6/3

2 Samuel 11:13-15

¹³At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. ¹⁴In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

The chain of sin that began when David stayed home instead of going into battle was carried even further. David wanted to cover up his adultery by having the husband of Bathsheba sleep with her. Then he would think her child was his own. The faithful Uriah would not sleep with his wife when his fellow soldiers and the ark of God were in tents in the battlefield. David tried harder. He got him drunk, but still Uriah was faithful. Then he sent a letter with him that gave a plan for his murder by not defending him in battle. If David couldn't cover his sin, he'd have Bathsheba's husband killed and take her for his wife.

King David thinks only Joab will ever know. God knows! David thought the letter would remain a secret. But now the world has read the substance of his letter. When we plot a sin to cover sin and think that our cunning will keep anyone from knowing, we deceive only ourselves. Be sure your sin will find you out (Numbers 32:23b). When Bathsheba gave birth, the nation knew, and the death of Uriah would be seen as more than a coincidence. David lost respect in the eyes of his nation when his plan was to save his good name. Our sin always costs more than we planned to pay, and takes us further than we planned to go.

Admonition: Stop the cycle before it gets uglier. Repent and ask man and God for forgiveness.