The heading at the beginning of the chapter reads simply, “David, Bathsheba, and Uriah,” but there is nothing simple about what follows as the writer tells the story of David’s taking another man’s wife, impregnating her, David’s inability to cover his sin, and David’s orchestrated murder of the woman’s husband. You can read it for yourself in 2 Samuel 11.
Bathsheba has no knowledge what caused Uriah’s death. From her point of view, her brave husband died in battle, defending the kingdom and the king from their enemy. Her deep mourning was known to those near to her (11:26). Widowed, she was not out of David’s mind, who took her to be his wife. She gave birth to David’s son. Then, the storyteller records this conclusion of the events of the last nine months. Nothing that followed had to be as it was, but what is recorded is what happened when the king’s actions displeased the Lord.
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord (11:27).
Verse 27 is the only reference to the Lord in the chapter. Nowhere is God to be found in the actions of the king. There is no thought of God as David plots his course, but the Lord is watching each move David makes. All David’s actions from beginning to end offend a holy God. The outcome of David’s actions brought consequences he could not possibly have imagined. Read them for yourself in the chapters that immediately follow.
The heading at the beginning of the chapter reads simply, “The People Complain,” but there is nothing simple about what follows as Moses recounts one story enroute to the Promised Land (Numbers 11).
Because the Lord is good, generous, and kind, he provided his people with daily manna from heaven. This gift from God would be their “daily bread” as they walked from captivity to freedom. These freed slaves, who had known only abuse at the hand of their masters (Exodus 2:11), now enjoyed the life of relative ease. They did not break up hard soil for the hope of harvest from planted seed. They were not anxious for optimal weather conditions that produced a good crop. God asked no labor from them. There was no financial cost to them. He supplied their needs. He gave to them freely.
Eventually, the people began complaining about their distress… “If only somebody would feed us some meat! How we remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt for free! And the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic! But now we can’t stand it anymore, because there’s nothing in front of us except this manna.” And Moses records God’s response to his people’s complaints.
When the people complained, it displeased the Lord (11:1).
The next few chapters in the book of Numbers are a series of head scratching behaviors by God’s people, behaviors that brought dire consequences and led to 40 years of wandering around the wilderness. It didn’t have to be this way, but what is recorded is what happened when the people’s actions displeased the Lord.
From David, we learn it is no small matter for an individual to displease the Lord in his actions. From Israel, we learn it is no small matter for the people of God to displease the Lord in their actions.
We are individual Christians, followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. As one minute passes to the next hour throughout the day, a necessary arbiter of our actions must be, “Does this please the Lord?”
We are a collection of Christians, a local church assembled as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. As weeks move to months and years, a necessary arbiter of our actions must be, “Does this please the Lord?”
My mom frequently told me to learn from the mistakes of others. All of us denounce David’s actions, as we should. All of us condemn the ancient people of God, as we should. But it is not enough to denounce or condemn. We must learn from their errors. We must not displease the Lord.
So, we pray and sing,
Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee:
Prone to wander Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart
O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.