IDLENESS

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How many of you want to be like David? How many of you want to be like Saul? Well, most of us would say “Yes” to David and “No” to Saul just because we heard enough in the system to believe David was a good king after God’s own heart, and Saul was a bad king who was replaced by David because of his disobedience and pride. But there is so much more to this story. Even if you read a few chapters, you will see things that would make you reconsider.  Being anointed does not mean that you won’t make mistakes. David did. God chose David. People chose Saul. But that does not mean that David was always right with God. Remember, God chose all of us. We are all made to be priests and kings. These stories become our lives. So now we can recognize the things we are capable of, the things that God detests, and the things He likes, hates, and disapproves of. His Word is here so we can know Him more. He never changes. He just changes us.  

The things we need to focus on are the things that make us alive unto our God, things that we hope for, and the promises that He has promised us. If we don’t, the enemy will come to steal, kill, and destroy. Then you start feeling beat down, depressed, and oppressed! Out of the kingdom, the definition of the kingdom is denying ourselves and following Him. If you want joy, peace, and righteousness, step into the kingdom by picking up your cross. The simplicity of the cross eradicates self-centeredness, self-preservation, and self-exaltation! 

Let’s read 2 Samuel 11, and let’s focus on a different aspect of this passage: David, that man of war, was not at the place he was supposed to be! This is how it all started. “But David tarried still at Jerusalem,” Verse 1. At the time kings went to battle, David stayed home! Guess who else was home? All the women! David thought that because he was king, he could do all he wanted. We are also kings and priests (Revelation 1:6)! At times, we think we can do all we want! God has given us free will, but we played with a grace message that has now become a lifestyle of a sinful saint instead of a righteous warrior. Remind yourself: WE ARE AT WAR! But David stayed at home, and he was bored. The probability of you getting into temptation is when you take time to rest, to step back, to leave the war, or to go on vacation to feed your flesh! According to the scriptures, God is with the ark.

A religious spirit will attack this because they are still juggling the law and the grace. They still believe that you can only be with God if you go to a barren or desolate place or if you take a sabbatical. But in the New Testament, our battle is not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), and spiritual war will follow you wherever you go! So, we see that David decided to stay back. A religious spirit will say, “He is going to spend time with God alone.” David was not supposed to be walking on the roof (Verse 2), but was supposed to be at war! 

But Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, was bathing, and what is the end of this part of the story? She got pregnant! What a problem! One sin leads to another, and to another, and another. Sometimes we fall, and we don’t even know we fell. This is a warning of how the devil works! If he was able to trick the most anointed man in Israel, who do you think you are? Remember, this is David, the man after God’s own heart, the man chosen out of all the nation, God’s top pick. But look at what blessings, power, and anointing can cause us. No one is promised that they will never make a decision according to their flesh. But David did not humble himself and came up with a plan to fix his sin. When you have a real, loyal heart to Jesus and to the Body of Christ, you will never betray them. But David had a plan to betray his most faithful man: Uriah! Now the best thing he could have done was to bring Uriah and tell him what he did, to repent, and to ask him to forgive him, but you know… The plot thickens. The leaven expands and everything gets worse. 

David was encouraging Uriah, after he came from war, to get his mind off the battle (Verse 8): “And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. “But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house” (Verse 9). He did not take a rest. Not even knowing he was led by God, Uriah did not go into his home. Thank God Uriah did not sleep with his wife! Because of this man's loyalty to King David, a whole nation was preserved! David had just started a downward spiral. If Uriah had listened to him, David would have continued to live a lie. He would have been more blind to his pride. Who knows what would have happened to Israel? Sin begins to be like leaven. 

David got nervous when he knew that Uriah did not go home, but look at this loyal heart: “And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.” Verse 11

The presence and the Body, just like the Ark and Israel, were in this war together as a Body of Christ! And Uriah knew it! We need to know it. They are being attacked by the enemy, they are going to spiritual war, they are in the field, ready to die! Uriah would never leave Israel and the Ark alone! He did not complain. He did not murmur. He was not expecting promotion after an amazing victory! The devil will send you lying signs and wonders to make sure you leave the presence and the Body, just like David did to the Ark and to Israel! Uriah’s heart was, “I will never leave them alone when they are all going through battle!” See, when we read the Bible as New Testament believers, we have to see that everything we read is us. Religion will always make the Word die with them. The Spirit of God makes it alive for you. 

