2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
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David stayed home. He got lazy, complacent and then lustful. His gift and his calling was leadership in war. It was the season for war and yet he stayed back. Contrast this with Bathsheeba's good husband who, when invited home from the battle fields, refuses to accept the luxuries of his marraige bed. What a stark contrast! What a shocking reversal for David!
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I find myself in a similar situation in every spring of my life. Spring is that time when the air begins to smell of freedom and our bodies thrill at the thought of indulging the senses. But where does this lead? Childhood memories, nostalgia of late summer nights, conjure feelings of happiness which, in turn, stir up discontent. We try to recapture some lost happiness, some thrill of spring, but it is allusive. What did David think would happen after he satisfied his urge to have Bathsheeba? Did he think the happiness would last forever? Did he think there would be no consequences? He didn't think...he felt, and wrongly.
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Spring - the season for war and fasting. Winter is over and the world falls in love again with life, but we are not yet to the end of our winter as humans. There is still frost that must thaw before our eternal spring.
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