One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold. – 2 Samuel 11:2, Amplified Bible (AMP)

I hate having to read 2 Samuel Chapter 11.  David’s adulterous and murderous choices had horrible consequences for Uriah, Bathsheba, and David’s entire family, and I so wish that none of them had to suffer what they suffered. Thankfully, God graciously forgave the repentant David for his sins, but God’s forgiveness did not prevent the consequences of sin from taking their toll.

David’s failures arguably did not begin with him looking upon Bathsheba from his rooftop. David’s failures arguably began from his seeming idleness described in verse 1 and in the first half of verse 2. As 2 Samuel 11:1-2a reads:

1 In the spring, when kings go forth to battle, David sent Joab with his servants and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites [country] and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David arose from his couch…

David, rather than going to the work that kings go to in the Spring, remained home. He chose not to lead his army into battle against the Ammonites, instead delegating that task to his trusty servant, Joab. Had David led his army – as he had so many times in the past – rather than stay at home to rest, he would not have been in Jerusalem to see the bathing Bathsheba, and he would not have committed the adultery and the murder that tainted his reputation forever.

Don’t get me wrong. We all need rest from time to time. But it appears from 2 Samuel 11 that David’s desire for rest had lured him away from his most important kingly duties. By letting idleness replace industry, he allowed Satan to tempt him into sin.

Be wary of idleness, for the old saying, “Idleness is the Devil’s workshop,” is true. Each time your hands are idle, your mind is an open field in which the Devil can plant all kinds of temptations. To avoid this, keep busy about the Lord’s work. When you do, the Devil won’t have any place to plant the seeds of temptation because the seeds of righteousness will have already taken up all of the fertile ground.