How does David's inquiry in 2 Samuel 11:7 reveal his initial intentions? Setting the Scene • After discovering Bathsheba is pregnant (2 Samuel 11:5), David summons her husband, Uriah, from the battlefield. • 2 Samuel 11:7: “When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing, and how the war was progressing.” David’s Superficial Question • David’s inquiry sounds pastoral and patriotic: “How’s Joab? How are the troops? How’s the war?” • At face value, such questions fit a king’s duty to monitor national security. Clues Embedded in the Inquiry 1. Timing of the summons – David calls Uriah only after learning of Bathsheba’s pregnancy, not earlier in the campaign (2 Samuel 11:6). 2. Threefold small talk – The verse lists three polite questions in quick succession, signaling a conversational buffer before David gives instructions (2 Samuel 11:8). 3. Lack of follow-up interest – Scripture records no response from David to Uriah’s answers; the narrative moves straight to David telling Uriah, “Go down to your house.” 4. Immediate directive – The next verse reveals the true objective: “Go down to your house and wash your feet” (2 Samuel 11:8). Washing feet implied rest and marital intimacy, designed to make any future child appear Uriah’s. Unveiling the Motive • The inquiry masks a calculated attempt to cover sin. • Like the serpent’s question in Genesis 3:1, David’s words seem harmless yet serve a hidden agenda. • Proverbs 26:24-26 warns of such duplicity: “A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit within”. Initial Intentions Revealed • Create a context of normalcy—David feigns a routine debrief to avoid suspicion. • Position Uriah for a convenient return home—David wants him relaxed and unsuspecting, poised to spend the night with Bathsheba. • Shift paternity perception—if Uriah goes home, the coming child could be presumed his, concealing David’s adultery (cf. Numbers 32:23). Lessons for Today • Sin breeds scheming: one transgression often demands layers of deception (James 1:14-15). • Words can veil motives; believers must guard both speech and heart (Psalm 19:14). • God’s omniscience exposes hidden agendas, as later events prove when Nathan confronts David (2 Samuel 12:7-9). |
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