Typically, when I want to freshen the blog but can’t find the words of the moment, I raid the portfolio. I found this little piece I wrote about David and Bathsheeba back in ’94. What a tale of lust, power, coverup, but ultimately, . . . what we need the most, grace!
Quite an encouraging story for us mere mortals!
David and Bathsheeba
By David L. Pulling
December 1994
When young King David
was a man after God’s own heart
and got red hot ablaze,
intoxicated with incendiary desire
confusing his loins,
binding reason to passion
in groveling servitude
because he was hungry
to taste Bathsheeba in the bath,
he sent loyal Uriah dying in battle
so he could have his royal cake
and make love to it, too,
but he lost Absalom
and he lost joy
because delicious Bathsheeba was forbidden,
and he wrote a whole book of Psalms
lamenting and groaning
agonies and supplications and confessions
before he got his joy back
because God granted grace,
which doesn’t excuse sin,
but it’s nice to know that you can always come back
if you get into it,
which again is no excuse
because Paul says sin is not for abounding grace,
even though temptation is natural,
considering God made flesh delicious
and men and women hungry,
which makes you wonder why it’s sinful
if it’s natural,
but the main point about David is that
he tasted Bathsheeba and he tasted grace,
so thank God for both,
and grant us both,
but mostly grant us grace.
Since “grace” is Bob’s favorite word, he’d like this!