| A Boss After God’s Own Heart 9 / ABAGOH >>> |
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A Boss After
God’s Own Heart (ABAGOH)– Part 9 “Desperate times call for desperate measures” |
2 Samuel 11:12-13 – AMP – Then David said to Uriah, “Stay here today as well, and tomorrow I will let you leave.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Now David called him to dinner, and he ate and drank with him, so that he made Uriah drunk; in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, and still did not go down to his house.
David’s first cunning attempt to hide away his sin by sending Uriah
home to his wife failed. So he decided to put plan B into action. There
was no way for the innocent Uriah to know what was really going on.
He was the victim of a malicious activity and had no idea about the
real intentions of his boss. He surely felt honored by so much “kindness”
and “care” from his master who seemed to show him true understanding
and consideration. The king’s behavior looked so nice and so harmless
that Uriah never could have imagined that he was actually being pushed
around and manipulated like a puppet. That’s how excellent the king
played his game. David’s plan B was that he had a royal dinner prepared
and invited Uriah as his very special guest of honor. Uriah might have
thought “Wow! What an honor for me a gentile, to seat at the table of
the king of Israel and Judah and dine with him! What a favor! Some people
are going to be jealous of me.” Uriah was actually a heathen, a Hittite
who had become a worshipper of the only true God, had entered David’s
service and had married a Hebrew woman, Bathsheba (International Standard
Bible Encyclopedia). He might have wondered if the king’s behavior was
a reward for his commitment and devotion to the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, but also to David the king of the land. He might have thought
that there was certainly a promotion ahead that explained the sudden
attention of his master. Was he going to become the commander of David’s
army? Or maybe the assistant and counselor of Joab? He might have thought
“Why me? My wife is going to be proud of me; my friends are going to
envy me and my parents are going to congratulate me. If I am really
promoted, we will throw a big party to celebrate this unprecedented
event!” Little did he know that the countdown had started and he just
had but few hours to live. Little did he know that he would never have
another chance to go back home to be with his lovely wife again.
So David and Uriah sat down at the dining table that was beautifully
set with all kinds of dainties. The food was just delicious. Ever since
he had been on the battle field against the Ammonites, Uriah had not
had such a heavy meal. Not to talk about the vine. It was just excellent.
David had the choicest vine of the land served and made sure that Uriah
drank and drank until he became drunk. David purposely made Uriah drink
like a fool, hoping that his sense of duty and commitment would be altered,
and that he would just go straight home to Bathsheba after the dinner.
Maybe there were other guests present, maybe not. So while they were
eating, drinking and chatting, the king tried to behave as natural as
possible, though he was inwardly on burning coals. But he is the king,
and as such he must always make sure that he looks his best before everybody.
He must reflect nothing else but assurance, charisma and authority.
He must look like he has it all. Nobody should suspect that the big
boss is restless and worried about a woman that he carelessly got pregnant.
So here he was, sitting at the king’s dining table with Uriah the Hittite,
talking about everything and nothing, waiting for the moment when Uriah
would finally behave like a drunken person before he would send him
home. While he was watching Uriah at the table and drinking also, the
king made sure that he did not get drunk himself because if he got drunk,
he could say the wrong thing and reveal his secret. He had to be careful
not to lose his lucidity but at the same time, make sure that his guest
would lose all lucidity. Uriah finally got drunk and David was now sure
that he would go straight home to be with Bathsheba. But Uriah still
did not go home. He went to sleep with the servants of his lord on his
bed, just as he did the first time. Even though he was drunk, he was
still able to find the way to his chamber. Even though he was drunk,
he did not mistakenly sleep in another soldier’s bed, but he found his
own bed and slept there. And even though he was drunk, Uriah remained
loyal to his king, to his duty and to his God, and did not go home to
have fun with his wife. So David’s plan B also failed.
David also went to bed that night, hoping that his plan would work this
time and thinking about what he would do if Uriah still did not go home.
