David And Bathsheba

Hello! and happy TGIF to all of us, GUYS.  For our "daily bread" this Friday:

THE GOOD NEWS (29 January 2016)

"In the spring of that year, when kings usually set out to fight, David set out Joab, his officers and all the Israelite troops.  They slaughtered the Amonites and attacked Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem.

David And Bathsheba

One afternoon, David got up from his siesta and took a walk on the roof of the royal house.  From the rooftop, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful.  David sent to inquire the woman, and was told, 'She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah, the Hittite.'  So David sent messengers to have her brought to him; and he had intercourse with her after she had cleansed herself after her monthly period.  Then she returned to her house.

As the woman saw she was with child, she sent word to David, 'I am with child.'  

David then sent a message to Joab, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.'  So Joab sent Uriah to David.  When Uriah came, David asked him about Joab, how the people were and how the war was proceeding; then he told Uriah, 'Go down to your house  and wash your feet.'

Uriah left the palace and the king had a portion from his table sent to him.  Uriah, however, did not go down to his house but slept by the door of the king's palace with all the servants of his lord.  David was told that Uriah did not go down to his house, and he said to him, 'have you not come from a journey?  Why did you not go down to your house?'  Uriah replied, 'The ark, the men of Israel and Judah are housed in tents while my lord Joab and his servants are encamped in the open country.  Shall I go to my house to eat and drink there and sleep  with my wife?  As you live, I will not do this!'  So David said to Uriah, 'Remain here today also and I will dismiss you tomorrow.'  Uriah therefore stayed in Jerusalem that day and the day after.  David invited him to table and he ate and drank until he was drunk.  When evening fell, however, he went to lie down on his couch with the guards of his lord instead of going down to his house.

The next morning, David wrote Joab a letter to be taken by hand by Uriah, in which he said, 'Place Uriah in the front row where the fighting is very fierce and then withdraw from him so that he may be struck down and die.'  When Joab was attacking the city, he assigned Uriah to a place which he knew was being defended by strong warriors.  And the defenders attacked the men of Joab.  Some of David's soldiers and officers were killed; Uriah the Hittite also died." - 2 Samuel 11:1-17 

Uriah The Hittite

(David's "sin" helps us to reflect on the weakness and wickedness of which even GOD's friends are capable.

We observe David's defects in several incidents.  He is impulsive and deceptive.  Here [in Chapter 11] everything contributes toward making his crime more odious.

     - Uriah is a foreigner who came to serve the king.

     - Uriah strictly observes the religious laws concerning war [to abstain from sexual relations], and he observes solidarity with his companions, while David abandons himself to passion far away from any danger.

     - David kills Uriah treacherously after having instructed him to bring the letter to Joab.

How could a book intended to preserve the memory of the model king dare to narrate this event without hiding anything that makes David's crime more odious and win greater sympathy for his victim?  An official historian of another people would never have done this. 

The Bible is not a book written to the glory of a king, or a people.  It is "revelation of GOD" in the clearest sense of the word.  In meditating on the word of GOD, one learns to know GOD but also to truly know oneself in the light of GOD: everyone of us is a sinner in need of the Savior GOD sends us.)