David wrote Psalm 51 after he was rebuked by the prophet Nathan when he sinned against Bathsheba, her husband, and God. God had chosen David to be the King of Israel after King Saul's disobedience. The Spirit of God was upon David, and He defeated many of his enemies, including Goliath, the champion warrior of the Philistines. No one could defeat David in battle, and because of that, many people admired him. God blessed him in every way. However, he let his guard down against sin. When David stayed in his palace while his generals and soldiers fought against their enemies, he saw Bathsheba taking a bath from the balcony of his palace. Temptation gripped his heart, and he wanted to take Bathsheba to sleep with her. The Bible didn't mention how Bathsheba got into David's palace, but David had all the power as the king of Israel to manipulate Bathsheba. He either forced Bathsheba or lured her to come to his palace. In any case, David slept with someone else's wife. While Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, fought for David, David took advantage of his wife. Some Bible scholars believed that David forced and raped Bathsheba. After he slept with Bathsheba, she got pregnant. David then tried to hide that it was his child, so he tried to manipulate Uriah to sleep with his wife so that no one would know that it was his child. However, Uriah didn't want to sleep with his wife while they were fighting a battle.
So, the last solution that David had before he was found out to be the one who impregnated Bathsheba was to kill Uriah. He ordered his general to put Uriah in the front of the battle to die. David was able to manipulate the whole situation to cover his heinous sin. He committed adultery or rape, and murder. The question of this sad story is how a man, after God's own heart, commits such a horrible sin. We have heard many believers, including church leaders and pastors, who loved God yet committed adultery and left their families and ministries. Or believers who committed other sins, such as abusive relationships, alcohol, drugs, etc. One preacher once said that the most horrible Christian people were the ones who knew the truth but not living it out.
Sin resides in our hearts, and if we let it live in our hearts, we are bound to sin, and it will lead us to deeper sin until we are willing to repent. God always gives us a way out of sin, so it is our own choice whether we take His way out or stay in our sin and be consumed by it.
Ask yourself these questions for application: (Think through carefully and meditate on the questions while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you). Is there a sin that I am hiding in my heart that I am not willing to let go? What should I do when I am in sin and willing to change? What are the consequences of my sin if I am not willing to repent?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, you always examine my heart and know when I am hiding sin. Please forgive me and give me a heart of repentance. Please do not let any sin harden my heart. Please restore me to the right path and help me to do the right thing in your sight. In your name, Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.