Who is God? Jehovah El Roi the God Who Sees (Part 3)

King David’s Secret Exposed

“He reveals deep and hidden thinks; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him” (Daniel 2:22).

               David was chosen by God to be the second king of Israel. King Saul, his predecessor, had disobeyed God’s commands and God’s spirit had departed him. Therefore, the Prophet Samuel anointed the young shepherd boy, David, to take his place. The Bible says, “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah” (1 Samuel 16:13). David went from being a shepherd boy to becoming a celebrated hero for defeating the giant Goliath. Unfortunately, with that success came trouble and he became a fugitive to avoid King Saul’s jealousy. David’s succession to the throne was not an easy one, and he went through a great ordeal prior to becoming king. Nevertheless, God always sustained him and ensured that no harm came to him.

               After King Saul’s death, David rose to power and was blessed with wealth, fame, and fortune. He had wives, concubines, and had everything that a king could want at his disposal. God tremendously blessed David with more than enough. However, David had a weakness that caused him to do something which angered God. The Bible says, “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home” (2 Samuel 11:2-4). David allowed his lust to overtake him, and he slept with another man’s wife. She became pregnant, and in a desperate attempt to hide his sin, he did the unthinkable – murder.

               Bathsheba was married to one of David’s soldiers, Uriah. Due to Uriah being away at war, there was no way to pass the pregnancy off as her husband’s because he had not had time to be with her. Therefore, David had him to come from the field in an attempt to get him to go home and sleep with his wife. Unfortunately for David, the plan did not work. Nothing David did was successful in making Uriah abandon his soldiers to go home. Therefore, David had Uriah put on the front line where he knew that he would die. The Bible says, “In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, ‘Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.’ So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died” (2 Samuel 11:14-17). David had Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, killed to cover up his sin. He then married her and thought that was the end of the story. However, Jehovah El Roi had seen it all, and that was only the beginning to much trouble he would see. The Bible says, “After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27).

               Jehovah El Roi was very displeased with David and sent the Prophet Nathan to rebuke him. The Bible says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die” (2 Samuel 12:11-14). Jehovah El Roi sent the prophet to tell David that He had seen the evil deed he had done in secret; therefore, it was not going to go unpunished. Although, Jehovah El Roi forgave David, the punishment remained, and his home was never peaceful after that – starting with the death of his newborn son.

               Many people mistakenly think that they can do evil things in secret and will never be held accountable for them. Well, they are sadly mistaken. Jehovah El Roi sees all, and everything that we do and say is written in Heaven’s records. The Bible says, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). The text lets us know that we should prayerfully guard what enters and exits our ear, eye, and mouth gates. There is nothing that can be kept from the all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-seeing ears and eyes of Jehovah El Roi.