Day 123 – 2 Samuel 11:14-17

Scripture Review

2 Samuel 11:14-17

"And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah."

(2 Samuel 11:14)

The morning after David's second failed attempt to cover his sin. Uriah would not go down to his house. He would not enjoy the comforts of home while the Ark, Israel, Judah, Joab, and the servants of David were still in tents and open fields. So now David wakes up, but he does not wake up spiritually. David "wrote a letter to Joab." That means he had time to think. David had time to consider what he was doing, and yet he persisted in it, the written letter shows deliberation, not impulse. Then he "sent it by the hand of Uriah." Uriah is made the bearer of his own death-warrant, and his very courage and loyalty become the means David uses to destroy him.

"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)

David does not only say, "Put Uriah somewhere dangerous." He writes, "Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle." He wants Uriah placed where the fighting is most severe, where arrows fly thick, where survival is least likely. Then he adds, "and retire ye from him." That is exposure to danger and abandonment by design. David uses the battlefield as a mask for murder. If Uriah dies in combat, the report can sound honorable. "He fell in battle." "He died bravely." "The enemy overcame him." But heaven knows better. God sees the ink on David's letter. God sees the motive behind the command. God sees the difference between a soldier dying in providence and a soldier being betrayed by his own king.

"And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were."

(2 Samuel 11:16)

The Bible says he "observed the city." Rabbah is still under siege. This is the same Ammonite conflict that grew out of Hanun's insult to David's servants back in chapter 10. Joab looks over the city and assigns Uriah to a place "where he knew that valiant men were." That means Joab understands where the danger is. He knows where the enemy's strongest fighters are positioned. The word "valiant" is not used for weak men. These are able warriors, fierce defenders, men who can break a careless advance. Joab places Uriah exactly where the risk is highest.

Joab is just as guilty. David wrote the order, but Joab carried it out. David planned it, but Joab arranged it. David bears the chief guilt before God, yet Joab becomes a willing instrument. Obedience to leadership does not excuse disobedience to God. Joab could not wash his hands and say, "I was only following orders." A faithful commander must know there are some orders too wicked to obey. If the order requires treachery, innocent blood, or sin against God, then loyalty to God must stand higher than loyalty to the king.

"And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also."

(2 Samuel 11:17)

Here the plan succeeds, and the success is horrible. "The men of the city went out, and fought with Joab." In a siege, defenders could rush out from the gates or walls to strike the besieging force, especially if they saw a weak or exposed position. Joab has placed Uriah where the valiant men are, and now the battle does what David intended for it to do.

But Uriah is not the only one who dies. The verse says, "there fell some of the people of the servants of David." David's sin did not only kill Uriah. Other loyal men fell too. They probably had wives, mothers, and children. David's cover up spilled blood beyond the Uriah. That is one of the awful truths about sin, it rarely affects only the sinner. This is the terrible cost of covering sin.