A Man of Honor

David now finds himself dealing with the fact that his sin is likely to find him out. Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, holds the key. His absence, fighting with the Israelite armies at the siege of Rabbah, made it possible for David to carry out his sinful desires with her. However, Uriah eventually will return and discover that his wife is pregnant. That will expose Bathsheba’s sin and probably David’s, too. And if their sin is discovered and the Law of God is carried out, both David and Bathsheba stand to be put to death (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22). Confronted with such a dire possibility, David ought to seek God in repentance. Instead, he focuses on covering up his sin by arranging for Uriah and Bathsheba to come together before her pregnancy begins to show so that Uriah will think the baby in her womb is his. Not surprisingly, this effort leads David from sin to sin.

David asks Joab to send Uriah to him. When he comes, David makes a pretense of asking how Joab and his men are doing, and how the siege is progressing. When Uriah has finished giving his report, David, as if to show his appreciation, urges Uriah to go to his house and “wash your feet,” a euphemism for getting into bed with his wife. He then sends a gift of food to Uriah’s home, a meal intended to gladden the hearts of the couple. But instead of going to his comfortable house and his beautiful wife, Uriah simply spends the night with the guards at the door of David’s palace. When David hears what he has done and asks him about it, Uriah explains that he is mindful of his fellow men at arms, and he does not want to allow himself a luxury they cannot enjoy. He even swears an oath that he will not indulge himself while the soldiers of Israel are in the field. “The consideration of the public hardships and hazards kept Uriah from lawful pleasures, yet could not keep David, though more nearly interested, from unlawful ones,” Matthew Henry writes. “Uriah’s severity to himself should have shamed David for his indulgence of himself.”

David then tries to subvert Uriah’s determination by inducing him to overindulge in strong drink at a feast. But even intoxication is not enough to overcome Uriah’s principles, and he once again refuses to go to his house for the night. Thus, David’s initial strategy for concealing his sin fails miserably, driving him to more desperate measures.