“And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.”
2 Samuel 11:1
There is a time for everything under the sun — a time to work, a time to rest, and a time to go forth to battle. In the passage above, it was a time for kings to go to war, yet David chose to remain in Jerusalem. That one act of delay — of tarrying when he should have been active — became the beginning of a great fall. From his idle moment came temptation, sin, deceit, and eventually death in his household.
David’s story reminds us that spiritual negligence often begins subtly. When we become too comfortable, when we stop engaging in the work God has called us to do, our hearts become vulnerable. The devil does not need to use a sword when he can use idleness. It was not the battlefield that brought David down — it was the rooftop of his palace.
The question, “Why tarry?” is a call to self-examination. Are you tarrying when you should be praying? Are you delaying obedience when God has called you to act? Are you sitting still when you should be witnessing, serving, or interceding? Many spiritual defeats are not because the enemy is too strong, but because believers are too passive. Beloved, it is dangerous to be idle when God expects you to be active. Every season has its assignment.
Charge: Do not allow comfort or distraction to take you away from your place of duty.
Further Study: Judges 5:23; Proverbs 10:4-5, 24:33-34; Ecclesiastes 3:1; Haggai 1:2-4; John 9:4; Acts 22:16; Romans 13:11; James 4:17.