I am telling you, THE ARK is where the war is! THE ARK is where the Body is! David lost the battle with his flesh because he was not on the battlefield where he was supposed to be! Some may not get this, but this is the Word of the Lord. No one will not have to face obstacles of the flesh. The more idle time, the more chances of temptation.  If you value your time, you will see how much time you have! These things we do when we decide to leave our position. There is so much to do right now, but if you do it with the ARK, you will do it all with so much joy and peace! If you follow your flesh like David did, you will be idle and unsatisfied. You can’t leave your heart behind; wherever you go, your heart will go with you! We see that David, a man after God’s own heart, got complacent and bored. He still loved God. He just started to become his own god. That is why I would say I would want to be like Uriah, but no one wants to be like him. Everyone wants to be like David. 

Now look at this next passage.  “And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing,” Verse 11. Wow! This must have really angered David as well. This innocent, loyal man is telling David, not knowing what David had done, but this did not change David’s heart or make him come to his senses. He plots, then, another plot to cover his own sin as this man sleeps outside the tents, as this man honors God, as this man had his heart with the presence, with the nation of Israel, with his calling, and his purpose. Uriah was loyal not to his own family, to his own desires, or to his own flesh. Now we should have the same heart: seek and serve His kingdom first, not our own! 

See the deception of David! There was not even repentance, but just a plan to cover himself up with fig leaves, with his own works! But nothing got fixed, plus his plan displeased the Lord! Now, thank God, He steps in. “And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” Verse 26-27 

Let’s continue this story, going to the next chapter in 2 Samuel 12. Here comes God, a prophetic voice trying to warn David and to open his eyes so he could see how self-righteous he was! This is what pride does: It judges others when God is judging you! That is why all of these finger-pointing Christians have no oil or authority because the heresy hunters become heretics. Now they come acting like Nathans, but they are like the Pharisees and Sadducees. God did it in a very smart way: “And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, there were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeded many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.” Verses 1-3

Telling David about this: “And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him” (Verse 4). David got very angry against this man! Self-righteous! He told Nathan that this man should die because he had no pity! (Verses 5-6). This is what we do! Every time we judge others, that judgment comes back at us!  God could have brought death to David because the scriptures say that with the same judgment you judge, you will be judged (Matthew 7:2). Wow! 

God says that every time you point a finger at others, “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man” (Verse 7). “Mic Drop!” What a moment in time! Now what? 

The way we see things is so wrong sometimes! You see it as a burden; He sees it as light. You see it as a job; He sees it as an honor! When you get new eyes, you will see with His eyes. David was not seeing anything with God’s eyes anymore! You can test the spirits, but you can’t judge people, you can’t condemn others!  You can’t even condemn what the Sauls do, because we can’t even see what is in our own hearts when we start to be God’s police. We discern everything for our own protection and leave the judgment up to God. Then we can see our own hearts, our own failures, and mistakes. He is worthy to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, or we become blind. “Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”  John 9:41

Bathsheba’s son is going to die. No fast. No prayer. Nothing could stop that! Everything David tried to do did not work anymore! God judged this situation but spared David’s life. David has to finish his purpose; the vision for Israel must go on. David, as a little boy, worshiped God, worked in the field, and had a pure heart, but now falling because he left his post! Uriah should be given way more honor than David because in all the bible stories, Uriah was the most loyal man. Let’s all be like Uriah!

“And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.” Verses 7-8

Why are you so unhappy? Why are you so idle? Because you lost your passion, your zeal for His house, you left your post and decided to take a break! Nathan was direct and to the point: YOU KILLED URIAH! David was a strategic king of war who took his BISHOP and turned him into a PAWN. What kind of king is this? If anyone knows chess, you don’t take your knight and put it out on the front line where pawns are sacrificed. You preserve your best pieces. Because of David’s own cover-up, David weakened the nation of Israel by sending Uriah out to the front line to be sacrificed. David became a man after his own heart, after his own cover-up…

Nathan told David that he would forever be in battle now because he had despised God (Verse 10). “You won’t be idle anymore, David! Now the battle is not just flesh and blood; now the battle will be intense. You will be wrestling for Me now, David,” says God. “David, you will fulfill your destiny, but now I have to humble you.”…David did not try to repent privately before God: “For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” Verse 12

The devil will make you blame this one or that one. David probably was just blaming Samuel, “Why didn’t you find somebody else? I just want to go back to the field with the sheep, back to my simple life!” All the things God gave you become trouble instead of blessing, and become hard when everything from Him should be light and easy! Stop lying to yourself because God is now sending a Nathan to you, today! Be true to yourself, search your own heart.  “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord…” (Verse 13), and he tried to save his child! “David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.” (Verse 16). But the child died on the seventh day (Verse 19). Sometimes all we have to do is get up, wash ourselves in the blood of Jesus, anoint ourselves, change our clothes of sorrow and heaviness, and go back to the place God has sent us to (Verse 21). Go back to purpose, destiny, and souls! Go back to the battle for souls! 

