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Okay, you can turn in your Bibles 
to 2 Samuel chapter 11. 2 Samuel chapter 11. Remember, 
the larger context that we find ourselves in begins in chapter 
9. Chapters 9 to 20 highlight the 
consequence of David's sin. In chapter 9, we see David show 
kindness to Mephibosheth, In chapter 10, we see David show 
kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, king of the Ammonites. 
And here in chapter 11, David shows the opposite of kindness. 
He shows ruthlessness in the account of Bathsheba and Uriah. So I'll begin reading in chapter 
11 at verse 1. It happened in the spring of 
the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David 
sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they 
destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David 
remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening 
that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the 
king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman 
bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David 
sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, is this not 
Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? Then David sent messengers and 
took her. And she came to him, and he lay 
with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity. And she returned 
to her house. And the woman conceived. So she 
sent and told David and said, I am with child. Then David sent 
to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah 
to David. When Uriah had come to him, David 
asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and 
how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down 
to your house and wash your feet. So Uriah departed from the king's 
house, and a gift of food from the king followed him. But Uriah 
slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of 
his lord, and did not go down to his house. So when they told 
David, saying, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said 
to Uriah, Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go 
down to your house? And Uriah said to David, The 
ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord 
Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. 
Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with 
my wife? As you live and as your soul 
lives, I will not do this thing. Then David said to Uriah, Wait 
here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart. So Uriah 
remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Now when David 
called him, he ate and drank before him, and he made him drunk. 
And that evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants 
of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. In the morning 
it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it 
by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter saying, 
set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and retreat 
from him that he may be struck down and die. So it was while 
Joab besieged the city that he assigned Uriah to a place where 
he knew there were valiant men. Then the men of the city came 
out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the 
servants of David fell, and Uriah the Hittite died also. then Joab 
sent and told David all the things concerning the war and charged 
the messenger saying, when you have finished telling the matters 
of the war to the king, if it happens that the king's wrath 
rises and he says to you, why did you approach so near to the 
city when you fought? Did you not know that they would 
shoot from the wall? Who struck Abimelech, the son 
of Jerubasheth? Was it not a woman who cast a 
piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in 
Thebes? Why did you go near the wall? 
Then you shall say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 
So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab 
had sent by him. And the messenger said to David, 
surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the 
field. Then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the 
gate. The archers shot from the wall at your servants, and some 
of the king's servants are dead, and your servant, Uriah the Hittite, 
is dead also. Then David said to the messenger, 
thus you shall say to Joab, do not let this thing displease 
you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen 
your attack against the city and overthrow it. So encourage 
him. When the wife of Uriah heard 
that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 
And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to 
his house. And she became his wife and bore 
him a son. But the thing that David had 
done displeased the Lord. Well, as I said, this section 
marks the consequences of David's sin. Chapter 11 obviously records 
specifically David's sin. And chapter 10, remember we saw 
the battle against the Ammonites and the Syrians, and essentially 
that serves as the backdrop for David's sin. Basically what we 
find in chapter 11, it picks up where chapter 10, verse 14 
left off. Davis says, it, chapter 10, sets 
the stage for chapters 11 and 12. The Ammonite War serves as 
the historical background for the David-Bathsheba-Uriah fiasco. And chapter 12, 26 to 31, the 
end of chapter 12, brings closure to the Ammonite problem left 
hanging in 1014. So the Ammonites will be returned 
to, but now the author wants to give us this account of David's 
fall into grievous sin, the sin of adultery and then the sin 
of murder. And certainly it is a horrific 
account. John Calvin says concerning this 
particular account, he says, now here is a story which should 
make our hair stand straight up on end whenever we think of 
it. that a servant of God as excellent as David should fall 
into such serious and enormous sin that he could be judged as 
the most morally lax and promiscuous person in the world. So that 
is an apt description of what we find here in chapter 11. think 
is, well, we ought to be thankful that our sin isn't recorded for 
everybody to read in all of its grim detail. I mean, there is 
a sense where God is giving us this bird's eye view upon David's 
life that we ought to be thankful not everybody else has concerning 
our own lives. But I think we ought to take 
heed to this particular chapter because it does teach us many 
things about sin and about temptation and about the difficulties and 
the problems therein. So we'll look at three things 
this evening. First, the sin of David with Bathsheba in verses 
1 to 5. Second, the attempt to cover 
up the sin, excuse me, in verses 6 to 26, and then the divine 
response in verse 27. But note in the first place his 
sin with Bathsheba. Again, it's the Ammonite war 
that is in process. In 1014, we leave Joab and the 
Ammonites, or Joab returns from Ammon back to Jerusalem. And 
now here in 11.1, it happened in the spring of the year. This 
makes good sense. Once the inclement weather is 
over, it is now time to return to battle. It was the time when 
kings go out to battle. David sent Joab and his servants 
with him and all Israel. and they destroyed the people 
of Ammon and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. 