The next morning, David heard the bad news: Uriah slept with his master’s
servants and did not go home. The king became desperate when he realized
the stubborn loyalty of his servant Uriah. Time was not on his side
and he had to act very fast now because the baby in the womb of Bathsheba
was certainly growing and very soon her pregnancy would be visible.
So his cynicism inspired him with a brilliant idea: just kill the guy!
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
He wrote in the letter, “Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest
fighting and leave him, so that he may be truck down and die.” So it
happened that as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the
place where he knew the enemy’s valiant men were positioned. And the
men of the city came out and fought against Joab, and some of the people
among the servants of David fell; Uriah the Hittite also died. (2
Samuel 11:14-17)
Now
the job was done and well done. After his failed attempts to throw the
responsibility of Bathsheba’s pregnancy on Uriah, king David decided
to kill him, and it worked. As the saying goes, “desperate times call
for desperate measures”. David wrote down a murderous conspiracy addressed
to Joab and gave it to Uriah, causing this brave, valiant, devoted and
innocent soldier to carry his own death sentence. What a cynicism. Why
in the world did David chose to ignore the fact that God knows and sees
all things? Since God spared his own life so many times because he was
innocent, why was he not afraid to shed innocent blood? Being exalted
to a higher position can turn the heart of kings in the wrong direction,
causing them to become blind, cold and insensitive to the rights and
needs of their subjects. It is a proven fact that the position of power,
authority and influence can turn people into despots. It is so common
in the spheres of politics to oppress and kill those who know too much
and can become a threat to those who pull the strings. Murder is common
and normal for those who have power and influence and do not want the
truth about their real intentions and motives to be exposed. King David
had to hide his adulterous act with Bathsheba at any cost because his
reputation was at stake. Even if it meant killing a loyal soldier who
was only concerned about being a good and faithful servant. King David
was very well acquainted with the bitter taste of betrayal. As a soldier
who had fought many battles, he knew how much loyalty is important in
an army. Actually betrayal in an army must be punished by death. But
he had become the big boss and now he could do what he wants. Normally,
Uriah deserved to be honored for his loyalty towards his nation. The
inclusion of Uriah’s name in the list of the mighty men in 2 Samuel
23:39 parallel 1 Chronicles 11:41 is proof of his reputation as a soldier
(International Standard Bible Encyclopedia).
The Bible says that it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer
for well doing than for evil doing (1 Peter 3:17). Uriah had to die,
even though he did nothing wrong. Just like Abel, Naboth the Jezreelite,
Zacharias the prophet, Stephen the evangelist and so many other Bible
characters had to die for doing the right thing. But as the blood of
the righteous Abel was crying out from the ground to God, so is the
blood of all the innocent people who have died since the creation of
the world crying to God. And one day, God will require their blood from
the hands of their murderers. When people treat us badly and unjustly
and do not give us the recognition that we deserve, we should just remember
that our reward does not come from men, but from God Himself. What happened
to David can happen to each one of us because the heart of man is naturally
wicked and deceitful, as we read in Jeremiah 17:9. Sometimes we have
good intentions. But when a particular situation or trial arises we
fall. David never could have thought that he would one day become a
traitor, just like Peter never thought that he would one day deny his
Master Jesus. After killing the husband of Bathsheba, David took her
to be his wife, just like that. David comforted her after the death
of Uriah but he never told her that he was her husband’s killer. Of
course, she never would have accepted to become his wife, had she known,
that this respected and admired king was her husband’s murderer. Up
to that time, David is still behaving as a deceiver and a hypocrite,
and he still ignores the righteousness of God. David had the opportunity
to repent from the very beginning, but he chose to harden his heart
and play the deaf when his conscience was telling him that he was wrong.
But the Bible says that the thing which David had done displeased the
Lord (2 Samuel 11:27). God finally stepped in the situation by sending
Prophet Nathan to David, as we will see in the next lesson. mt