Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Bathsheba - Out of Control

2 Samuel 11:10-26 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"Then 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. 13 At 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. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When 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. Joab sent David a full account of the battle. He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, the 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? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw 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, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.' " The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. Then 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." David 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." When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.

For the next 15 verses, Bathsheba is not even mentioned. The entire ordeal that unravels because of a few bad choices that she made is not even left in her hands. The situation that she shared in setting up has been taken control over by someone else - King David. Uriah explains why he won't sleep with his wife and David orders him to be killed and to make it look like an accident. However, Bathsheba has no knowledge of this and couldn't do anything about it even if she did.

She is finally mentioned again in the last verse. Notice how it does not call her by name, the Bible says "Uriah's wife". Now there's a kick in the pants, huh? The final verse of this chapter makes sure it is clear to everyone that Bathsheba was - Uriah's wife - and that she was now, well aware of the consequences of her actions. She mourned for him.

Webster.com defines 'mourn' as:
to feel or express grief or sorrow. This is a true picture of what sin in our life does to us. The choices we make, the sins we commit, can go beyond our control so that we don't even know what will happen next. The final act will be our grief over the bad decisions we made.

1 comment:

debrah said...

One man (Uriah) went to battle-One Man (David) stayed home...One man (Uriah) refused to sleep in his own home with his own wife while his men were in battle...One man (David) slept with another man's wife...One man (Uriah) was murdered because of the sin of others...Uriah was murdered in an attempt to "cover up" the sin(s) of David and Bathsheba...Jesus was murdered to cover our sins before our Father God...not to hide our sins but to take our sins upon himself in order to cover us in His blood His sacrifice His atonement for our sins. Jesus went to the cross with full knowledge of our condition and choose to die for in order that we can be reconciled to the Father. As far as we know Uriah was murdered without knowing that he was betrayed.
I have been reading through your blog...very insightful...your thoughts provoke an even greater thirst and hunger in me for God's word
In His Love,
Debrah