What a Tangled Web We Weave
What a Tangled Web We Weave
2 Samuel 11:4-25
4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king's anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”
22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”
4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king's anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”
22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”
Not in Control
The word “sent” dominates this story. Three times in 11:1–3 David “sends:” he acts as an arrogant king who manipulates people to get what he wants. Sin gives the illusion that I’m a little god, in total control of my life. But after a month, this woman David used and forgot now “sends” him a two-word message that shatters his illusions: “I’m pregnant.” In the grip of temptation, David forgot basic biology. Her bath was a ritual cleansing from her menstrual period, meaning a) she was not pregnant when her husband left for war, and b) David sent for her precisely when God designed her body to conceive. David is not in control! He is caught, exposed, ruined.
A Simple Solution
Or is he? We might expect the next verse to read, “So David came clean.” Instead, he spends twenty verses desperately covering his sin. He thinks, “I’m the king. I can fix this.” He tells Bathsheba, “Just keep quiet. I’ve got it under control.” The solution is simple: just get Uriah to think that this baby is his, and no one has to get hurt. He quickly “sends” for Uriah—still manipulating. He asks about the battle, pretending to care. “I appreciate all you do for us,” he says, “Now go home, take a hot shower, and get a good night’s sleep.” More deception. As Uriah walks out the door, a messenger hands him a bottle of wine and a dozen roses for his wife, compliments of the king. Is Uriah suspicious? But David smiles. “Problem solved.”
Or is it? When David walks outside in the morning, Uriah is sleeping his door like a loyal golden retriever! David freaks out. “Why didn’t you go to your house? To see your wife?” Is Uriah suspicious yet? Apparently not. He replies, “How can I go to a Sandals resort with my wife, when my men are out fighting for Israel with the ark of God?” Uriah’s integrity and loyalty remind us of who David used to be. It must have seared David’s soul later, but for now his mind races to Plan B.
“Uriah is too faithful to consciously break his oath to his men,” he thinks. “I’ll get him drunk so he won’t know what he’s doing!” This is ugly stuff: David is now breaking a new Old Testament law and ethical principle every minute. He hosts a meal, acts like Uriah’s friend, slips him some liquor, and sends him staggering home. David mops his brow and laughs with relief. “That was a close call!” But to his horror, he wakes up and finds Uriah with the servants. He has more integrity drunk than David has sober.
Or is it? When David walks outside in the morning, Uriah is sleeping his door like a loyal golden retriever! David freaks out. “Why didn’t you go to your house? To see your wife?” Is Uriah suspicious yet? Apparently not. He replies, “How can I go to a Sandals resort with my wife, when my men are out fighting for Israel with the ark of God?” Uriah’s integrity and loyalty remind us of who David used to be. It must have seared David’s soul later, but for now his mind races to Plan B.
“Uriah is too faithful to consciously break his oath to his men,” he thinks. “I’ll get him drunk so he won’t know what he’s doing!” This is ugly stuff: David is now breaking a new Old Testament law and ethical principle every minute. He hosts a meal, acts like Uriah’s friend, slips him some liquor, and sends him staggering home. David mops his brow and laughs with relief. “That was a close call!” But to his horror, he wakes up and finds Uriah with the servants. He has more integrity drunk than David has sober.
A Dark Conspiracy
That leaves only one option. David “sends” a letter to Joab: “Send Uriah to the front, then have your men withdraw from him, so he will be struck down and die.” He folds the letter and gives it to…Uriah. He is far too loyal to open the king’s message. David once cursed Joab for killing Abner, but now invites Joab into a much darker conspiracy to kill their mutual friend, while David acts holy. Joab arches an eyebrow at the king’s message; David just lost all credibility with him. But Joab is also more skilled at deception and murder, and so he sends a whole group of soldiers in with Uriah for a suicide mission. It’s costly, but a lot less suspicious. I thought nobody had to get hurt in this story?
These Magic Words
In a cold-blooded conclusion, Joab “sends” his own messenger to David. “If the king gets angry that we lost so many men, just say these magic words: ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also,’” Joab says. He now has David in his pocket. But when David gets the coded message, he feels nothing but relief. “Oh well, you win some, you lose some,” he tells the messenger with a smile. “Encourage Joab for me.” Then he sits down to eat a good meal. We don’t even recognize David anymore.
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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church
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