2 Sa 11:14-25

Now in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.

He had written in the letter, saying, “Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”

So it was as Joab kept watch on the city,
that he put Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men.

The men of the city went out and fought against Joab,
and some of the people among David’s servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died.

Then Joab sent and reported to David all the events of the war.

He charged the messenger, saying,
“When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king,

and if it happens that the king’s wrath rises and he says to you,
‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight?
Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?

‘Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

So the messenger departed and came and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell.

The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate.

“Moreover, the archers shot at your servants from the wall;
so some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.”

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; make your battle against the city stronger and overthrow it’; and so encourage him.”

David murdered Uriah.
David might have thought that he was being coy, but the simple fact is that he had a faithful servant and warrior killed.

David could have simply taken Bathsheba.
He was the king.

Yet, he was more concerned about how “he appeared” than he was with the well-being of Uriah.

David developed the plan.
He executed the plan.
Joab followed the plan through.
Joab knew what was occurring, though he likely did not know why.
He knew that David was ordering the execution of Uriah at the hand of the enemy.

We know this by the defensive detail that Joab gave the servant as to how he should respond if the king’s anger arose.

David calmly told the servant to tell Joab to “not worry about it”.

David wanted Joab encouraged.

The plan worked.

Uriah was dead.

All was well.

What could go wrong?
Again…

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