Tuesday 21 January 2025
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.” (vs 14-15)
Background
Yesterday we read how King David seduced another man's wife, who is now pregnant. David may be a king, but in this story he discovers the limits of royal power. He cannot control Bathsheba’s fertility. He cannot control Uriah’s ethical principles. But he can control the battlefield tactics. He sets up the conditions for Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, to be put in danger in a location where he is likely to be killed. And so he is. David’s casual lust has led him to a place where instead of being the protector of his people, he is a murderer. Uriah is not the only one who dies – other valuable soldiers are also killed in this risky military manoeuvre.
We are first introduced to David as the unlikely eighth son of Jesse, the one the prophet Samuel does not recognise as a potential king because he is the youngest and the humblest (1 Samuel 16:1-13). David is a skilled musician, who can calm the troubled spirits of King Saul (1 Samuel 16:16-23). He is the unarmed shepherd boy who defeats the giant Goliath with nothing but his courage and a slingshot (1 Samuel 17:50).
But now David is a king who stays safely at home while others take risks on his behalf; who has broken at least three of the commandments; who thinks he is above the law. But he is about to discover a limit to his power. He may think that he has covered up his sin in the eyes of his community; but he has reckoned without God. "The thing David had done displeased the Lord." (2 Samuel 11:27)
To Ponder:
- How would you tell the story of your own life?
- Is there a gap between how you appear to your colleagues and friends, and what goes on in your mind and heart?
Prayer
Holy God, you see the real me: the hopes, the good intentions, the mistakes, the selfish actions. And yet you still love me. You still invite me to work with you for your kingdom. Help me neither to live in denial, nor to despair. Help me to trust in your power to save. Amen.
Bibles Notes author: The Revd Val Reid
Val Reid is a newly retired presbyter who lives in Salisbury. She is exploring what ministry looks like in this new season of her life and relishes time for choral singing, wild swimming and walks in the New Forest.