The Plan

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

THE PLAN

2 Sam 11:6-27

6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. 10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" 11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" 12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

This was the plan that David had devised so that Uriah would spend the night with his wife, and that would be a good cover-up for what David had done. But that plan was not to be, and so David devised another plan that would cost the life of Uriah, then no cover-up would be needed, and he could have Bathsheba for himself, after all, he was the king. However, this was not a good plan, as we will be told the Lord was not pleased with what David had done. Once again, we might find ourselves in this picture. Can we make our own plans to prosper our own agenda without consulting the Lord? Do we want what we want, no matter what the cost to others, to have it our way? One of the major burger chains advertises that we can have it our way. We have seen ads from a specific brewing company, which we only go around once, so grab all the gusto we can. It seems the world is fixated on the satisfaction of self or that it is all about having the pleasures of life, looking the best we can, even stopping the ageing wrinkles on our faces. David wanted what he wanted, even at the cost of committing murder. Of course, not with his own hands, but with his heart, or more correctly, with his lust. We cannot afford to be that self-centered, especially at the cost of others. Are we not told to put others before ourselves? Are we not told to serve rather than be served? Jesus told us that is exactly what he came not to be served, but to serve. It is difficult not to get caught up in the ways of the world while saying we want to follow Jesus. But we cannot do both, or at least we are not supposed to try to do both. How can we follow Jesus and the world? It has to be one or the other, so we chose to follow Jesus, yet how do we still want some of those good things of the world? It does seem simple: if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, he will provide us with what we need to live in this world. That means we should not chase after things, but chase after Jesus. David chased after the things, and God was not pleased, and we know it cost David dearly. Let us not be concerned about the things, but only about following Jesus. It is far better to follow his plan rather than our plan.