Read 2 Samuel 11

In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

We’ve all heard stories about someone who has gotten “lucky” because they just happened to be “in the right place at the right time.” Maybe they caught a historic home run ball at a baseball game, or ran into a celebrity while eating at a restaurant and asked for an autograph.

What about those who are “in the wrong place at the wrong time” though? The Scriptures tell us about a time in David’s life when he was not where he should have been.

“It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1). The Scriptures do not say why David did not lead his men into battle, but since he was not where he should have been, he saw something he shouldn’t have seen.

“Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold” (2 Samuel 11:2). Had David gone to battle, he would not have seen this beautiful woman bathing.

Having seen something he shouldn’t have seen, David thought something he shouldn’t have thought. Lust is a dangerous thing, as it often leads to inappropriate actions. Jesus warned, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29).

Being where he shouldn’t have been, seeing what he shouldn’t have seen, and thinking what he shouldn’t have though, all led David to do what he shouldn’t have done. “Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her; for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house” (2 Samuel 11:4). David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and then tried to cover up his sin!

It all started because David was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have a choice to make. Will we place ourselves in the way of temptation or will we avoid going where sin lives?