Now, it was the case that David had dispatched Joab on previous 
occasions. We see that in chapter 10 when 
David sends Joab to these Ammonites, but we see it back in chapter 
2 as well. So it was not unheard of for David to send Joab in 
his place, but the fact that the text indicates it was the 
time when kings go out to battle David is the king of Israel, 
but David stays back in Jerusalem. This does give us a glimmer that 
things are not right here. John Gill says, it would have 
been well for David if he had gone forth with the army himself 
then the sin he fell into would have been prevented. Now, of 
course, we're speaking as a man when we make this observation. 
This is the sovereignty of God, the decree of God. David was 
going to do these things. But from a human perspective, 
according to the preceptive will of God, idleness oftentimes precedes 
great sin. David was in Jerusalem. David 
should have been on the field of battle. If David was on the 
field of battle, he would not have been up on his roof looking 
down at Bathsheba while she was bathing. Calvin says, hence this 
circumstance was put here in order to show that David did 
not carry out his duty. By thus sparing himself and staying 
in his house in order to be at his ease, he threw himself into 
the net of Satan and one evil fed on another. So there is at 
least a good observation here for those of us who may have 
time on our hands. If we have time on our hands, 
there is likelihood that temptation to sin will present itself. The 
best thing to do is to try to fill up that time that is on 
your hands, because idleness certainly is a precursor very 
often to episodes of sin and wickedness. So we see that this 
is what's going on here. And it is interesting because 
a lot of space is covered, say, in chapter 8. Chapter 8 gives 
us this sort of overarching view of David's wars or the wars during 
David's life. Chapter 10, again, very broad 
strokes. We notice it lacked the sorts 
of details that we oftentimes want to read in military history. It just gives us this overarching 
theme. We've got Ammonites, we've got Syrians, we've got problems. 
But here in chapter 11, the narrative slows way down. It is very descriptive. It is very detailed. It is, in 
many respects, a literary masterpiece, what the author does here in 
chapter 11. The one thing that is absent 
from chapter 11, in all of its slowness, and in all of its detail, 
and in all of its descriptiveness, there's not, what do the people 
think? We don't get any, what's David 
thinking when he does these particulars? What's Bathsheba thinking when 
she does these particulars? What's in the mind of Uriah? 
The author doesn't give us that. It's ambiguous in some sense, 
but very clear throughout. And the emphasis is upon the 
fall of David in this particular instance. He shows hesed, or 
this kindness to Mephibosheth. He shows it to Hanun, the son 
of Nahash. And now in his own country with 
people that he is responsible for and to, he engages in absolute 
ruthlessness with Bathsheba and then toward her husband. Now 
note specifically under the sin of David with Bathsheba, the 
sin. Verse 2. The king saw her. It happened one evening that 
David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's 
house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman 
was very beautiful to behold. Now she certainly should have 
been more discreet, but the emphasis in the passage lay upon David's 
guilt. She should have been more discreet 
and certainly there is a doctrine of feminine modesty that I hope 
all you dear sisters practice and observe, but in this instance 
the emphasis falls upon David and the things that he is doing 
wrong. Notice he then inquires about 
her in verse 3. So David sent and inquired about 
the woman, most likely thinking that if she is not married he 
will take her as a wife. We've already seen this up to 
this point. David has violated Deuteronomy 
17. The laws concerning the kings 
in Israel is that they were not to multiply wealth, weapons, 
or women. They were not to have harems 
like the pagan kings around them. They were to be one woman men. 
with reference to their sexual fidelity. David's already compromised, 
so it's become more easy for him to compromise. And remember, 
this wasn't always sexual, though the fact is that it was here. 
But oftentimes these wives, or these additional wives, was to 
form political alliances. This was the way that you sort 
of made good with other kings. You would marry them. daughter 
or whatnot, and you would enter into these political alliances. 
