Public Life, Private Life
I’m currently re-reading the epic stories of King David in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel in the Bible. They are truly cinematic as we track his journey from an unknown shepherd boy to the greatest King Israel ever knew!
The narrative plays out like a great blockbuster movie with action, adventure, romance and great drama. David went from strength to strength. He was obedient to God, was loved by the people and was victorious and blessed.
Everything was going so well, then something happened to change all that...
“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman washing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant.’”
David saw Bathsheba (another man’s wife) and his lust for her was uncontrollable that he slept with her and got her pregnant.
If that was not bad enough, when David discovered that her husband, Uriah, was fighting in the Israeli army, David spoke to the military commander and ordered that he manipulated things so that Uriah was killed in battle!
This was terrible. God was not pleased, and he sent a prophet to David to confront him with his awful behaviour. David confessed he had done wrong and God forgave him.
It’s a tragic tale. David’s public life was so impressive, and yet what he did on that fateful night in private had consequences. The child born to Bathsheba died and things would never be the same after that.
Take a moment to think about your life: public and private. Things may look great on the outside, the bits that everybody sees. But what about in private, the unseen bits? What’s that like?
This story is a powerful warning about what goes on behind closed doors. The ‘secret place’ is a big deal with God. Let me encourage you to be mindful of that. If you are struggling with something please seek help from people you know, love and trust.
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Stay safe & God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader