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1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. 10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” 12 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. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” (2 Samuel 11:1-15 NIV)
Happy and Blessed Wednesday to you, ConCafe Family; and rich surprise of faith be yours, Friend, in ways that drive you to serve the Lord even more fervently. Our prayers for the speedy recovery of The Rev. Ken Houston, who underwent surgery yesterday. Rev. Houston is a retired UM pastor and for many years was the chaplain on death row in Huntsville. We pray his recovery is smooth and speedy. Prayers for his loving wife, Lynn as well.
I have shared how back in the day, I would come home and find my Mom on the phone talking about Bob and LIsa. I knew immediately it was my Aunt with whom she was talking, but I had no idea who Bob or Lisa were. Our family and my aunt and uncle's family went to the same church, and at El Buen Pastor UMC in Houston, there were no Bobs or Lisas. I waited until she got off the phone and asked, "Who is Bob and Lisa?" She laughed and said, "They're from As the World Turns!" Oh. A soap opera? I think ATWT lasted a 100 years on TV, and for all I know now, Bob and Lisa are still on, probably having torrid stories to tell from the nursing home!
Today's passage is straight from a script of a soap opera. It's an honest story about human desires and urges, and it happens in the palace, of all places. Our little shepherd boy is all grown up now, being a successful king, now at war with the Ammonites, and like all good kings, stays home and lets the general and his armies fight the battle. In the cool of the evening David take a stroll on the roof of his palace, and while there he happens to see a beautiful woman bathing. Stunned by her beauty, David wants to know more about her. Facebook was not yet fully developed, nor was Instagram or any other social app around to help him snoop on her background. The man sent to inquire comes back with the report; Her name is Bathsheba, who's the daughter of Eliam, and she's also married, to Uriah the Hittite, who also happens to be a soldier in King David's army. So, David sends messengers to bring her to the palace, and in an abuse of his position and power, he seduces her and she leaves only to find she is pregnant from the encounter. David's mind tells him to send for her husband, so that he can relax at home with his wife, then he will think the child is his. David has orders for Uriah to come to report on the battle, which he does, and then David says he should go home and wash his feet. A clever way to say, enjoy your stay at home, and enjoy your wife. But faithful soldier and good citizen Uriah, decides to sleep at the entrance of the palace with all the servants. He does not go home. Word gets back to the king that Uriah did not go home. So, he sends for the soldier to come see him. "Haven't you just come from a military campaign? Why didn't you go home?" Uriah replies that "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" David requests Uriah stay another night. David invites him to come and have supper at the palace. David tries to get him drunk, but that night, faithful Uriah went to sleep on his mat among the servants of the king. David then writes a letter to Joab ordering Uriah to be on the front lines where the fighting was the worst. Once there, the men were supposed to retreat so that Uriah would be struck down and die. Gulp.
This would have been the top-rated episode of the entire series. A king abuses his power, seduces a beautiful married woman, gets her pregnant, tries to get the pregnancy blamed on the husband, but when that fails, orders the murder of the faithful soldier. Had this happened in today's world, as a real social scandal, it would have been the lead story on the 5:30 national news; the head articles in the top newspapers, both in print and online form, and Congress would be clamoring for the resignation of the king! (Can a king be forced to resign? Would a king like David, hugely popular among all people, might not have been forced to resign). And in fact, this action, perhaps not widely known, did not mar his standing among the people of Israel. The chief clergy of the day, as we will see in subsequent weeks, did have something to say about this whole episode, but for now our attention is on the sadness of all that has taken place.
Which of the Ten Commandments did he break? Hmm, he was guilty of coveting his neighbor's wife, making her for that evening, his desired god. He committed adultery. He bore several falsehoods against Uriah and used his servants to make sure his story was in line with the actions; and he did kill someone. The DA would have had a field day filing the corresponding charges against this man. The question would there be enough evidence to convict? The scholars ask, did David get away with murder, and adultery, and lying, and, and, and...
This is a passage about the reality of life. Sin never sleeps, or as the word says, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour," and found in David a victim. And sometimes, it's not just David; it could anyone with a breath and a pulse that at the right moment succumbs to temptation and commits a sin. Others have asked why would God allow that? The answer is that God is a just God, and a loving God. He waited for David to confess his sin and he forgave him, and still used David for other matters that God needed accomplished in the kingdom. God expects us to rise above that which mired us down in the places where we did not want to go; God does not want us to end up where we messed up; God calls us to rise above, and with His help to move steadily forward and upward. That may ruin the script for a successful soap opera, but stay tuned!
PRAYER: Awesome God, show Your mercy to us when we need it most. When we are at our weakest, be at Your strongest so that we may be lifted up and away from temptation. Guide us, lead us, and make us whole. This we pray in Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a lifeline of hope and understanding to someone today!
Receive my blessings of joy and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
