2 Samuel 11:14-21
Verse 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.
Knowing that he can’t convince Uriah to go home and sleep with his wife, King David chooses to change the means of his cover-up. If he can’t get the man to make it look like the baby is his than he needs to die so David can have his wife. This seems drastic but David was getting desperate as timing was not on his side.
It would soon be obvious what had happened if the warrior remained alive and so the king sends word to his commander to do a most horrific thing. The king, who couldn’t bring himself to go to battle, was now asking his top official to do the unthinkable, make sure one of their own, one of their top men, died in the battle. To make sure Uriah was killed the king told Joab to put Uriah in the hottest part of the battle and then pull the rest of the army back making the husband of Bathsheba the prime target.
This had to seem like a strange request from the king but Joab must have figured that Uriah had failed at the mission the king had requested him for. Imagine being the leader of an army and having to tell some of your soldiers to pull back when given the cue so that one of the men they knew as a high ranking officer could be killed. It was like he was having to ask the men in his army to betray one of their leaders. But Joab is willing to do what the king had commanded.
Now that David had gained Joab as an accomplice, the commander has to add another man onto the list of people helping David get away with his sin. This young messenger didn’t know what he was becoming a part of but knowing the message he was carrying he had reason to fear the king’s response. Uriah was one of David’s mightiest men and so news of his death could be devastating to the king. It may even mean that he would be so angry he would take it out on the messenger.
Joab gave the young messenger not just the news but the details to relay to the king. He also told the man what the king may say in response and that he was just to make sure the king understood Uriah was dead. This was going to be tough news to break to the king.
Making It Personal
Has anyone ever tried to have you help them get out of a jam caused by their sin? How did you respond? Have you ever tried to get someone to help you out of such a jam?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever tried to have a friend help you not get in trouble for something you did? Has a friend ever asked you to help them not get in trouble? What should you tell them?
Closing Prayer
Father, we know there are times we use our friends for our own selfish purposes. Give us the wisdom and conviction to confess our sins to You and each other so we repent and not try to cover up what we have done. In Jesus’ name, amen.