As I begin to write about this story today I can say will all earnestly that I wish this narrative didn’t have to be told. However, God tells it, but He tells it not to expose or humiliate, He discloses this information to instruct and redeem those in the middle of the saga, to put us in the storyline and to put us in the same shoes as David, Bathsheba and Uriah.
Sometimes we don’t like that because we can reduce this drama to their problems, but fail to see this as our problem too. This story is not a parable filled with symbolism, it’s real life. The dominative storyline isn’t adultery or murder, it’s how the Lord appraises the situation. What David’s actions are doing to God’s heart is the theme.
What happened to David? With that I have to ask this question. I have to ask where was David’s harp when he needed it the most? He didn’t just need the harp on the fields of Bethlehem, he needed it on the “roof of temptation” as well.
Every leader needs a harp because it represents a place of intimacy with the Lord. May the Lords sovereignty raise up prophets who pick up the harps that have been discarded by leaders.
Sometimes when a leader has too much time on their hands they disown their harp. When I say “David’s harp” I mean the place of intimacy, the place of worship, the place of peace before the presence of God. For David instead of honing his skill upon the harp he honed his skill to do evil. David could play the harp for others but as he got more successful he couldn’t play it for himself or before God. Years earlier David played before Saul with his harp in his hand, but now as a King without his harp he had absolutely no power to avoid the spear of lust. Captivity does that.
Prosperity doesn’t always bring freedom, but ministering to the Lord does. In a world where contemporary society is blood thirsty for revenge, may the Lord find prophets like Nathan who give Kings back their harp. God missed David which tells us the answer of why he stumbled in adultery and murder. So as we begin this new year let us remember not to lay down our harps and if we have let’s pick it back up and worship Him.
Psalms 137:1-2
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.