"Sent"

This whole story of David and Bathsheba can be outlined with the use of the word "sent".

The story starts in the spring. This is when kings were supposed to go to war. It was what kings did. But David decides he wants to stay at home, and he sends Joab out to do David's job. One evening, David gets up from his bed (what's he doing in bed in the evening?), sees a beautiful woman and sends someone to find out who she is. After finding out who she is, he sends someone to go get her.

They have sex and David sends her away. A few weeks later, she sends word to David that she's pregnant. So David sends a message to Joab to have Joab send the woman's husband (Uriah) home from the battlefront. David sends Uriah to have sex with his wife, but Uriah -- who isn't even an Jewish by birth -- proves to be a better Israelite than the king! Drunk Uriah has more self-control than sober David!

So, David sends Uriah back with a message to Joab. He wants Joab to have Uriah killed. Joab does this and sends a messenger back to tell David that the mission has been carried out. The news is broken to Bathsheba that her husband has died in battle (she apparently had no knowledge of David's plan and believes her husband died as just a natural part of serving in the army). After an appropriate time of mourning, David sends for Bathsheba and marries her.

David thought he was in the clear. He thought he had done it! Through all his crafty manipulation -- all his "sending" -- he had managed to pull off the perfect crime. Except for one thing: "The thing he had done displeased the Lord" (2 Samuel 11:27b).

There is One who sees all and knows all and will not be sent here and there to do another's bidding. So, the last time the word appears in the story comes in the first sentence of chapter 12: "The Lord sent Nathan to David."

As much as David thought he could control the destiny of the people around him, David comes to realize that God is ultimately in control. He is the ultimate sender.

So many applications of this thought process.... What areas of life are you trying to control and manipulate for your own selfish purposes? Is there someone like Joab in your life -- someone you get to do the dirty work for you? Are there people you send here and there for no other reason than you enjoy playing God in their lives?

Here's another one: Is there someone God is sending you to -- like he sent Nathan to David?