So David's already compromised, and here he sends and he inquires 
about her, again, most likely to determine if she's unmarried, 
he will take her as his wife. Would have been better for her, 
or him, never to do this to begin with. And then note that she's 
identified as Bathsheba, and I think this is one of the only 
places in scripture where both father and husband are mentioned. She is the daughter of Eliam, 
the wife of Uriah, the Hittite. So it is told who her father 
is and who her husband is. And there's a particular reason 
for that. Later in 2 Samuel 23, in verses 
34 and 39, it will indicate or describe David's mighty men. 
And two of those mighty men are Eliam and Uriah. You mustn't ever forget that. 
The one whom David sends to his own death is one of David's mighty 
men. He was a trustworthy, valiant, 
noble soldier. The soldiers in Israel served 
their king, and these mighty men served him preeminently. So Uriah was a faithful, diligent 
servant of David the king. Now notice, he sends his messengers, 
according to verse 4, and he took her. Now, I don't think 
it was by force, because the next statement says she came 
to him. So he didn't take her by force. It wasn't something that was 
rape. It was consensual as we move through the passage. But 
nevertheless, David is the initiator. David sees this woman bathing. 
David acts upon, not Chesed here, but he acts upon his own lust. 
He hears that she's married, so he sends his messengers to 
take her. David should have stopped a long 
time ago. He should have been out at war 
at Rabbah, but then he certainly should have, if he was on his 
roof and he saw this woman, he should have went the other way. 
He should have never engaged in these particular issues. So 
the woman comes to him, the king lays with her, and then notice 
what verse 4 indicates. It says, and he lay with her, 
for she was cleansed from her impurity, and she returned to 
her house. Now, Kyle and Dalich say this 
was a cleansing from the impurity after intercourse with David. 
It's probably best understood as having been cleansed from 
her menstrual impurity previous to that, which that then indicates 
for us two things. One, that the baby that is conceived 
can in no way be Uriah's. Just in case we have any doubt 
when she conceives, there's no question whatsoever, is David 
the father or could it be from Uriah? No, she was cleansed from 
her menstrual impurity. She was not pregnant when she 
lied with David. As well, this is something that 
the author laces throughout this narrative is irony. Appreciate 
the irony in this particular statement. Here is Bathsheba, 
cleansed from her ritual impurity according to the ceremonial law 
of Moses, violating the seventh commandment of the moral law 
of Moses. So on the one hand, she's fastidious 
when it comes to the ceremonial, but on the other hand, she is 
a gross transgressor of God's moral law with reference to the 
seventh commandment. She was not forced into this, 
she was compliant into this, and when we get to this particular 
section, we need to appreciate that. There is an irony here. 
She's cleansed ritually, but she is violated morally. And then notice, the woman departs, 
she goes back to her house, and then the very next thing. And 
the woman conceived, so she sent and told David and said, I am 
with child. The only words recorded by Bathsheba 
in this entire chapter. Listen to what one man says concerning 
verses 4 and 5. Brueggemann says, the action 
is quick. The verbs rush as the passion 
of David rushed. Again, you've got to appreciate 
the narrative as it's constructed. David sent, David took, she comes 
to him, he lay with her, and then she returns, she conceives, 
she tells him, I'm with child. Very brief report, isn't it? I mean, this isn't some, you 
know, National Enquirer tabloid, you know, full-page ad about 
David's fall into sin. This is short, compact, and full 
of information in a very concise manner. So this man says, the 
action is quick, the verbs rush as the passion of David rushed. 
He sent, he took, he lay. The royal deed of self-indulgence 
does not take very long. There is no adornment to the 
action. The woman then gets some verbs. 
She returned. She conceived. The action is 
so stark. There is nothing but action. 
There is no conversation. There is no hint of caring, of 
affection, of love. Only lust. Isn't that what sin 
is? Isn't that what the author is 
presenting to us, especially when it comes to sexual sin? There's no love, there's no feeling, 
there's no affection, there's no desire for the good of the 
other person. It's lust that's driving David. It's lust that drives men or 
women who engage in this particular action. He says, David does not 
call her by name. He does not even speak to her. 
Now, whether he did or not, we don't know, but this is what 
is recorded for us. In terms of the report, there 
is no conversation. It's just the brazen presentation 
of an act of lust-filled sin is what the author is doing. 
