David, Joseph, Phillip and the Quality of Alertness

David: An Example of Failure to be Alert

King David was a great man.  His stories found in First and Second Samuel are inspiring and teach us a lot about the character of God.  However, David’s fall from success came from one decisive moment in which he chose not to be alert.

When the Israelite army was in battle against the Ammonites, David chose to stay home.  One night he walked around the roof of his palace and saw a woman bathing on a house nearby.  He was not alert to the dangers of the lust that tempted his soul.  Instead of fleeing from the temptation (as Joseph did in Genesis 39), David pursued the temptation and brought the woman to him.

His inability to be alert to temptation brought severe consequences.  First, she became pregnant.  Secondly, David tried to cover up his sin and committed more sins by murdering the woman’s husband.  Thirdly, God brought judgment on David and the child died.  After that, David’s kingdom slowly spiraled out of control—rapes, murders, and treason characterizing his kingdom.  He experienced all this pain because of one moment of David’s inability to be alert to the sexual temptation in his life.

(II Samuel 11)

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Joseph: Alert to Immorality

Genesis 39 provides an example of a man exemplifying alertness.  Joseph, son of Jacob, found his life at a crossroads where alertness saved him from falling prey to sexual immorality.  He lived in the house of an Egyptian official, Potiphar.  Because of Joseph’s intellect and charm, Potiphar placed him in charge of the entire household.

In the midst of rising success and favor from his master, Joseph did not forget to be alert.  He was on his guard against things that could destroy him.  After working for Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife took notice of Joseph and fantasized going to bed with Joseph.  Daily, she tried to lure Joseph to bed with her.  However, Joseph steadfastly refused—he was alert to the temptation.

The climax came when they were alone in the house one day and Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph’s cloak and tried to pull him into bed with her.  However, because Joseph was a man of character, he was alert to the fact this was sexual immorality and could destroy him—so he fled.  In the face of temptation, Joseph chose to respond by fleeing the temptation.  He only could do this because he was aware of his surroundings and knew his only chance to escape the temptation was fleeing.  Joseph practiced alertness.

Philip’s Alertness to Evangelism

Philip was a man known to be alert to the Holy Spirit and wise in his actions.  As a result, the apostles chose him in Acts 6, along with six others to care for people—allowing the apostles to devote themselves to God’s word and prayer.  But after Stephen was killed for his faith, Philip, along with others, headed in different regions to proclaim the Gospel.

It was during this time that the Scriptures give an example of Philip being alert to an opportunity for evangelism.  In Acts 8, he was traveling along the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, as directed by an angel.  During his travel, Philip saw a chariot and because of his alertness to the Spirit of God, he went up beside it.

Drawing near, Philip heard an Ethiopian official reading Isaiah 53.  Sensitive to the key moment, Philip asked the leading question, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (8.30 NIV).  This opened an opportunity for Philip to join the man in the chariot and teach him about the Gospel.  The Ethiopian official trusted in Jesus Christ that day and then Philip baptized him.  Philip’s alertness to the opportunity to share Jesus Christ brought eternal hope to an Ethiopian man.