ellauri156.html on line 68: Many tragic incidents occur as the unexpected outcome of a sequence of events. Certainly that is the case with King David. A little vacation from war leads to a day spent in bed, followed by a stroll along the roof of his palace as night begins to fall on Jerusalem. By chance, David sees a woman bathing herself, a sight which David fixes upon, his pecker coming instantly to attention, and then follows up on with an investigation as to her identity. The woman is shortly summoned to the palace and then to his bedroom, where David sleeps with her (well no, actually he spends time with her very much awake; what is meant by this euphemism is that he fucks the lady crazy.) Even though he has discovered she is the wife of Uriah, a warrior who is fighting for the army of Israel. Never mind. The woman becomes pregnant, and so David calls Uriah home, hoping it will be thought that he has gotten his wife pregnant. When this does not work, David gives orders to Joab, the commander of the army, which arranges for Uriah's death in battle. It looks like the perfect crime, but David's sin is discovered and dealt with by Nathan, the prophet of God. Nathan is Philip Roth's alter ego's name, Nathan Zuckerman! Can this be an accident? Jehova knows, it's too late to ask Phil.
ellauri156.html on line 70: This sequence of events and its accompanying tragedies is the subject of chapters 11 and 12 of 2 Samuel. I have chosen to expound these chapters in three lessons. This first lesson will deal with “David and Bathsheba,” as described in 11:1-4. In the following lesson, we will address the subject of “David and Uriah,” as told by our author in 11:5-27. The third lesson will focus on “David and Nathan,” as this confrontation is put forth in chapter 12. Our text has much to say about the sins of adultery and murder, but rest assured that it addresses much more sins than this. It is a text we all need to hear and to heed, for if a “man after God's own heart” can fall so quickly and so far, surely we are capable of similar or even bigger failures. May the Spirit of God take this portion of the Word of God and illuminate it to each of us in full color, as we come to this study.
ellauri156.html on line 287: The report David is given concerning Bathsheba gives him all the information he needs, and more, if he is intent upon doing what is right. He knows Bathsheba is married and thus out of the question. He also knows Bathsheba is married to Uriah the Hittite. This is no nameless husband, someone David has never heard of before. David has to know Uriah, even if he does not know his wife. In 2 Samuel 23:39, “Uriah the Hittite” is named as one of David's mighty men, known for his bravery and courage as a soldier. If he does not know it, surely someone there among his servants would inform him.
ellauri156.html on line 363: I don’t think I’m exaggerating here. The interaction between David and Uriah (see next episode) seems to indicate that David was puzzled as to why Uriah would not enjoy the good life in Jerusalem if he had the opportunity to do so. Uriah, on the other hand, chose to live as he would have on the battlefield.
ellauri156.html on line 412: I should also add that Joab is already being drawn into the conspiracy. Joab obeys David's command to send Uriah, and my guess is that Joab knows something is up. He may even have heard about David's liaison with Bathsheba. When he sends Uriah to Jerusalem, he has to give him some mission, some task to perform. Joab and Uriah may have sensed that this was no “mission impossible” (as you would give a mighty warrior), but that is a “mission incredible.” In any case, the web of deceit and deception is already being woven, and more people are being drawn into the conspiracy. Wow, this is prime material for a soap opera. Maybe there already is one, must check. OF COURSE there is:
ellauri156.html on line 419: As a consequence, David becomes attracted to Bathsheba who is the wife of Uriah, one of David's soldiers. The attraction is mutual although both know an affair would break the law of Moses. When Bathsheba discovers she is pregnant by David, the King sends for Uriah hoping he will spend time with his wife to cover her pregnancy. David's wife Michal who is aware of the affair, tells David that Uriah did not go home but slept at the castle as a sign of loyalty to his King. LOL, a sign of "fuck you" pointed at Dave with Uriah's middle finger without a nail.
ellauri156.html on line 479: He (David, not Dog this time) plays the role of a benevolent master. Uriah, his servant, has “come home from a journey” (verse 10). Is this not the time for him to concern himself with his needs and desires? Is this not the time to concern himself with his wife's needs? How insensitive of Uriah not to go home to be with his wife and to sleep with her. “Shame on you, Uriah!” Uriah has a lot of explaining to do, and so it seems has David.
ellauri156.html on line 511: In all likelihood, this was all in a day's work for the Israeli army even then. So it is not strange to see David, the mighty man of valor, (1 Samuel 16:18) dealing with Uriah, another mighty man of valor, like the enemy. Here is Uriah, a man who will give his life for his king (but not his wife? Did David even ask?), and David, a man who is now willing to take Uriah's life to cover his sin. We all know that it doesn’t work. (Actually, we all know that it works perfectly: David will be honored by posterity as the best Israeli king ever.) How strange it is to see David making Joab his partner in crime, especially after what Joab has done to li'l Abner:
ellauri156.html on line 556: The answer is quite simple, as is evident by Joab's own concerns. The entire mission is a fiasco. The Israelites have besieged the city of Rabbah. This means they surround the city, giving the people no way in or out of the city. All the Israelites have to do is wait them out and starve them out. There is no need for any attack. The mission is a suicide mission from the outset, and it does not take a genius to see it for what it is. Joab has to assemble a group of mighty men, like Uriah, and including Uriah, to wage an attack on the city. This attack is not at the enemy's weakest point, as we would expect, but at the strongest point. This attack provokes a counter-attack by the Ammonites against Uriah and those with him. When the Israelite army draws back from their own men, they leave them defenseless, and the obvious result is a slaughter. How can one possibly report this fiasco in a way that doesn’t make Joab look like a fool (at best), or a murderer (at worst)?
