And at evening he went out to lie on his bed O with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also. Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall? Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.
But the thing that David had done T displeased [ f ] the Lord. Used by permission. Even when David tried again by getting Uriah drunk, Uriah did not go home to sleep with his wife and still stayed with the servants. David then turned to drastic measures. Joab did as David said. He put Uriah in a place where he knew the strongest enemy defenders were, sending him to attack the wall of the besieged city. There, Uriah was killed, most likely by missives fired from the wall 2 Samuel However, God had laws in place long before this allowing devout foreigners to become worshippers.
There were extensive laws about who could assimilate and what had to happen, and certain people groups could never achieve full status in the community, but Israel was meant to be a shining light to all the nations e. He served David faithfully. He loved his wife. Yet, the king stole his wife and had him killed. Sometimes, we preach a prosperity gospel. Jesus says in John that in this world, we will have trouble. However, God is ultimately a just and loving God, and those who follow Him will find eternal joy and everlasting life.
Meanwhile, Uriah was a Hittite, a Gentile. David was no perfect man. The story of Uriah clearly shows this. However, God still used David to do great things.
Over and over, the Bible shows God using the weak, the broken, and the sinful to do his will. From adulterer David to murderous Paul, God shows His power by using the least likely candidates to accomplish his will.
But God still knew. He sent the prophet Nathan to confront David. David was livid and demanded justice for the man. Joab sent Uriah on a suicide mission where he died along other brave men. He was not alone. He did not die alone. He was not left behind. As I read the text, I wonder the conflict that swelled up within Joab. He was bound to obey his king but at the same time he was asked to break that unspoken code between warriors. Now Joab was no stranger to death. He was a hardened warrior and he certainly had no qualms about killing a man in cold blood and probably why David felt comfortable giving him that order.
He had done so out of revenge against the one that killed his brother See 2 Samuel Or at the very least, Joab knew that those fighting alongside Uriah would not leave him behind to die alone. In 2 Samuel he sends a message to Joab in an attempt to comfort him:. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it. Joab had seen countless men die and had sent countless men to their fate. Why would David want to comfort Joab in this particular situation? Leaders in the middle of war do not have time to grieve every death, but when it is one of their own, the grief is deep and enduring.
The message also shows how far David had fallen. David came to power by inspiring the loyalty of great warriors. That kind of leader is built by leading from the front. They fought and suffered alongside their men. While other German military leaders would lead from the safety of their headquarters behind the front lines, Rommel was known to stand alongside his men as bullets wizzed by. It is what made his units such formidable foes during World War II. David was that kind of military leader and much greater because he honored and served God.
In 2 Samuel we read about a time when David was hiding from Saul and probably having spent days without much water nor food said longingly how he wished to drink from the waters of Bethlehem. Instead of drinking the water, he poured the water out to God. He felt that was the only way that he could honor how they had risked their lives to get him the water in the first place.
Even though this event with Uriah is tragic and definitely leaves a bad impression of David, I love that God has imperfect leaders. It reminds me that you do not have to wait to be perfect to serve his purposes. He too was a leader of men, a great warrior, faithful to God, and faithful to his mission. I found it curious that in this genealogy that details the line of Jesus, Uriah is the only non-blood relation mentioned.
David was king but Jesus is the King of kings. To be mentioned in his line is an honor that will survive into eternity. We know from II Samuel 12 that David payed dearly for his sin. God was displeased and David payed a high price for betraying another of His faithful servants. But God did more than exert justice for Uriah. God placed Uriah in the genealogy for a reason. I believe that reason was that God wanted to honor his faithfulness to the end.
We need to keep our integrity even if our leaders do not. And yet Uriah chose the higher path. Even when we do the right thing, we may suffer for it. But God never overlooks our hearts to serve nor our efforts to do His work.
Are we choosing comfort over the hard realities of the Christian battle? Although our calling as Christians is not a physical battle, the spiritual battle for peoples eternal salvation is real. And that battle requires for us to step outside our comforts and our perfectly planned out lives. We need to ask ourselves if we are choosing the comforts of life as David did in this account, or the hard realities of the spiritual battlefield like Uriah?
He went anyway because he respected the authorities God had placed above him. Our bosses, pastors, and leaders will sometimes ask us to do things we do not like. We can certainly voice our opinions, but at the end of the day if they make a decision contrary to our opinions, we must comply.
We must embrace the example of Uriah, but we have an even greater example in Jesus who also obeyed God unto death. Thank you Yajaira! Comments like yours keep me motivated to keep learning and keep writing. God bless! Very insightful! Thank you for opening up the life and ministry of Uriah the Hittite. Keep studying and sharing as God inspires you!!
That said, there is no greater tragic figure in the Scriptures than Uriah. I myself, as a Christian and Pastor, struggle to reconcile his life, with the sovereign and faithful love of God. His mention within the geology of Jesus is indeed marvelous, but not even that brings any meaningful measure of closure for what this man suffered. The harsh and unyielding reality is that the story of Uriah and his betrayal is consistently overshadowed not just by the meteoric personality of David, and forbidden eroticism of adultery, but by our pulpiteers.
He truly embodies the high price of Christlikeness and sacrifice. This is not meant to discourage the faithful, but it does serve as a gut punch for anyone or any culture who minimizes the potential costs of loving and following God!
Thank you for your comments Daniel! I think the incident in 2 Samuel 21 was apps 15 years after the Uriah incident. David would take part in battles along his warriors after the Uriah incident up until 2 Samuel 21—at which case, I think he was getting to old to be effective.
You are absolutely right! But such is the Christian life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew the cost of discipleship and he paid the ultimate price for his faithfulness. I believe in the power of miracles and the numerous blessings God can bestow his children in this lifetime—but sometimes we will be asked to do difficult things where the only one standing by our side is God.
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