Day 158 Bible Reading - 2 Samuel 11: 1 (ESV)

These are the Bible readings for June 8.

2 Samuel 11 & 12, Acts 4: 1-22, Psalm 87

2 Samuel 11: 1 (ESV)

“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”

Verse 1 from 2 Samuel 11 gives us a brief description of the time of year and what David was doing. The bible commentaries note that Spring was usually a time of fighting when Kings go out to battle. But David instead sent Joab to go to war while he himself remained in Jerusalem. Many of the bible commentaries wrote that if David had gone to fight instead of remaining at home, he might never have seen Bathsheba, and God might never have been displeased with him. But this wasn’t the first time David ignored God’s wishes, but it would be the one that would cause God to be displeased with him.

John Trapp, an English American bible commentator, wrote “If David’s attention had been where God wanted, he would never it where God didn’t want it.” If I think back to my life, I have been where David was many times. I have gone down wrong paths because I wasn’t paying attention where God was asking me to be. It was a learning situation to be sure, but it was also at times very painful. I know my life would have been better and smoother if I had not strayed from where God was asking me to be.