2 Samuel 11: Danger – Hazardous to Humans

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Your mercy is great and you are faithful to us even when we are not. Forgive us for so often falling into sin. Lead us away from temptation and deliver us from the bad influences. Help us to recognize the signs when we are in danger. Strengthen us so that we may live rightly before you. Bring people into our life that can keep us accountable and strengthen us when we are weak. Amen.

Reflection

Temptation is not the problem, it is sin. David’s problem was not what he saw that only the only got the ball rolling. David’s problem was David; it was what he allowed to be conceived in his heart after what he saw. When David inquired about her, he was already too far down the path of sin to stop. Even when the messenger told him she was married, David was too far down the path of sin to stop. When she became pregnant, David was too far down the path of sin to stop. Sin is like that; with persuasive words it leads us astray and seduces us with smooth words. And like the adulterous woman in Proverbs 7, sin takes us further than we want to go and takes more than we want to give. The house of sin is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death. Too many have stumbled down this path, never to get up again.

Ask Tim Haggard, he walked a path similar to David’s and it took more than he ever imagined. Temptation is dangerous and when we are tempted we should think of it as a warning sign of “Don’t go there.” We can think of it like the warning labels on the side of the household cleaners: “Hazardous to humans.” The only exception is that temptation has no useful purpose; unlike household cleaners sin can’t cleanup the mess that it makes.

Questions

• What temptations do you struggle with?
• Read Romans 8:1-17 - What hope do we have in defeating sin? What has set us free from the law of sin and death?
• How does Jesus treat the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11? What can we learn from his actions and response?
• One of the best ways to defeat sin and temptation in your life is to have people who can regularly keep you accountable. Do you have anyone in your life who can keep you accountable?

Posted by Aaron Miner