2 Samuel 11:6 - Meaning and Application

Uriah had likely been away from his wife for several weeks, serving in the campaign in Ammonite territory and not expecting to return until it was over. When Bath-sheba’s condition became known, the hidden sin would come into the light. And when Uriah returned and learned how he had been wronged, it would be natural to expect two kinds of trouble.

First, he might bring his wife to court and have her put to death under the law. Jealousy can make a man fiercely angry, especially a man of honor, and a man who has been deeply hurt may not hold back when revenge comes (Proverbs 6:34). Bath-sheba seems to have feared this when she told David that she was pregnant, and she was likely asking him to protect her. If David had not already promised to do that, and had not so shamefully used his royal power, she may not have agreed to the affair at all. The hope of getting away with sin often encourages more sin.

Second, Uriah might not be able to prosecute David in court for such an offense, but he could still seek revenge in another way, even by stirring up rebellion. There have been cases where kings lost their crowns after giving powerful men this kind of insult. To avoid both dangers, David tried to make the child seem to be Uriah’s own, so he sent for Uriah to come home and stay a night or two with his wife.

This was the plan. Uriah was brought from the army under the excuse that he was giving David news about the war and the siege of Rabbah (2 Samuel 11:7). David acted as if he cared deeply about the army, though that was the last thing on his mind. If he had really wanted only a report, a much less important messenger could have carried it. After David spoke with Uriah long enough to cover his real purpose, he sent him to his house. He even sent food after him, hoping that a good supper would make the night more pleasant with the wife of his youth (2 Samuel 11:8).

When that failed the first night, since Uriah was tired from travel and preferred sleep to food, David tried again. The next night he made him drunk, or at least urged him to drink more than he should have, hoping that he would forget his vow and go home to bed (2 Samuel 11:13, 11:11). If David could have made him fully drunk, he may have planned to have him carried home. It is a very wicked thing to make someone drunk for any reason. Woe to the one who does it (Habakkuk 2:15-16). God will give a cup of trembling to those who give others a cup of drunkenness. To take away a man’s reason is worse than taking his money, and to push him into sin is worse than bringing him into trouble. Every good person, especially every ruler, should try to stop this sin by warning people, restraining them, and refusing to supply more drink to those who are already overdoing it. To encourage drunkenness is to do the devil’s work.

But the plan was defeated by Uriah’s firm resolve not to go down to his own house. Both nights he slept with the king’s guard and did not go home, even though his wife likely urged him as much as David did (2 Samuel 11:9, 11:12). Some think he suspected what had happened, because he had heard that his wife had been at court. If that were so, he surely would not have carried David’s letter to Joab without reading it. Whether he suspected anything or not, God’s providence fixed this resolve in his heart and kept him there. This helped uncover David’s sin and broke his attempt to hide it, so that David’s conscience might be stirred to confess and repent.

Uriah gave a noble reason for his refusal (2 Samuel 11:11). While the army was camped in the field, he would not live in ease at home. The ark, the sacred chest that represented God’s presence, was either still in a tent at home or with Joab in the camp. Joab and all the brave men of Israel were sleeping in rough conditions, exposed to weather and enemies, so Uriah would not enjoy comfort in his own house. His answer showed real public spirit. He was brave, tough, and disciplined, and he had learned to deny himself ordinary pleasures. When God’s people are under pressure, it is wrong for us to sink into comfort and pleasure, as though nothing were happening. We should be willing to bear hardship when the church of God must bear it.

His conduct could also have awakened David’s conscience. First, David had treated so brave and loyal a man in a disgraceful way. Uriah cared deeply for David and for his kingdom, and yet David had used him for his own sin. Second, David stood in shameful contrast to Uriah. Uriah’s concern for the public need kept him from lawful comforts, while David, who was more personally responsible, could not keep himself from unlawful pleasure. Uriah’s self-denial should have shamed David’s self-indulgence. The law said that when the army went out against the enemy, a man should keep himself from every evil thing in a special way (Deuteronomy 23:9). Uriah went beyond that law, but David broke it.