It says, at the end of the encounter, she is only the woman. It doesn't 
even refer to her by name. And the woman conceived. Not 
Bathsheba, not the wife of Uriah, but it's the woman. He goes on 
to say, at the end of the encounter, she is only the woman. The verb 
that finally counts is conceived, but the telling verb is he took 
her. Robert Vanoy says, suddenly David 
began to function like the kings of all the other nations. I've 
already mentioned that. Deuteronomy 17 is very clear. These are the laws governing 
the king over Israel. Do not multiply money, do not 
multiply weapons, and do not multiply women. David, you're 
not supposed to do this. You've already got a harem, you've 
already got several wives, now you're taking this other man's 
wife. And so he goes on to say, he began to function like the 
kings of all the other nations who took from their people in 
order to satisfy their own desires. Suddenly he saw himself as above 
the law and became a law unto himself rather than being a king 
who is submissive to the law of the Lord and the words of 
the prophets. Suddenly David acted in ways 
inconsistent with the behavior of a true covenantal king. I 
think Van Hoy brings out something very important in this particular 
situation. Something that will come out 
later in the statement by Nathan. Look at 2 Samuel 12, 9. Why have you despised the commandment 
of the Lord to do evil in His sight? This is something we ought 
to get in our heads, in our minds, in our hearts, in the very fiber 
of our being. Brethren, we are governed by 
the law of God. We are not to violate the seventh 
commandment. We are not to go outside that 
covenantal context to satisfy or gratify our lusts. We are 
supposed to be faithful. We are supposed to be men and 
women of our words. When we say, I do, we are to 
mean it until we die. There is not to be any hedging 
of our bets or any compromise or any sorts of things that would 
compromise our profession of faith and our subordination to 
the law of God Most High. David is acting in a lawless 
fashion. David, who will write Psalm 119 
that celebrates the very law of God, is functioning now like 
a pagan. like a heathen, like somebody 
that is completely contrary to the will, the word, and the mind 
of God Most High. He is not functioning as a true 
covenantal king. Now note, secondly, the attempt 
to cover up the sin. We can look at the narrative 
under two considerations, David and Uriah, verses 6 to 13, and 
then David and Joab, verses 14 to 25. Note first, David and 
Uriah. David has to go into damage control 
at this particular point. She's conceived. She's pregnant. 
People will find out. Now, this didn't happen in absolute 
secrecy. Messengers knew what happened, 
didn't they? Because they went and fetched 
Bathsheba and brought her to to David. David knows that this 
has the potential of at least sullying his royal name, and 
so he's got to go into damage to control to try and cover this 
sin. Does covering sin apart from 
the blood of Christ ever work? Hopefully you all say no, and 
Proverbs 28.13 suggests itself to you. We just looked at that 
text several weeks ago. Whoever covers his transgression 
will not prosper, but who confesses it and forsakes it will find 
mercy. David should have stopped. He should have repented. He should 
have forsaken. He should have coughed it up. 
He should have said, I went into this woman. She is pregnant by 
me. Instead, he wants to cover his 
sin. Isn't this symptomatic and typical 
of sin? Is it usually the case that you 
just do one sin? It's like Oreos. Do you just 
eat one Oreo? Do you just eat one potato chip? Do you just take one sip of coffee? Do you just look at the sunshine 
or a beautiful day, just one glimpse? No, you want to glut 
yourself with it. And sin is very much like that. You cannot play games with it. 
You cannot entertain it. You cannot take it into your 
bosom and not expect to get burned. This is what David is doing. 
So notice, he instructs Joab to bring to him Uriah the Hittite. David's plan is diabolically 
ingenious. will bring Uriah back from the 
front. He can spend the night with his 
wife. He will do what every red-blooded Israelite will do when they're 
home on leave. He'll copulate with his wife, 
and when it's found out that she's pregnant, he will be accredited 
as the daddy. Seems like an ingenious plan, 
doesn't it? What could possibly go wrong? Well, what could possibly 
go wrong is that the true faithful Israelite in 2 Samuel 11 is Uriah 
the Hittite. The foreigner is the good Israelite 
in 2 Samuel 11. See, the only hitch in David's 
step here is Uriah's integrity. So he brings Uriah to David. Now notice in verse 7, when Uriah 
had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the 
people were doing, and how the war prospered. Do you think Uriah 
saw through this? I think he did. Why would David 
need to call Uriah from the front to get a battle report? Joab 
would be perfectly sufficient to give that battle report. Uriah 
is probably curious as to the nature of these particular questions. Gil says, these questions were 
so mean and trivial that it might justly give Uriah some suspicion 
that it could never be on this account that he was sent for. 
