King David has always been a mystery to me. Actually, almost everyone in the Bible is a mystery. We see men and women who experience God greatly, but also greatly sin. It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw yesterday: Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History. Yes, I know David was not a woman, but it fits.

David, the guy who killed Goliath and was described by God as “a man after His own heart”, sinned big. And that reminds me of the saying, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” When David sinned, he didn’t hold back. You could say, he sinned “well.”

In 2 Samuel 5, the elders of Israel come together to anoint David king over all the tribes of Israel. After he’s anointed, he attacks and captures Jerusalem, which had been occupied by the Jebusites. Verse 13 says, “After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem…”

400 years earlier, through Moses, God had told the nation, “[The king] must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” David already had a few wives, but he took some more, plus the concubines. We can’t forget the concubines. (By the way, a concubine is sort of a live-in mistress.)

I’m going out on a limb here, but I’d say that more than one wife is considered “many.” So at the age of 30, David now has many wives. It’s about 13 years later that David sleeps with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. When David learns she’s pregnant by him, he comes up with a scheme to make it look like it’s Uriah’s child, not his. The plan fails so he goes to plan “B”, cover it up by killing the husband. Mission accomplished this time.

So what have we got? Many wives…and concubines. We can’t forget the concubines. Adultery. And an elaborate murder plot to cover up the fact that he got Bathsheba pregnant. At least he didn’t force her to get an abortion, right?

David definitely suffers the consequences of his sin. For one thing, the child born to Bathsheba dies. Still though, it’s always been interesting to me that this is the “man after His own heart.” That’s a mystery to me.

Of course, I’m also a mystery to me. I can experience God doing great things in me, for me and through me, and then forget Him. Forgetting God. I’d lump that one in there with other “big ones” like murder and adultery. I think “forgetting” is what so easily leads to the others.

Psalm 78:11 says, “They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.”

I have a remarkable capacity to forget what God has done. Forgetting just comes naturally, like sitting around watching TV and eating a box of Twinkies. Remembering is more like going to the gym to workout. It doesn’t come naturally and requires a lot more effort.

Remember. Remember God. Remember what He has done. Remember His commands. Remember He’s good. Remember He loves me. Remember He’s in control.

Intentional remembering. How do I build that into my life?