Are you sure that you don't want to go?

 

 Good Saturday morning, my friend!

 

^{2Sa 11:1} In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

 

This verse is the prelude to one of the most disappointing stories in the Old Testament. The verses that follow this verse tell the story of David and Bathsheba. But it is here in the prelude that we find the lesson for this morning.

 

David is called a Warrior-King because he led his armies into battle. He was feared by the people of the nations that surrounded Israel. His ability to fight was unequaled. David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, and when he asked God to allow him to construct the Temple; he was told that he was a man of war and God wanted a man of peace to built it. David was allowed to gather materials for the building and begin planning only.

 

How many times have you made a conscious decision to not go somewhere, because if you went, you knew that you would have a problem?

 

In this verse David chooses to not do what Kings did in the spring, and in doing so, he set himself up for an act of disobedience of God’s law.

 

Friend, it is so very important for us to always do the right thing.