Once Upon A Time

“The Parable of the Ducks”— Once upon a time there was a town where only ducks lived. Every Sunday the ducks waddled out of their houses and down Main Street to their Duck Church. They waddled in and sat down in their proper seats. The Duck Choir would waddle in and take their place, and the Duck Pastor would waddle forward and open his Duck Bible. Then he’d read to them: “Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles! No walls can confine you! No fences can hem you in! You have wings, so FLY!” All the ducks would shout, “Amen!” And then they would all waddle home!

When Sin Invades

The moral of the story? Once sin invades our life, it cripples our ability to live the Christian life the way God intended for us to live it; and until we repent of our sin, we’ll “waddle” through this life even though God has ENABLED us to “FLY” IN CHRIST! Before his ascension to the throne of Israel—and for much of his early reign—King David was a man of moral integrity. But somewhere he began to take himself too seriously, and pride began to crowd out the voice of God’s Spirit in his life, and he began to lose his way spiritually. The tragic events leading up to King David’s most memorable sinful gaffe are found in 2 Samuel 11.

David’s Tragic Gaffe

It began “in the spring,” verse 1 says, “when kings march out to war.” It was customary for kings to march out to war with their soldiers to inspire them. But David decided to indulge himself at home while his soldiers set up camp in an open field. “David sent Joab,” the text says, “with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.” That decision proved to be a dreadful mistake for David. One evening, while out for a stroll on the roof of his palace, he saw something he never would have been exposed to had he marched to war with his men. A woman was cleansing herself. She was a beautiful woman, according to verse 2, and David decided he wanted her. So, he sent messengers to find out who she was—she was the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah—and that should have ended it! She was another man’s wife! But David sent for her and slept with her.

The Big Cover-Up

It was supposed to be a one-night fling for the king, but she became pregnant. Then he orchestrated a cover-up that ended in her husband Uriah’s death. But God was displeased with what David had done, so He sent Nathan the prophet to expose King David’s sin and to inform him that the son Uriah’s wife would bear would die. It’s at that point that the Scriptures allow us to peer in on King David to see what a prayer of repentance looks like. What we learn is that repentant prayer reopens communication with God that sin had closed. I’m confident that David’s sin didn’t begin with Uriah’s wife. When the big sin shows up, there’s always a trail of little sins leading up to it. And David repented for all of it.