THE TIME WHEN KINGS GO TO WAR
Whenever things are running smoothly and going great – be careful. David had conquered his enemies, and his Kingdom was running smoothly. The springtime had arrived. This was the time when Kings go to war. Instead of going himself, this time David sent Joab out with his army. While David was at leisure in Jerusalem, his army destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.
A KING WITH TIME ON HIS HANDS
One evening, a rested and bored king David got up from his bed and walked around the roof of the palace. With the springtime breezes blowing and the smell of fragrant flowers in the air, he viewed his Kingdom.
It was one of those days when all seemed right. Maybe he was feeling pretty smug, and possibly a bit proud of himself for being where he was in life in this moment. As he strolled the roof, he looked down and saw a woman bathing. She was breathtakingly beautiful. He couldn’t help but stare, though it was unknown to her.
In an instant, without even thinking it over, David called his closest servant and sent him to find out about her. The servant returned saying her name was Bathsheba. She was the daughter of Eliam. Also, she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. King David knew Uriah the Hittie well. He was one of Israel’s best warriors.
THE WIFE OF A WARRIOR
Subsequently, even after knowing all of this information, David sent his messengers to fetch her. Bathsheba came to him and he slept with her. Afterward, she bathed and went home. Sometime later, she sent word to David saying, “I am pregnant.”
David knew in his heart this was his child. Her husband had been at war defending Israel. So, David sent word to Joab saying, “Send me Uriah The Hittite.”
At first I had to wonder if King David was going to come clean and confess to Uriah what he had done. Perhaps Uriah could have forgiven him, and they could have worked this situation out. Not so. There was nothing good about David’s intentions. David had sent for Uriah for other reasons.
A DECEPTIVE PLOT
Joab obeyed and sent Uriah to David. When Uriah arrived, David asked how Joab was doing. Then, he casually asked how the other soldiers were faring. After listening to a few heroic stories, David inquired further into how the war was going. After this friendly chit-chat between the two seasoned warriors, David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” This phrase is a euphemism for relaxation and comfort. In other words David was suggesting that Uriah should enjoy the comforts of home. Of course this would have included spending some time with his wife.
So Uriah left the palace. An “appreciation for your loyal service” gift from the king was sent after him. (Probably a bottle of fine wine delivered to his front door.) But Uriah never enjoyed this gift. He slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
Later, when the servant of David reported that “Uriah did not go home” David asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
A LOYAL AND DEVOTED WARRIOR
Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
You could say that Uriah’s guardian angel was trying very hard to make this work out better for him. Uriah, however, wasn’t going to budge from his decision to be loyal to the Kingdom dispite his own personal comfort.
Do you think David might be feeling a ting guilty by now? It was the time when Kings go to war, but he had stayed home. Not only that, he had taken the wife of this loyal and good man who HAD gone off to war. He was one who would not dream of his own comforts while the country was hard at war. David should have felt terribly ashamed. However, he continued to try to think his way out of these bad circumstances.
ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT DECEPTION
Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. At David’s invitation, Uriah ate and drank with him. Over the course of this time David made him drunk. But in the evening, Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants again. Even drunk and intoxicated from the King’s wine, he did not go home.
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab. He sealed the letter and sent it with Uriah. The words of the letter said, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Uriah had been curious and opened the letter before he delivered it. He was not that kind of a man though. Uriah faithfully delivered his own death warrant to Joab.
JOAB LOSES A GOOD WARRIOR
Later, when Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell. Moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
Joab sent David a full account of the battle. He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the King this account of the battle, the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If the King asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”
THE MESSAGE IS DELIVERED
So the messenger did as Joab commanded him. He gave David the message saying, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”
David sent the messenger back to Joab with this message, “Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.” David asked the messenger to deliver this to Joab as a form of encouragement.
THE WIFE MOURNS HER HUSBAND
Soon Bathsheba heard that her husband was dead. She mourned for him. After that time of mourning was done, David sent for her. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, this thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
For the first time in his life, David had really done wrong. He had tried to cover it up and heaped up blame on top of blame. Of course The LORD was displeased. I’m sure He hoped that Israel’s most famous and beloved King would not sin.
But there was something worse than the sin David had committed here. It is the fact that this was a secret sin and it was committed from the power of being a King. Not just a secret sin, but one that involved the lives of many innocent people. How many lies and deceptions did David commit here? We can’t even count them all.
It was a sad day for David. Also, it was a sad day for Israel. Worse than that was the sadness it must have brought to The Kingdom of God. What would happen next?
There is still much to tell, but we will have to cover it in our next lesson.
VERSE: You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence. ( Psalm 90:8)
PRAYER: Father, please forgive us for secret sins. These are the sins we dare not speak out loud or share with our brothers. We are so ashamed, and it is obvious the worse part is that when we commit such sins, we hurt You the most. Please forgive our past sins and help us to become stronger, more honest and better warriors for Your Kingdom.
A SONG TO COMFORT YOUR SOUL: https://youtu.be/LuvfMDhTyMA?si=rS2BKm429z4uCZiJ Matt Maher; LORD I NEED YOU
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