You see, there's a line of thought that Uriah knew what was going 
on. Did David know that Uriah knew? 
Did Uriah know that David knew? There's several possible ways 
that you could approach this particular section. We don't 
know that Uriah knew, but we can suspect by virtue of the 
fact of some of the things that are going on here. Did he know 
everything? Did he know something? Did he have a suspicion? Well, 
Gil seems to indicate that these questions would have alerted 
him that something wasn't right. I mean, why would David the king 
call me back and ask me for this battle report in such a situation? Now notice David's instruction, 
verse 8. David says, go down to your house 
and wash your feet. So Uriah departed from the king's 
house and a gift of food from the king followed him. Now this 
whole idea of go wash your feet, this was normal, this was typical, 
this was commonplace behavior after a journey, which this was 
probably about 64 miles from the site of Rabbah. He'd come 
back home, he'd wash his feet, the idea being that he would 
relax and he would have this gift of food that David sends 
to accompany him. You see this? You know, men and 
women, they go out for dinner and then they go home and they 
have amorous relations. That's what's going on. David 
sends this gift of food so that Uriah and Bathsheba will eat 
the gift of food and Uriah and Bathsheba will have relations. 
You say, well, that's not what David says. That's how Uriah 
understands it. Look at verse 11. When Uriah 
says why he doesn't go home, he says, shall I then go to my 
house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife? Uriah knew 
what David wanted him to do. And that is what David's plan 
was all about. Go, engage, have this gift of 
food. But note what Uriah does. I'm 
sorry, another piece of irony in this particular instance at 
verse 9. I'm sorry, at verse 8. David 
said, go down to your house, wash your feet. So Uriah departed 
from the king's house and a gift of food from the king followed 
him. Robert Alter says there is an 
obvious irony in the fact that the man of foreign origins is 
the perfect good soldier of Israel, whereas the Israelite king betrays 
and murders him. When you read your Bible, brethren, 
you ought to look for this kind of stuff. You ought to go, wow, 
that is bizarre. David, the reigning king of Israel, 
is functioning like a Hittite, and the Hittite is functioning 
like the king of Israel should. Covenantally faithful. has respect 
to the Ark of the Covenant, has respect for the people of God. 
You see, the author wants to throw in sharp contrast the integrity 
of Uriah and the absolute abomination of David in this particular chapter. Now notice that Uriah disobeys. Some Jewish commentators, trying 
to get David off the hook, argue that David was just in killing 
Uriah because Uriah disobeyed a direct order from the king. 
Notice in verse 9, Uriah slept at the door of the king's house 
with all the servants of his lord and did not go down to his 
house. David says, go down to your house. 
And Uriah doesn't go down to his house. He joins the bodyguard 
and he sleeps right there to make sure that David's protected. 
So some Jewish commentators said that was an act of disobedience 
and insubordination to the king, so he had it coming. Well, that's 
not what the text indicates at all. I mean, when we get to verse 
11 and Uriah's response or defense as to why he doesn't go down 
to visit with his wife, it's obvious what's going on. So he 
then does this in order to stay faithful and a man of integrity. 
Now notice verses 10 and 11. So when they told David saying, 
Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, did 
you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your 
house? Now verse 11 is one of those jump out at you passages 
that ought to humble David. See, one of the things I'm going 
to end up with tonight is the hardening deceitfulness of sin. You see, if Uriah had suspicion, 
and if Uriah thought for a moment that David was up to no good, 
what Uriah says in verse 11 should have smitten David. I mean, look at what he says. 
