Day 89. 2 Samuel 8-11

In our reading for today, we can remark on a difference between David the outlaw and David the king. Now he goes to war against the same nations that had given him refuge when he was hiding from Saul. David the empire builder engages in offensive war, enlarging Israelite territory to its greatest extent. And we are told that "the LORD [gives] victory to David" in all his ventures (8:6).
During the early years of his reign David is the ideal king, showing kindness and mercy to the remnants of the house of Saul. He brings Mephibosheth, Jonathan's lame son, to court and restores to him the family property. Mephibosheth is especially vulnerable because of his handicap, which is emphasized in our reading (see 9:13). His lameness "in both feet" placed him in margin of Israelite society— "incompleteness" of any kind rendered a person unable to take part fully in the religious life of the people.
But Mephibosheth is fully accepted by the king. "Do not be afraid," David tells him, "for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan" (9:7). Loyalty and steadfast love are the most attractive traits in David because they are most like the character of God. We recognize mercy and kindness in God because we have seen them in other people.
David even tries to deal loyally with the Ammonites, Israel's traditional enemies, but when his overtures are rejected and his envoys humiliated (10:4), he sends his armies to retaliate. Joab, David's commander, defeats both the Ammonites and their mercenaries, the Arameans in decisive battles. Joab, like David, is presented as a righteous man. "Be strong," he tells his troops, "and let us be courageous for the sake of our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him" (10:12). This reliance on the will of God is what we call faith.
But while the army is in the field fighting his enemies, David remains in Jerusalem—and gets himself into tragic mischief (11:1). He makes the worst mistake of his career—for love—when he sees Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah one of his officers, in her bath and falls for her. He brings her to him and sleeps with her, and she becomes pregnant (11:5). He selfishly and unlawfully takes what he wants for himself because he is king—this is exactly what the prophet Samuel had warned the people of Israel that kings would do—see 1 Samuel 8:10-18.
Then to cover up his adultery David brings Uriah home from the war in the expectation that he will sleep with his wife and all will be well. But Uriah refuses "while my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field" (11:11). It was not lawful for soldiers to go home and enjoy creature comforts during a campaign—see Deuteronomy 23:10-11. Sexual intercourse made them ritually unclean and unworthy to fight the LORD's battles. So Uriah—his name means "God is my light"—sleeps "at the entrance of the king's house" (11:9).
So when other avenues are exhausted, David contrives the death of Uriah by telling Joab, his commander in the field, to put him in forefront of the fighting and then withdraw (11:15). It works. But there is a secret witness to the murder. David takes Bathsheba into his house as one of his wives and all seems well, but the LORD is displeased, and the consequences will be tragic for all, as we shall see.