A FALL FROM GRACE

 

The year I studied David’s story for the first time, I was as devastated with his fall from grace as much as I was enthralled by the Israelite boy who slew a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-36) and ‘the uncircumcised Philistine who dared to defy the armies of the living God’  because  ‘there was a cause in Israel’ (1 Samuel 17:26,29). His Israelite blood coursing through his veins with valour and warrior spirit won my heart. I considered him one of the inspirational voices of the Old Testament as I followed his rise from the heroic Israelite boy to the king of the golden age of Israel.

David’s achievements impressed me but his psalms blew me away. His words appealed to the poet in me. I was enchanted by the depth of his soulful worship of Jehovah and the national sovereignty of Israel that was so closely knit with his heart. However, I learnt much from David and his humanity. He showed very well that no matter how high you climb, the ground beneath your feet is never 100% steady. In this life of uncertainty, if we are not alert enough, we will likely one day fall. The worst of it is when the fall costs you your exaltation.

Despite all his great accomplishments David made one very big error of judgment. He became very comfortable as a monarch of a successful kingdom. This comfort zone became detrimental to his ability to endure to the end. As his kingdom ran like a well-oiled machine, his approach to his kingly duties became somewhat lax. "At the time when kings go forth to battle" (2 Sam 11:1) David chose to send Joab and all Israel to fight Ammonites while he remained in Jerusalem, strolling upon the roof of his house to cool off in the heat of the night.

 

This was David's first and big mistake that began his gradual demise into depths of sin from which he could not extricate himself. Sin seldom happens in one giant leap. As Elder Boyd K. Packer says: "I don't think anyone steps off a precipice into the depths of immorality and apostasy. They slide down the slippery sides of the chasm...." (Improvement Era. May 1970, p. 7)  

 

It would seem that David didn't think he needed his armour of God on such a hot night while he was lounging and relaxing away from battle but the adversary doesn't take sabbaticals and he took advantage of David's lack of protection. David spotted a temptation bigger than the Goliath he slew so valiantly some years prior. Not turning away once he happened to see a woman washing herself his gaze lingered enough to discover she was beautiful. Not content with leaving it there, he inquired about her. This should have stopped him in his tracks for the reply he got was that her name was Bathsheba (which means "daughter of the covenant") and that she was married to a man called Uriah (which means "Jehovah is my light").

 

The adultery that happened next was tragic but what happened after it was devastating. David dared to believe that he could conceal his sin, not just from Israel but from God. As he devised one plan after another to cover his sin, he developed a treacherous character that led him to the loss of his salvation. When he failed to entice Uriah to spend time with his wife so that the conceived child could be passed off as his, David allowed the spirit of murder to enter his heart. He devised a plan that would ensure Uriah's death at the front lines of battle and took Bathsheeba to be his wife.

 

At what point do you think David could have stopped himself from advancing towards the edge of the precipice? None of this need have happened if David was at the right place at the right time, namely, out on the battlefield instead of the roof of his house.

 

A warrior with a battle he so tragically lost….a loss that no doubt pierced the heart of Jehovah…..

 

What win I if I gain the thing I seek?

A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy?

Who buys a minute's myrth to wail a week

Or sells eternity to get a toy?

For one sweet grape, who would the vine destroy?

Or what fond beggar but to touch the crown,

Would with the scepter straight be stricken down.

- William Shakespeare

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: David's First Victory by William Strutt (1825-1915)