February 16: “A Man After God’s Own Heart” by Johnna Warden
2 Samuel 7:11-16, “Uriah answered David, ‘The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!’ ‘Stay here today also,’ David said to Uriah, ‘and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In the letter he wrote: ‘Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies.’ When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were.”
As the scarlet thread moves forward, many generations have passed since Jacob and his sons lived; the people of Israel are finally dwelling in their Promised Land. The land is full of chaos and devastation among God’s chosen people. He has given them laws to live by, but everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes. The people declare that if only they had a king, that would solve all their issues. Their request breaks God’s heart; after all He was their king. But God gives them what they want: to be like all the other nations. God’s perfect plan for Israel was to be unique and set apart for His purposes, to be reflections of His goodness and glory, but all they wanted was to be like everyone else.
God gives Israel the king of their choosing. He looks great on the exterior, but his heart is far from God, and he is no different than the judges that had ruled. King Saul did what was right in his own eyes, not according to Word of God revealed through Samuel. Israel’s next king would be the king of God’s choosing, a man that would follow Him. King David is that man.
King David is often referred to as a man after God’s own heart. David’s rise to the throne of Israel is beautiful and painful at the same time. As David begins his reign in Israel there is great hope. Maybe this will be the one to crush the head of the serpent. King David seems to fit the description of a holy warrior and defender of the God of Israel; he is crushing their enemies and victory is always in his hand. All is going great for King David until he lingers where he should not; looks and then takes what does not belong to him. Does this sound familiar? That one decision leads to the downward spiral of King David and his family. Sadly, King David is not the One that we have been waiting for. God will be true to what He declared in the Garden of Eden, but it will not come to pass by David or this generation.
David’s life serves as a reminder for us today. He chose to walk in his own truth of comfort and deceit and it ultimately led to great sin. How often are you tempted to do the same thing? What are the things you are allowing to linger in your life today? What does the truth of God’s Word say about these things?
Precious Father, thank You for having a perfect plan and that You are working all things together for Your perfect conclusion. Help me today to trust in You and what Your Word says no matter what the world says to be true. Lead me not into temptation today. Amen.
