December 10, 2015
Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:6; 2 Samuel 11
6and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
11Uriah 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!”
12Then 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. 13At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
16So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17When 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.
18Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20the 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? 21Who 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 he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’ ”
22The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24Then 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.”
25David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”
26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
Questions for Reflection:
If you were writing a legend, if you were crafting a story to create a hero, what would the backstory look like? If you were choosing to tell a story that would inspire nationalistic pride, would you bring up one of the most embarrassing gaffes in the history of your country? Yet in reporting on the genealogy of Jesus, this is exactly what Matthew did.
The story of David’s relationship with Bathsheba is scandalous. David is sitting on his roof, overlooking the city, when he notices Bathsheba. It’s not just an innocent glance. He begins to fixate on the beautiful woman. He sends for her and compels her to sleep with him. We would consider this sexual harassment or rape in our culture today. What message does she send back to David after their night together? How did David decide to remedy this problem? How did David eventually cover up his sin?
Ravi Zacharias once said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.” What started as a night of pleasure ended up having a profound impact on David’s life, his leadership and his legacy. We often fail to play out the whole story when we are tempted. We might play the scenario out until our desires are met but we fail to think through the pain and torment that we can unleash on others’ lives.
Take time to reflect on your life. Is there any area of life where you are currently tempted? The good news is that because of Jesus’ life, we are able to experience grace and forgiveness. Spend time today asking God to give you the strength to resist that temptation. Ask for Him to change your heart and give you a heart set on Him. Spend time in prayer asking God to work in and through you today.