Scripture, especially the Old Testament, details numerous wars and highlights the triumphs of many armies in battle. Some of these victories have come from sheer brilliance in strategy, and other times from the intervention of the supernatural. Now and then, we see individuals and their unique skills and battle successes highlighted. One of such individuals is David. Even more intriguing is the fact that, David, although a skilled warrior, was also surrounded by expert warriors who formed a hierarchical order under his leadership. They are popularly referred to as David’s Mighty Men, and the summary of their stories is detailed in 2 Samuel 23:8-37. The top 3 amongst this group were Josheb-Basshebeth, who killed 800 people at one time, Eleazar, who fought so gallantly against the Philistines that his hands were weary and stuck to his sword, and then Shammah, who defended a piece of land against the Philistine troops. All of these men are mighty men of war who served under David, but I would like to use this write-up to make the case that David’s most gallant soldier was Uriah and not any of his “mighty men”.

To make my case, I will critically examine the events leading to the death of Uriah in 2 Samuel 11. The chapter opens with important information about warfare in the ancient world, ie, there was a specific time of the year when kings went out to fight. It was Spring. But when that time came, David was nowhere to be found on the battlefield, but he had sent his choicest soldier to lead the charge for him. That was the first red flag indicating a departure from devotion to God and duty. Joab led the armies of Israel, and they “… ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained at Jerusalem”.

While his men were at war, David was lying on his couch late one afternoon, and he decided to take a short stroll on the roof of his palace. This posture further establishes the point about the idleness of a warrior-king, such as David was, while his men were out there fighting. There are two quotes I would like to highlight here that aptly capture David’s flaws:

 Idleness isn’t just the absence of activity, for all of us need regular rest; idleness is also activity to no purpose. When David was finished with his afternoon nap, he should have immediately moved into some kingdom duty that would have occupied his mind and body, or, if he wanted to take a walk, he should have invited someone to walk with him. “If you are idle, be not solitary,” wrote Samuel Johnson; “if you are solitary, be not idle.” – (from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament, © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)

When David laid aside his armor, he took the first step toward moral defeat… – (from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)

Matthew 4:3 describes Satan as the tempter. This is common knowledge yet very profound. We need to take heed of this information and know well enough not to put ourselves in a position to be constantly tempted by the devil. From David’s story, we can confidently affirm the popular belief that idleness is the devil’s playground. The first quote above makes an important point to differentiate between idleness and mere inaction or rest. These are two different concepts. We are not called to be busy-bodies to prevent temptation, but we are admonished by scripture to be so purposeful that even our inactivity is a contribution to the will of God for our lives. I believe that the timing of David’s decision to walk on the roof was engineered by forces of darkness. It was at the exact time that Bathsheba was bathing; the timing was pinpoint accurate to topple over a warrior king. It is one thing to be tempted and another to act on your temptation. Humans may sometimes have no hand in temptation, and temptation is not a sin. For scripture does tell us that Jesus was tempted in every way, yet he was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Yielding to the temptation and taking steps to actualize the sin is where sinning starts. For David, after seeing Bathsheba’s nakedness, he inquired of her and actually followed through to sleep with her. That was his sin, or should I say, the first one. 

I firmly believe that David had no business sleeping with Bathsheba that day. He didn’t have to, nor did he need to. It was just a desire of the flesh that overwhelmed the king, and he acted on it, and the implications travelled across generations. It is in all humility that I address this. I am not trying to posit moral superiority when I say that David didn’t have to commit this sin. I am only pointing these facts out to say that temptation or sin doesn’t care about the existence of opposing factors in your life. There could be a 1000 and 1 reasons why you shouldn’t sin, but temptation will come knocking on your door if you are found idle or in a state of vulnerability.  In all meekness, I ask this question and proceed to answer it: What should have deterred David from pursuing Bathsheba?

1. The LAW and devotion to God: David knew God and had a relationship with him. He definitely was familiar with the law and must have known that it is stated in the 10 commandments that  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Ex 20:17); “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14). These two laws alone should have deterred the king from pursuing his wanton pleasures. But alas… 
2. A sense of duty: The passage under discussion states categorically that David was nowhere to be found when it was the time of the year that kings met to fight. The reason why David stayed behind isn’t stated, but we can only imagine it was nothing serious, because while his army was away, he had enough time on his hands to be idle. A sense of duty alone is not an anathema to sin, but it sure does help in keeping us focused on the will of God for our lives and his church. 
3. David had enough women: If it were a matter of David merely having sexual urges, I believe he had enough women at his beck and call to satisfy him. But at the sight of Bathsheba’s nakedness, an unwarranted appetite for her was engendered in David. This kind of desire is not satisfied by legitimate pleasures.
   1. According to 2 Samuel 20:3, David had 10 concubines. 
   2. He had about 8 wives according to these passages (1 Samuel 18:27, 1 Samuel 25:39-43, 2 Samuel 3:2-5, and 1 Chronicles 3:1-4)

One of the deceptions of sins (I’ve written extensively about it here) is that it promises you unfathomable pleasures via illegitimate means and convinces you that, in the moment, there is no other way to attain such heights of pleasure. In Junior High School, we were taught that the qualities of water are as follows: colourless, TASTELESS and odourless. But sin convinces you that stolen waters are always sweeter (Proverbs 9:17) than water from your own tap. If David’s desire for Bathsheba was merely a sexual itch, any of his wives or concubines could have scratched it for him. But it wasn’t. It was a desire of the flesh, and guess who hates to compromise once you decide to entertain him… you guessed right, the FLESH! So we see our mighty warrior king stop at nothing to have Bathsheba in bed with him, and that was the beginning of his woes.  

This is the first part of a series I am doing to make a case for URIAH as David’s most gallant soldier. Subsequently, we will delve into Uriah’s story and examine how well he carried himself and its impact on his life and his family.