From that point on, David was never secure in his authority and in his relationship with the Lord! God made sure he would never take his presence and call for granted! The Ark of the Covenant was the presence of God! We can see all of this by the pattern of the Psalms that he wrote. Below is the example of the entire message about following the Word and the Spirit of God. Now the cross is our Ark of the Covenant! 

Let’s remember what was in the Ark of the Covenant because we always forget:  The Ten Commandments: The Ark's primary purpose was to house the two stone tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments. Manna: A pot of manna, the miraculous bread God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, was placed inside the Ark for safekeeping. Aaron's rod: Aaron's rod, which miraculously budded to prove his authority, was also kept in the Ark as a reminder against rebellion. All you need is in there. All you need is among God’s people (the Israel of God). All you need, you will find where God has placed you!  Look at all of these things: Our New Testament Ark of the Covenant - The Bread of Life, the provider, the Word now written in the tablets of our hearts, the power, and the authority over everything in the spiritual realm. Where is the Ark of the Covenant in your life today?

Where is the Ark? Where souls are. Where the souls are, there the Ark is! When you do anything during the battle (during your own battle), you are doing it unto Me! David was our reminder. The Ark and the Body of Christ were not on the rooftop watching lustful things, were not idle and bored, but were fighting the enemy and were winning the battle! So, you need to remind yourself! You need to remember the heart of Uriah. He was thankful for his position and would not leave that position for any personal reason! He was about God’s business, and we need to be about our father’s business. He is the Ark in us, but He is in the field as well. Whatever we do to the least of these, we are doing unto Him (Matthew 25:40). He is the treasure in the field; then the tempter cannot tempt us. 

Remember when Samuel anointed David in 1 Samuel 16:13-23. David was so happy just to serve Saul. He knew all the promises. David had fresh oil! David was a great servant! “Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him” (Verse 18). But something happens when we get authority, position, honor, and power. It seems the blessings of God can get to one’s head. Let’s keep our heads down and our hearts pure and thankful, and not be idle, and follow the Ark. 

In Psalm 51, we see the cry of David! His desperation! He acknowledged his transgressions (verse 3). He was saying words like, “I know where I have been, I know what I have done, I know that I left the Ark, I know that I left my position.” 

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Verses 7-10

“Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me,” Verse 11. “You will never leave My presence, will you?” says God! David took what he had for granted and checked out! Not when you are called to be a David, a Daniel, a Joseph, a Paul: you cannot check out! 

“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit,” Verse 12. You want God to take you back where you left, but no, you need to get your heart back to where He found you! Just go back for the oil He had poured unto you! 

“Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee,” Verse 13. People try to lead the Body without being purged themselves. But only when we get to this broken place, and repent for leaving where He wants us to be, then you will help people, then you will be able to shepherd His sheep, but first shepherd your own soul. 

“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness,” Verse 14. David was speaking about things that were not as they were, about things that were not as they used to be! Let it be so now. 

“O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Verses 15-17

Broken spirit. Poor in Spirit. Contrite heart. THAT God will not reject, despise, or ignore! Your answers are not in your environment, not in your calling, position, not in anything but in your heart! 

“Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem,” Verse 18. Build the walls of your hearts because out of that will flow Jesus Christ! Only then will He be pleased with you! “Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.” Verse 19

Don’t make the same mistake David made. But be loyal to Jesus and His Body at all times, just as Uriah was loyal to Israel and to the Ark of the Covenant! Even in the middle of the battle, you will find the Word as your shield, manna as your provision, and the authority to conquer all that Jesus died for to take back. You are not too far from the Ark, from the Body, from Him. You are one step away!

What if Nathan looks at you and says, THAT MAN IS YOU! Just find a place of repentance. Leave this Idleness Land! Cut your vacation short and get back to the battlefield. You are a General. You are a War King! Once in the field with the sheep, but today, in the battle with the Body of Christ to win a battle that has already been conquered by the King of Kings! Be where the Ark of the Covenant is! Be where the Army of God is! Today is the end of idleness in our lives! Don’t look for that desert island anymore! Don’t look for those green pastures for you to lie down and dream about your earthly life. Vacation is over! Get up, because the Ark (the presence) is moving, so are we! Awake and fight! 

Shane W Roessiger

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