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It Came to Pass in an Eveningtide
2 Samuel 11:2
"And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon."
One of the times that you need to guard the most is the night time. People get themselves into trouble at night more than any other time of the day. Proverbs 7 warns us about the dangers of the night when it tells us about a young man who was aimlessly walking the streets at night. God said about the night in John 3:19, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
David did not heed the warnings of the dangers of the night. When you study David's life, you will see that it was evening when David committed his great sin with Bathsheba. David did not understand the power of the night and the precautions he needed to make to avoid its pitfalls. Because of his lack of caution, sin overtook him and he paid a dear price for the rest of his life. Look at the four things that destroyed his life at night.
First, he didn't fill his time during the night. 2 Samuel 11:1 says, "But David tarried still at Jerusalem." Instead of doing nothing, David should have filled his evenings with work to keep him from doing things he would regret later in life. Christian, keep your evenings filled when you are alone at night. When you have nothing to do at night, your mind will find something to do, and most likely what it finds to do will not be good.
Second, he allowed himself to see the wrong things. Notice it says about David in the verse above, "...he saw a woman washing herself;..." When you don't fill your time with things to do, then you will start looking at things you should not look at. If you travel a lot and stay in hotels alone, I would advise you to keep your evenings filled, and be careful about what you watch on the TV. Many good people have filled their minds with wrong things by watching the wrong programs on the television. If you will keep your evenings filled with work or spiritual activity, then you will find it hard to look at the wrong things.
Third, he enquired about the wrong. 2 Samuel 11:3 says, "And David sent and enquired after the woman..." David was justifying in his mind that he was doing no wrong by simply enquiring about this woman whom he saw. Simply enquiring about sin means that you have already considered doing it in your mind. When you start enquiring about sin, then you are one step away from doing it. You don't need to know about sin. Don't ask about it at all. Don't investigate it in your private time. Stay away from the enquiry of sin.
Last, he thought no one would find out. David thought this act would be a one-night fling that nobody would ever know about. However, there is always a price to sin, and God warns us in Numbers 32:23 that sin will be found out. You may think that nobody will ever know what you are doing in private, but sin has a way of making its way into the public eye. Christian, you cannot get away with sin. God knows what you are doing, and He will hold you accountable for your sin.
I encourage you to be careful about the night time. Many people have ruined their lives in the "eveningtide." You are no different from David. Sin will catch you just like it did him. Ask God for His protection over your life during the night, and keep yourself from actions that will ruin your life.