There Came a Traveler

There Came a Traveler

And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.

II Samuel 12:4

God sent Nathan the prophet to David the King with a quaint but pointed story.  David had sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba, in seeking to hide his sin, and in arranging the death of Uriah, he had yet to face his iniquity.  It became the duty of Nathan to bring the whole matter before David in such a way as to get the monarch to condemn the wickedness himself.  Therefore, Nathan used the parable of the rich man, the poor man, the ewe lamb, and the traveler.  If we were to supply the traveler with a name, we would call him “Desire.”

The problem David had was not with the fact that the desire which came his way was inherently wrong; rather, it was the way he chose to satisfy that desire that led him into sin.  We will have certain desires which will come to us.  How we choose to satisfy those desires will make the difference between a clear conscience and a guilty one, a pure life or an impure one.  David had a physical appetite which was intrinsically legitimate.  His “traveler” had visited before and would visit again.  Abraham’s desire for an heir was legitimate, as was Jacob’s desire for blessing.  You and I also have legitimate desires which come our way from time to time.  David had legitimate means for satisfying his “traveler’s” needs.  He had, like the rich man of the story, “many flocks and herds,” that is, a host of wives to whom he was already legitimately married.

Where the problem arose was that David was not satisfied with what he had.  He chose the wrong means of satisfying his “traveler,” Desire. Abraham fell into the same trap in the matter of Hagar.  Jacob stumbled in the matter of patriarchal blessing.  Each of these men chose the wrong means of satisfying his desire.

Be aware, Christian, there is a right way and a wrong way to satisfy your legitimate desires.  David was to suffer the consequences of his wrong choice for years to come.  Four family members of his would die, a “fourfold” restoration which he himself had unwittingly stipulated.  Unrest would dog his latter years.  A host of evils would arise because of his sin in the matter of Bathsheba.  Your choices have real consequences.  As God gives you grace and wisdom, make your choices wisely!  Choose according to the Word and will of God.  Use the legitimate devices  which God has supplied for the satisfaction of your desires.  Flee the trap into which David fell.

Our Good God and Great Deliverer,

“deliver us from evil.”

Keep us from the sins that will

so thoroughly mar our future.

Give us grace to make wise choices.

Where the Bush is Burning

Tomm Tice