2 Samuel 11:5-8
Verse 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
About a month passes and Bathsheba begins to get nervous. With each day she feels a growing dread. It couldn’t be true. She hadn’t seen her husband since he left with the army for the battle with Ammonites and it was obvious she hadn’t been pregnant when he left. All this pointed to one night with the king.
Meanwhile at the palace, David starts to think he had gotten away with his sin with Bathsheba but before he can take a sigh of relief, there came a message from his partner in sin. He receives the message and knows he is in trouble and must think fast to fix this to a point where he wouldn’t have to face the reality of the situation. He quickly came up with a plan.
David sends word to his top commander, Joab, to send the woman’s husband home from the battle. If he could get the man to visit his wife maybe people wouldn’t question who the father of the baby was. Joab may have figured David had another mission for Uriah since he was considered one of David’s mighty men. The king wanted the man, the king would get his man, so Joab sent Uriah on his way.
When Uriah came to David, the king starts out with talking about the war. He wanted this to appear as any ordinary meeting between the king and one of his men. In an ordinary situation Uriah may not have questioned his being called back but when he is expecting to be sent on a special mission and the king is only wanting to discuss things any young messenger could have given. Something seemed off. He had known the king for years and this seemed so different than their previous interactions. The king had even asked how Joab was doing and the messenger David had sent had talked with the general himself. Yes, something was amiss.
David was seeing the small talk wasn’t working and decided he should just send him home to see his wife. What guy wouldn’t be thrilled to take advantage of that opportunity after having been away at least a month? So the king told the man to go home and relax, basically telling him to go home and enjoy his wife’s company. This plan of David’s may just work out.
Making It Personal
Have you ever tried to cover up a mess you had made? Did the cover-up work as you had planned? Why would it be better to be open and honest instead of trying to hide the facts?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever tried to fix something by pretending it didn’t happen or that you didn’t do it? Did your mom and dad find out and scold you? Why would it be better to be honest with them about what you had done?
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess that sometimes we aren’t honest about what we have been up to. Please give us hearts for honesty and help us know how to tell the truth in every situation. In Jesus’ name, amen.