This should have been the mindset of David, not Uriah. Well, it 
should have been Uriah's too. Uriah said to David, the ark 
and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my Lord Joab and 
the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then 
go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife? As you 
live and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing. I mean, 
I would hope under God most high, if I was David, that would have 
pierced my soul and I would have collapsed in tears and said, 
please forgive me. You see, it's like step after 
step after step after step, the hardening deceitfulness of sin 
has latched itself upon David's heart. He doesn't see things 
properly. This is the effect of sin. It 
doesn't cause you to be a good interpreter of reality. This 
is the effect of sin. It doesn't cause you to have 
a moral assessment of things that are accurate. No, it causes 
you to start fighting for it. to start engaging in all sorts 
of subterfuge to try and accommodate your sinfulness and your wickedness. And that's what's happening here. Uriah is concerned for the covenant, 
the ark of the covenant, and for the covenant people. Now 
note David's contingency plan. Instead of saying, you know what, 
Uriah, I called you here under a ruse. I need to get straight 
with you. I had relations with your wife. No, he doesn't do 
that. No, he's going to get him drunk. I mean, David, do you 
read this chapter and just go, come on, David, don't? Every 
time I read it, I feel like I'm doing that, don't, David, and 
it never changes. You know, every time I've said to David, don't 
do what you're going to do, David. Don't go up on your roof. Actually, 
go to battle, David. Don't go up on the roof, David. 
Don't inquire about her, David. Don't send for her, David. Don't 
call Uriah back, David. Don't get him drunk, David. You 
just, your heart jumps out. It's the way the narrative is 
woven. It's so that we will produce 
or yield some sort of effect over it. So he has this contingency 
plan. Note, David gets Uriah drunk 
so that Uriah will lie with his wife. David has a sin to cover. David has a secret to protect. 
David has to make sure that the kingdom believes that Bathsheba's 
new baby boy is Uriah's and not David's. But note, With reference 
to Uriah, the alcohol did not destroy his integrity. He was 
drunk and he was faithful. He was drunk and he maintained 
integrity. What's this say about Uriah? 
He's a champ. It's a good man. He is a mighty 
man. Again, when you get to chapter 
23, after you've read 2 Samuel 11, and you see this list of 
the mighty men of David, and you see Uriah the Hittite, you 
think back to chapter 11, and you say, man, David, this was 
a mighty man that would have died for you, and you murdered 
him because you wanted to cover up the adultery that you committed 
with his wife. This scene is hair-raising, as 
Calvin says. Now remember, brethren, God the 
Lord calls David a man after his own heart. That's why this 
passage is hair-raising, because if godly, holy, righteous, faithful, 
consistent David can be reduced to this sort of wickedness, we 
need to take heed lest we fall. We need to understand that though 
we stand, we need to be on guard lest we fall into sin. Persons 
who say, well, it would never happen to me. I would never engage 
in such a thing. You know, I would hope that we 
would have that sort of a resolution, but we would be dependent upon 
God. By the grace of God, I won't. 
By the grace of God, I will stand fast. Donning that full armor 
of God, I will stand in the day of battle. But it's not our strength, 
it's not our willpower, it's not our ability, it's not because 
we're better than anyone else, but it's solely and alone by 
the grace of God Most High. We need to learn from this passage 
and may the Lord God use it to cause our hair to stand up on 
end when we consider the fall of such a righteous and a godly 
and a holy man. So David calls him, gets him 
drunk, and at evening, at the end of verse 13, he went out 
to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go 
down to his house. Faithful Uriah. We should be 
reading about faithful David. We should be reading about further 
exploits. We should be reading how he's 
killing the king of Ammon. We should be reading how he's 
leading his troops into battle, but that's not what we're reading. 
All of these Ammonite wars as the background and as the foil, 
the author shifts and he moves and he focuses on David's bedroom, 
this place of gross immorality and sin. Notice now David and 
Joab in verses 14 to 25, the plan. David can't blame the pregnancy 
on Uriah because Uriah's got integrity and won't lie with 
his wife. So what's the next best thing? Let's kill Uriah. 
Just get him out of the picture, then David can marry Bathsheba. 
And when she's found out to be pregnant, well then that will 
be legit because David's married to her. So we've got to liquidate 
Uriah. So he wants to get him set up 
in the place of battle. Notice in verse 15. Well, verse 14, in the morning 
it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it 
by the hand of Uriah. Again, imagine that man walking 
in his integrity, doing what his king and master told him, 
and he hands it to Joab. Verse 15, he wrote in the letter 
saying, set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and retreat 
from him that he may be struck down and die. That's grievous, isn't it? I 
mean, that he goes into Bathsheba and now he's doing this? You 
see, brethren, sin doesn't stop. You can't just sin and say, well, 
you know, I've just had my taste for today. I've had my one Oreo. 
Now I'm going to move on. It doesn't work that way. You've 
got to be careful. You've got, I've got to be careful. 
