Friday, May 31, 2013

2 Samuel 11

2 Samuel 11:11
Uriah said to David, "The ask and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field.  Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife?  By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing."
Here was a man who was too good for his ruler.

Uriah was a Hittite.  As I understand it, Hittites were not descendants of Abraham.  They were foreigners, not Jews, not God's chosen people.  How Uriah came to be in service of David, we do not know.  But he obviously had at some point fully embraced Judaism, since he refers to the Ark here.  I don't think he did that just to score points with David or any such.

Uriah here showed the highest qualities, and utmost devotion to duty.  His comrades are out on the field of battle, but he has been summoned to give a report to the king.  He does so, but even when commanded specifically to go home, he will not indulge in any of the comforts of home life when his comrades cannot.

However, despite his noble deeds and proper mindset, he is not spared from David's treachery.  In this is also an important point:  just because you do everything right, it doesn't mean that you will be spared hardship.  In Uriah's case, that hardship was his own death in battle, through the treachery of his commander and his king.  He was innocent, but still had to face a penalty for David's sin.

No comments:

Post a Comment