Ministering: Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi
2 Samuel 11:21
Many people do not know Uriah beyond the fact that he had a beautiful wifecalled Beersheba who was the niece of Ahithophel. Uriah her husband was a Hittite. The name Hittite means terror. Concerning this tribe, God instructed annihilation to Joshua because they were dreadful people. They were giants and not ordinary beings. However, a descendant of this terrible tribe became a soldier of Israel. An enemy became a friend.
2 Samuel 23:8-39
Uriah was not an ordinary soldier. He was one of the thirty-seven (37) mighty menof David (verse 39). These mighty men chose to stand for the honour of God and God also stepped into the battle on their behalf. Of the three main mightymen, Joab was not mentioned though he was a warrior in a class of his own.In generations to come, your exploit is what will be spoken of. Do not be a Christian who only sits in church doing nothing. Nobody will sing your praise until you have gone to battle (2Samuel 23:10).
For Uriah to have married a beautiful wife, I want to assume he was also handsome. Unfortunately, he married a woman with no strength of character and died for her sake. From biblical narrative (2 Samuel 11:1-2), I believe Beersheba would have known that David will be on the rooftop at that time of the day that she went outside her house to take her bath. We can conclude that Beersheba helped David to fall. There is no record that David raped her otherwise God expected her to scream which she did not do. The sin was consensual. From the experience of David, you must learn to flee everything that appears like evil. After knowing that Beersheba was pregnant, David began to look for a way to solve the problem of a big scandal if the world got to know about his sin. And one sin led to another. To cover up for sin, you will have to commit another. This is a principle of trying to cover up a wrongful act. David started with bribery, getting him drunk so that if he got home and sleep with his wife, the pregnancy could be pinned on Uriah and not David (forgetting the child will look like David and not Uriah)!
Let us also learn from Uriah by looking at the way he responded to the circumstances. He refused to go in to sleep as instructed by David for the fear of God. He was concerned about the ark of God and other warriors in Israel who were camped in the field. In this case, disobedience to constituted authority was a sensible act. Loyalty is a trait of those who will follow God. God will not use just anybody.
I also want to believe some people were privy to what was going on and they informed David that Uriah did not go into his house. Naturally, Uriah will not get drunk but he was manipulated, by David who was using witchcraft methodology. However, even in Uriah’s drunken state, he exercised self-control. Afterwards, a message was sent to Joab through Uriah that he should be placed in a dangerous position on the battlefield which will get him killed. Joab should have known something was wrong but he also did not question the instruction from David.
God watched all that David did but did not raise a hand to save Uriah. David killed a man who was committed to the Ark and Israel. Uriah lost his life over a matter for which he had no idea. He is an example for us in the days ahead. As we move forward into a new Nigeria, we will be required to make choices every day. When the time comes, what will be the overriding motive for your actions? When Joseph was tempted, the first thing on his mind was not to sin against God, not his master or friends in Egypt.
Many times we say God will judge but God may not do so instantly. God sees all wickedness and the wicked will be paid for their actions. David paid for his actions too. He was cursed, that the sword will not depart from his family and shortly after, his family scattered. There was a hedge around his family that was taken away by the act. We must learn from these people so we do not make the same mistake. Uriah is dead but his acts are remembered. He was a man committed to God and that commitment speaks till today.