The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 277

a not11ble people (Gen. :uiii. 3; Ezek. xvi. 3; 1 KingR x. 29; 2 Kings vii. 6), !::a<l ndopted the faith of Israel, and joined David in exile ; he was Clne of the famou~ "thirty" (1 Chron. xi. 41 ; eh. xxiii. 39), married Batbsheba. (the young and beautiful daughter of a brother officer), to whom he was fondly attached (eh. xii. 3), and bati a house overlooked by the king's palace. The story of this man, "immortal by bis wrongs," constitutes e. little tragedy. He w~: 1. Greally distingmihd /07' his heroic courage. For more the.n twenty years he had taken part in the conflicts of David, and contributed to his victories; and, by the valour which he displayed, gained and kept an honourable position. 2. Grievously wr<YT1ged by his royal master. Having been 11ecr.etly dishonoured by the king, he was specie.Uy sent for, treated with guile, and tempted to become an unconscious agent in concealing the crime. "Were hononr driven out of the world, it should find a refuge in the breast of kings." 3. A Mble ea:ample of patriotic devotiO'TI. "The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents," etc. (ver. 11). He "may be regarded from a moral standpoint as a type of the marvellous power and self-control for which those troops, then in their prime, must have been distinguished" (Ewald). In contrast with the indulgent habit (ver. 1) of the king, he exhibited sympathy, self-denial, zeal, and determination:" I will not do this thing." " The ark of God is in the field, Like clouds around the alien armies sweep; Each by his spear, beneath his shield, In cold and dew the anointed warriors sleep. " And can it be? thou liest awake, Sworn watch!IlBu, tossing on thy couch of dol\'n; . And doth thy recreant heart not e.che To hear the sentries round the leaguered town? .. "Oh, dream no more of quiet life; Care finds the careless out; more wise to vow Thine heart entire to faith's pure strife; So peace will come, thou knowest not when or how ... (' Lyra Apostolic:i.') 4. .A pitiable instance of a common failing. (Ver. 13.) He was susceptible to the power of temptation, even as others. Though proof a!;ainst indulgence in one form, he was overcome by it in another. But he did not entirely lose his self-control. And the guilt of the tempted is far surpassed hy that of the tempter. Intoxication weakens the sense of duty, strengthens the force of the passions, is often used as an incitement to vice, and is a fruitful source of incalculable moral, and physical evil in the indi- vidual, the family, and society (1 Sam. n:v. 37, 38; eh. xiii. 38). 5. The wnswpecting bearer of his own death-warrant. "And David wrote a letter to Joab," etc.-the first letter mentioned in, the Bible-telling him "that he had offended him," etc. (Josephus). And without suspecting its contents, he delivered the treacherous missive. 6.. The hapless victim of his unswerving fidelity. "He assigned Uriah a place where he knew that valiant men were" (ver. 16). "Honour is pretended to poor Uriah; death is meant. He was not the first or last that perished by his friends" (Hall). "He fell unconscious of his wife's dishonour" (Stanley). "Thus fell this brave man, a sacrifice to his own heroic virtue and his prince's guilt. He fell, but not alone; some of his brave companions in arms stood by him to the last, nor deserted him ill death " (Delany). The report of his fate was received by the king with the cold and common- place reflection, "The sword devoureth one as well as another" (ver. 25). "That the sin of David was fulfilling some righteous judgment of God against Uriah and his house, I doubt not-for God often makes his enemies his instruments and, without sanctifying the means, strikes out of them good. Still, a sin it was, great and grievous &nd offensive to that God to whom the blood of Uriah cried from the ground" (Blunt).-D. Vers. 16-21.-(RABBAH.) Complicity in sin. Here are three men: David, a great but sinful king, bent on the destruction of a -faithful servant; Uriah, a brave but injured soldier, sent unconsciously to his doom; aod Joab, an able but unscrupulous general (eh. iii. 22-30), become a willing agent and ready accomplice in his execution 282 'l'HE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL, [en. xr. 1-27,