. David had committed adultery (sin), he then arrange for Uriah to be killed in the battlefield (murder) to save his reputation. We should be careful with our decisions we take because they can make and unmake us.
A year later, God instructed Prophet Nathan to reveal David secret act of adultery and murder. God always give us the room to repent and seek his grace. Interestingly, David had not noticed God was angry with him. He had disobeyed two of the Ten Commandment-: Thou shall not commit adultery and Thou Shall Kill.
Proverbs 6: 32 says But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacked understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
King David admitting his actions and regretting his decision prayed for God’s forgiveness. When we admit our flaws and weakness, God is ready to strengthen us. But though God forgave David his sins, David was to face the consequences. We should never forget that we reap what we sow therefore, we are accountable to the consequences of our actions.

The punishment
Though King David had committed adultery and murder in secret, his punishments was in the open. Just as we receive the blessing of God in the open, in the same way we get the punishment for rejecting his commandments in the open.
David doesn't get away with it as far as keeping his dirty little secret. He certainly can't keep it a secret from God. And God won't let David get away with it either. Even God's chosen one, King David, had spiritual weaknesses.
The Lord raised evil against David’s own house, and told him that his children will sleep with his wives before his eyes, and would give them to his neighbours, and they shall lie with his wives in the sight of this sun. Arguable this is a toughest punishment God has directed to David.
The sword did not depart from the king's household, and his wives were taken and violated just as he had taken Bathsheba. Indeed, David did pay four-fold, for Bathsheba's baby died, and his sons Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah were slain. David's beautiful daughter Tamar was raped by her half brother, and David's concubines were humiliated publicly by Absalom when he captured the kingdom. Because of Absalom's rebellion, David was forced to flee Jerusalem and live in the wilderness.
For the rest of David's lifetime, he experienced one tragedy after another, either in his family or in the kingdom. What a price he paid for those few minutes of passion with his neighbor's wife!

Lesson
Do not be deceived. Though we don't face a death penalty like times of old, we DO experience consequences for adultery and fornication. Any action that leaves God out risk ending badly.

By: Samuel Mantey
s.mantey.blogspot.com
Twitter: SamuelMantey
Email: sammyoo3@yahoo.com