Plan B

O. T. #705   "Plan B"
March 1, 2016
2 Samuel 11-Part 5
... but he did not go down to his house.  2 Samuel 11:13

LET IT GLOW

So, what do you do when plan A fails? You go to plan B, right? That was exactly what David did. He schemed to bring Uriah home from the battlefield, to spend time with his wife, Bathsheba, so it looked like he was the father of her child, when David actually was. No one ever needed to know what David had done. However, Uriah was a faithful soldier and did not go home for the night, but spent the night at the palace entrance. He ruined David's plan A.

Well then, David devised a plan B. He wasn't going to give up. David told Uriah to spend the day there in Jerusalem, then he could return to the army later. (It was obvious that David knew he was disobeying God's laws by keeping his sin a secret, trying to cover it up.) David had to have time to devise another plan. (David wouldn't dare think of telling the truth and admitting his sin.)

What was plan B?
David invited Uriah to dinner and got him drunk. (verse 13)
But even then he did not get Uriah to go home. Nope, Uriah spent another night at the palace entrance. (It's okay to shake your head and giggle with me here.) Honestly, really David, do you not get it?

When people get mixed up into a sin, they don't think clearly. They don't care who they hurt, but are out to please themselves. Usually there is no remorse, but sometimes there is. Forgiveness awaits.


LET IT GROW

David, David, David. You are Israel's hero king; a man after God's own heart. What are you doing?
Did his messengers not have any nerve to approach the king and his sin? Apparently not.

Even under the influence of wine, Uriah was a more disciplined man than sober David! (Wiersbe)

There's a lot to be said about Uriah. He was a loyal soldier. He did not let a steak dinner with plenty of wine change his ways.

Now here's a panic stricken king, frustrated to the point of rage over his failing plan. No matter what he does, he can't pull off his strategy of deception. He can steal the man's wife, but he can't manipulate the woman's husband. Uriah will not cooperate. So David, in greater panic, escalates his plot to the next level. (Swindoll)

When plan A and plan B do not happen, what do we do next? We go to plan C, right? Do we stop to consider that plan A just may not have been in accordance to God's will so it failed? Are we so headstrong that we have to have our way no matter who is hurt? Do we know others like that?

We sometimes face situations with only two apparent choices, and both seem wrong. When that happens, we must not lose sight of what God wants. The answer may be to seek out more choices. By doing this, we are likely to find a choice that honors God. (Life Application Study Bible)

Next is plan C, and what a crazy, horrible plan it is.


LET IT GO

When plan A and plan B do not work, back off and take a good look at the situation.

Be willing to change my ways when God does not let it be for me.

Put in in God's hands before all else fails.