ellauri156.html on line 562: Now why does this messenger not wait for David to respond in anger, as Joab instructed? Why does he inform David that Uriah has been killed, before he even utters a word of criticism or protest? I believe the messenger gives the report in this way because he understands what is really going on here. I think he may know about David and Bathsheba, and perhaps even of her pregnancy. He certainly knows that Uriah was summoned to Jerusalem. I think he also figures out that David wants to get rid of Uriah, and that Joab has accomplished this by this miserable excuse for an offensive against the enemy. I think the messenger figures out that if David knows Uriah has been killed, he will not raise any objections to this needless slaughter. And so, rather than wait for David to hypocritically rant and rave about the stupidity of such a move, he just goes on and tells him first, so that he will not receive any reaction from David.
ellauri156.html on line 568: These words of David are the frosting on the cake. They seem gracious and understanding, even sympathetic. In effect, David is saying, “Well, don't worry about it. After all, you win a few, and you lose a few. That's the way the cookie crumbles.” Uriah, a great warrior and a man of godly character (but not a Jew, mind you), has just died, and David does not express one word of grief, one expression of sorrow, not one word of tribute. Uriah dies, and David is unmoved. Contrast his response to the death of Uriah with his responses to the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:11-27), and even of Abner (2 Samuel 3:28-39). This is not the David of a few chapters earlier. This is a hardened, callused David, callused by his own sin.
ellauri156.html on line 588: Sixth, our text makes Uriah a hero and a dress model, not a chump and not a sucker. There are those who might conclude that Uriah's elevator may not “go to the top floor” (as my neighbor used to say of those she considered less than bright). Is Uriah gullible? Is he ignorant of what David is trying to do? Is he a coon? A spook? I don't think so. This is what makes his loyalty to David and to God's Law so striking. I think it is safe to say that here Uriah is very much like David in his earlier days, in terms of his response to Saul. As Saul sought to kill David unjustly, because he was jealous of his successes, so also David submitted himself to faithfully serving Saul, his master. He left his safety and future in God's hands, and God did not fail him. Who? Not Uriah, apparently.
ellauri156.html on line 611: Stupid question, everyman has not got Dog's triceps, so how could he deliver Daniel, even if he wanted to? Well, he might have delivered Daniel to the lions, had he been all present and correct at the occasion. In the Old Testament, as in the New, God sometimes delivers His people from the hands of wicked men, but often He does not, or delivers them TO the wicked men. Their “deliverance” comes much later with the coming of the other Messiah, Lord Jesus Christ. Uriah, like all of the Old Testament saints of old, died without receiving his full reward, and that is because God wanted him to wait. Uriah, like many of the Old Testament saints, was not delivered from the hands of the wicked. This is pointed out by the author of Hebrews:
ellauri156.html on line 635: It is not due to any intent on her part, nor even any indiscretion. She is bathing herself as darkness falls, and being poor (see 12:1-4), she does not have the privilege of complete privacy, especially when the king can look down from the lofty heights of his rooftop vantage point. David is struck with her beauty and sends messengers to inquire about her identity. They inform David of her identity, and that she is married to Uriah, the Hittite. That should have ended his interest, but it does not. David sends messengers who take her, bringing her to his palace, and there he sleeps with her. When she cleanses herself, she goes home. (Or was it the other way round? Can't remember.)
ellauri156.html on line 643: David, on the other hand, does not even bother to go through the pretense of mourning. He does not even try to be hypocritical. When other mighty men of Israel died, David led the nation in mourning their loss. David mourned for Saul and his sons, killed in the battle with the Philistines (2 Samuel 1). David mourned the death of Abner, wickedly put to death by Joab (2 Samuel 3:28ff.). He even sent a delegation to officially mourn the death of Nahash, king of the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10). But when Uriah is killed “in battle,” not a word of mourning comes from David's lips. He is not sorry; he is relieved. Instead of instructing others to mourn for Uriah, he sends word to Joab not to take his death too seriously.
ellauri156.html on line 709: I hope I am not guilty of attempting to make this story “walk on all fours” when I stress the same thing the story does -- that there is a very warm and loving relationship between the rich man and the poor man's “pet lamb.” It really tasted great! Considered along with everything else we read about Uriah and Bathsheba and David, I must conclude that the author is making it very clear that Uriah and Bathsheba dearly loved each other. Anyway, who cares this way or that, it was his lamb. When David “took” this woman to his bedroom that fateful night, and then as his wife after the murder of Uriah, he took her from the man she loved. Bathsheba and Uriah were devoted to each other, which adds further weight to the arguments for her not being a willing participant in David's sins. It also emphasizes the character of Uriah, who is so near to his wife, who is being urged by the king to go to her, and yet who refuses to do so out of principle.
ellauri156.html on line 766: The evil David commits against others is clear disobedience to the revealed Word of God. David is a “man after God's own heart,” and yet in this instance, David “despised the Word of the Lord.” While David does repent and the guilt of his sin is forgiven, these consequences will not be reversed. These consequences are just; they fit the crime David committed. He used the sword of the Ammonites to kill Uriah, and so the sword will not depart from his house. He took the wife of another man, and so his own wives will be taken by another, another from his own house.
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