When the presence of God leaves

CALL TO PRAYER

Title – When the presence of God leaves

Date: 17/04/2021

By: Owusu Clifford S.

2nd Samuel 11:2-5 NKJV

2 – Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 – So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 – Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 – And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”)

In Biblical history, and during the days of the children of Israel, one significant thing we can recall during their journey in the wilderness to when they entered the Promise Land was the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark signified the presence of God among the people. In today’s message, we will delve into the importance of the presence of God (the Ark) and the consequences of a lack of the presence of God.

The significance of the Ark also manifested in times of war. The Ark led the Israelites during battle times. A classic example is the fall of the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:4-15). Now, during the reign of David as king of Israel, he pitched a tent where the Ark was kept. Prior to this, God had blessed Obed-Edom for sheltering the Ark of the covenant in his house. When David saw that the man had been blessed because of the Ark, he decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem (2nd Samuel 6:11-12). The presence of God evoked blessings from God.

David, being someone who loved God, had a special relationship with the Ark. The Ark of the covenant was one of David’s key places of prayer (1st Chronicles 17:16). Also, since David knew the Ark came with blessings from God, though the Ark was under a tent at that time (1st Chronicles 17:1), I believe he would have pitched the tent for the Ark close to his house. Hence, David had the presence of God with him.

Now, let us consider what happened when the presence of God left. In 2nd Samuel 11:1, we read that David remained in his house while the whole of Israel went to war. The people had the Ark with them during that period of war (2nd Samuel 11:11). Instead of being with God (the Ark of the Covenant) at the battlefield, David chose to be in his house.

In our main verses for today, we read that it was during this time (when the presence of God had left Jerusalem and David) that David saw Bathsheba bathing and committed one of the greatest sins in the Bible (2nd Samuel 11). David committed adultery with the woman and masterminded the killing of her husband, Uriah the Hittite (2nd Samuel 11:14-24). We can therefore deduce that, when the presence of God leaves, sin is likely to follow. In 2nd Samuel 12:1-6, when the prophet Nathan told David’s sin to him in a parable, the verdict David gave revealed that he knew the right thing to do, but he did otherwise because the presence of God had left. Even the most powerful and anointed man can become ordinary and make unpardonable mistakes when the presence of God is no more (remember Samson?). The consequences of David’s sin (2nd Samuel 10-14) were very great: the child that was born to him died, and Absalom, his son, slept with his concubines and pursued him as well. Great are the consequences of a lack of His presence. May we have the presence of God at all times!

God bless you all.

Prayer: Let us thank God for His word today. Let us also pray that the presence of the Holy Spirit will continually be with us and guide us in all our dealings in Jesus’ name.