Understanding Extra-Mundane Influences

 

2 Samuel 12:11 "This is what the LORD says, Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight"

Prophet Nathan was the one who issued the verdict, He did so in response to the conduct of David towards Bathsheba and the death of Uriah which came as a consequence of that.

The story was simple.
David and his men were supposed to go to war.
David as the King decided Joab should lead the army to war while he would govern his kingdom from the palace

One evening, David sighted Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers from the roof of his house while she was having her bath.
A spirit came upon David, a very unclean spirit
The spirit suggested to him that he could sleep with that beautiful woman
Unclean Spirits and indeed every demonic spirit that has ever existed lack the power to physically afflict or hurt a person without the help and influence of another person
Demons are powerless without the agency of a man or woman whom they can influence either directly or indirectly to carry out their wishes
To this end, demons hover around emotion, not logic or reason and they ensure that they manipulate human action and its attending responses solely on the feelings of the moment
For David, this unclean spirit worked on his lust for Bathsheba
David sent for her and slept with her
Bathsheba got pregnant
David decided to bring Uriah (Bathsheba's husband) home from the war front
His plan was simple, he wanted to commit paternity fraud
Uriah however was a dedicated soldier
He knew that according to the code of the army, he must not sleep with his wife (be taking pleasure) while the other soldiers were at war.
So he refused to sleep with Bathsheba.
Bathsheba sent a message to David, an emotional appeal, "I am still pregnant sir and my husband has refused to sleep with me. Sooner or later this pregnancy will become obvious, my husband has been at the war front for months and is obviously not responsible for my pregnancy.
I will be accused of adultery sir, I will probably end up getting stoned to death.
I will also be asked to name the man responsible for my pregnancy
I may be unable to protect your reputation under pressure, sir!"

David decided to take a bold step by getting rid of Uriah
This bold step is also a result of the influence of an unclean spirit
They thrive on blowing issues out of proportion and making something of no consequence seem like the end of the world!

What was the worst thing that could have happened if David left Uriah alive and admitted his wrongdoing?

He would have been embarrassed, talked about and dragged (Social media style)
He would have had to compensate Uriah one way or the other
He would have married Bathsheba or put her aside unless Uriah decided he loved her enough to keep her and the baby
It would have caused a stink but it wouldn't be the end of the world
It is surely better than the option of killing Uriah to protect his reputation
Under the influence of demons, something as simple as the smoke of a sacrifice going up to heaven could stir a brother to kill his brother out of jealousy and anger
Demons are the master manipulators of human emotion
It is what they do and most of the time they do this so subtly that their victim, the perpetrator and even the agent sometimes wouldn't be aware that they were all being subtly goaded by extra-mundane forces

David gave Uriah a letter to hand over to Joab at the war front
Joab got the letter and sent Uriah to the battlefront where he was killed 
David got what he wanted (He was saved from the dragging of the mob) and he got to marry Bathsheba

David thought the movie had ended.

The story however had a second part which was triggered by the words of the prophet Nathan.

The prophet heard about what David did, and he then came to the palace to judge the King
Now, the King could have the prophet beheaded if the prophet did not present his case with tact, so Prophet Nathan came to David with a scenario about a man with plenty of sheep and another with one lamb
and how the one with plenty of sheep oppressed the one with one lamb by using the lamb to make pepper soup for his guest
David didn't know it was a trap
He judged himself and this was what led to the prophet's boldness to declare judgment against David on the matter of his conduct towards Bathsheba and the death of Uriah.

That judgment, at the time, prompted demonic spirits to have a meeting on how to execute the judgment of the prophet on David and his household.

After the meeting, they came up with a strategy.

Amnon, David's first son and crown prince was 18 years old, he was a very spoilt and entitled young man.
He was also not a very wise young man.
Amnon had a cousin named Jonadab, the son of one of David's older brothers who hung around him. 
This cousin was the demonic agent chosen by the demons to help stir Amnon in the direction of mayhem.

Amnon had a step-sister, a beautiful girl who was born of the Union between David and the daughter of the king of Geshur
Amnon suddenly started lusting after Tamar (The same spirit that overcame David in the case cited above regarding Bathsheba)
Amnon told Jonadab how he was FEELING (I TOLD YOU DEMONS MANIPULATE EMOTIONS).
Jonadab counselled Amnon on how to lure Tamar into his room and consummate his lust.
Amnon did it
Amnon raped Tamar and that spirit of lust lifted immediately
Suddenly he hated himself for what he did and he blamed her for it
(Some men still do this. They will not control their impulses (FEELINGS) and then they will blame the woman or her clothing or her make-up or her mannerisms for making them behave according to their FEELINGS)

Amnon threw Tamar out of his apartment, despite all her pleas that he could do the right thing by covering her shame and marrying her if he so desired

Tamar announced to the whole of Israel that she had been defiled
Tamar's older brother, Absalom saw what had happened and decided to avenge (An emotional response that leads to inflicting harm in return for an injury or wrong done to oneself or another) his sister
A few months later, Absalom invites all the princes to his house for a party and kills Amnon at the party
Guess who brought the news of the death to King David?
Yeah...
Jonadab!
Amnon's cousin and friend was the one Absalom relied upon to tell his father that he didn't kill all the princes.
He only killed the one that raped his sister.

Absalom ran to his mother's town to escape the punishment of the King.

David mourned Amnon and moved on but that demonic spirit was still planning and plotting.
Its aim was to fulfil the pronouncement of the Prophet Nathan regardless of the consequences.

A few years later, that spirit came all over Absalom in far away Geshur and whispered to him what to do to return to Israel
Absalom reached out to Joab and asked Joab to speak to David on his behalf
Joab did it through a woman of Tekoa
Absalom returned to Israel and began to usurp the throne of David
Within a year, Absalom had taken over the throne of David and declared himself King

After taking over the throne, Absalom turned to Ahitophel and asked him for counsel as to what to do to secure the throne and his kingdom.

Ahitophel said "Sleep with your Father's concubines whom he left to take care of the palace, then all Israel will hear that you have burnt the bridge of reconciliation with your father and they will stand firm by you"

You can see the influence of that demon plainly in Ahitophel's speech
If you ask Ahitophel, he will say he gave sound counsel from a strategic point of view but if you have followed the class, you will see that his decision was influenced by demons enforcing the curse of Prophet Nathan on David's household.

PS: Many a time we make decisions thinking we are doing so free of any form of outside influence
The more I read the scriptures the more I realise a lot of decisions are heavily influenced by forces and their willing or unwilling agents who are around us.
Believers were given the gift of the Holy Spirit for this reason so that we can be guided into all truth by his influence deliberately in all that we do.

I know it is a long read but if you managed to read and understand the class, I believe you would have learned a lot.
If you want to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or you need any form of counsel on any issue or you notice a demonic pattern in your life that you desire to overcome, you can send me a DM or send me a message on 08072744871 Whatsapp

-GSW-