ESOCS Devotional 3 September 2025 – What Popcorn Can Teach You About Sin
MEMORY VERSE: “And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.” 2 SAMUEL 11:15 KJV
TEXT: 2 SAMUEL 11:16-27
So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, 19 and charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, 20 if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ”
22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. 23 And the messenger said to David, “Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.”
25 Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.’ So encourage him.”
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
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Have you ever sat down with popcorn at the movies? You’re not super hungry, but it’s the thing to do, so you take a piece — then a few bites more. You realize you’ve eaten half the bag, and the previews aren’t even over. You slow yourself down to make the popcorn last a little longer. You didn’t intend to eat the whole bag, but you can’t help yourself.
Sometimes, sin is that way.
In 2 Samuel 11, David sets himself up with a huge bag of popcorn. He has several chances to set it down but doesn’t. First, David neglected his duty to go to war, remaining in the luxury of his own home. Then “He saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her” (2 Samuel 11:2-3).
When we’re in the moment, desire can blind us to the sinful choices we are about to make.
David probably knew he was making poor choices, but when we’re in the moment, desire can blind us to the sinful choices we are about to make.
“Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15).
David allowed his desires to reach the point of sin — the conscious choice to sleep with Bathsheba, which led to her husband’s literal death (2 Samuel 11:14-27).
When we see the pattern of desire leading to sin in our lives, we realize how hard it is to stop the cycle once it’s started.
The cycle of sin is dangerous — leading to destruction in our lives that we never imagined. We deceive others because we don’t want them to know what we’ve done, and we isolate ourselves.
Let’s not allow the power of our sinful desires to overtake our lives. We didn’t really want the popcorn in the first place.
CHALLENGES
- Do you have a desire you know could lead to sin?
- What do you need to start doing or stop doing to avoid stepping into that sin?
- When we talk about our sin and temptation, it can help us see more clearly where it will lead us.
- Who can you talk to today about your struggle?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, I pray for grace to overcome every desire in me that could lead to sin in Jesus name Amen.
FURTHER READING: 2 Samuel 11:1-15; Romans 4:1-12; 4:13-35
ESOCS Devotional 3 September 2025