We have to be watchful and we have to be prayerful. We've got 
to take that full armor of God and we've got to put it on. So 
notice. He tells Joab, set Uriah in the 
forefront of the hottest battle, retreat from him that he may 
be struck down and die. So it was while Joab besieged 
the city that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there 
were valiant men. Now, Joab knows the score, doesn't he? Joab may 
not know all the ins and outs. Joab might not know about Bathsheba 
and the bun in the oven. He may not have all that information, 
but he knows that his king wants a mighty man dead. Joab is savvy 
enough to realize that if he just sends Uriah out to the front, 
that will draw suspicion. I mean, Joab's a good military 
commander. He would never send a mighty 
man all out on his own. So Joab engages in a good bit 
of subterfuge himself in order to protect this scene. See what he does, he sends Uriah 
to a place where he knew there were valiant men. Now note verse 
17, then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab 
and some of the people of the servants of David fell. You see 
it wasn't Uriah alone, it was some of the people of the servants 
of David. Joab didn't send Uriah by himself. Joab sent Uriah with other servants 
of Israel. So not only is the blood of Uriah 
on the hands of David, but the blood of these men also. Right? Because they wouldn't have been 
forfeited by Joab in a losing battle unless David had ordered 
the hit on Uriah. Gil sees it this way. He says, 
"...which made David's sin the more heinous, that several lives 
were lost through the stratagem he devised to procure the death 
of Uriah, who could not be placed in a dangerous post alone, and 
therefore others must be sacrificed with him." You see, Joab's not 
a fool. He knows that if he sends Uriah 
out there all by himself, people are going to say, Joab, what 
are you, nuts? You've never done that. It would be transparent 
that there was a ruse going on. So Joab sends these several out 
there, and all of them get slaughtered. So the blood, not only of Uriah, 
but the blood of these men are on the hands of David as a result 
of this stratagem, as John Gill calls it. Now notice the instruction 
given by Joab to this messenger in verses 18 to 21. Then Joab 
sent and told David all the things concerning the war, and charged 
the messenger, saying, When you have finished telling the matters 
of the war to the king, if it happens that the king's wrath 
rises... Okay? Think about this. Joab 
knew experientially what happened when David got news that David 
didn't like. Okay, Joab knows David has an 
aversion to losing troops. I mean, who would want to lose 
troops? David is the king of Israel. 
It grieves him and bothers him as the shepherd of Israel to 
lose troops. It grieves him and bothers him 
as a king to lose two Ammonites. Right? All of us are on board 
here. So in this particular instance, 
Joab understands that this news may not make David happy that 
these troops were lost. Remember back in chapter 1 in 
2 Samuel when that man came and told what had happened to Saul? 
And David didn't like what the man had said, and David ordered 
a summary execution. Joab knows this. That's why he 
says, and if the king's wrath arises, then you tell him, or 
he says to you, why did you approach so near to the city when you 
fought? In other words, David might reprove you, messenger, 
because we lost these several troops in battle. He might reprove 
you because we got too close to the city wall. David might 
say something like this, did you not know that they would 
shoot from the wall? Who struck Abimelech, the son 
of Jerusalem? Was it not a woman who cast a 
piece of millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in 
Thebes? Why did you go near the wall? You see, Joab is anticipating 
the possible wrathful response of David upon this messenger. 
And so Joab says, make sure you say to him, your servant Uriah 
the Hittite is dead also. This will assuage the king's 
wrath. This will calm the king, because 
that's his endgame. That's what he wants, the death 
of Uriah. He may be bugged and bothered 
by this collateral damage, but when he gets what he wants, his 
wrath will be appeased. So note, the messenger goes to 
David, verses 22 to 24, and he basically says everything that 
Joab said. The messenger said to David, 
surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the 
field. Then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the 
gate. The archers shot from the wall at your servants, and some 
of the king's servants are dead." Now notice, the messenger doesn't 
give him time to let his wrath arise. He heads him off at the 
pass. And your servant Uriah the Hittite 
is dead also. He doesn't wait. He just tells 
him that in one package deal. Joab says, if he gets mad, then 
tell him this. Well, the servant says, here's 
what happened. your Raya is dead. Now note, 
David's response. We ought to appreciate the literal 
translation in verse 25. If you have the New King James, 
you have a marginal note that says, be evil in your sight. 
Verse 24, do not let this be evil in your sight. In other 
words, it's