2 Samuel 11:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he instructed the messenger, "When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king,

NIV: He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle,

NASB: He ordered the messenger, saying, 'When you have finished telling all the events of the war to the king,

CSB: He commanded the messenger, "When you’ve finished telling the king all the details of the battle—

NLT: He told his messenger, 'Report all the news of the battle to the king.

KJV: And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,

NKJV: and charged the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king,

The Israelite army is fighting the Ammonites, descendants of Abraham's nephew, Lot (2 Samuel 11:1; Genesis 19:38). The previous year, the new Ammonite king made poor choices that resulted in David wanting him dead and his people destroyed. Realizing their mistake, the Ammonites barricaded themselves in a walled city (2 Samuel 10:1–14). Joab and David's army are ready to see things through.

During the battle, Joab got a message from David, safely away in Jerusalem, commanding he send Uriah, one of the best generals, back to Jerusalem to bring news of the battle (2 Samuel 11:6). When Uriah returned, he had a sealed message from David. In the message, David instructs Joab to place Uriah where the fighting is most intense and then pull back so the Ammonites will kill Uriah. Joab doesn't understand why David would order this. It's a tactical disaster. But he follows his king's instructions, and Uriah, as well as other soldiers, are killed (2 Samuel 11:14–17).

When Joab instructs the messenger who will give David the news, his resentment comes out. He expects that David will be upset at the loss of life, perhaps even that he'll compare the tactical fiasco to Abimelech, the son of Gideon. During the time of the Judges, Abimelech declared himself king. When his allies turned against him, he chased them into the keep of the city of Thebez, intending to burn them alive. But he got too close to the wall, and a woman dropped a millstone on his head (Judges 9; 2 Samuel 11:20–21).

Joab tells the messenger, if David mentions Abimelech's fate, tell him Uriah is dead (2 Samuel 11:20–25). Joab couldn't protect Uriah from David's orders; maybe he can protect his messenger from David's anger.

In 2 Samuel 11:14–21, David completes his greatest sin. While the army is away, David has sex with one of his greatest warriors' wives. She's now pregnant. David calls him back to Jerusalem, intending him to sleep with his wife and claim the child, but he refuses (2 Samuel 11:1–13). To hide his sin, David sends the man back to the battle with instructions for the general to have him die in battle. David's secret is safe until God tells Nathan, the prophet. Nathan confronts David, and God judges David by taking his son (2 Samuel 12).

In 2 Samuel 11, David commits grievous sins. Joab and the Israelite army, including the warrior Uriah, are finishing the battle against the Ammonites. Back in Jerusalem, David takes notice of Uriah's wife and impregnates her. When she informs David of the pregnancy, David recalls Uriah. The king expects the soldier to sleep with his wife and claim the child. Uriah's intense loyalty and integrity prevent him from even visiting his house while the others are still at war. David tells Joab to have Uriah killed in battle. God sends Nathan to confront David. David sincerely repents, but God takes the child (2 Samuel 12).

Second Samuel 11 begins the account of David's greatest sins. David sleeps with and impregnates a soldier's wife, Bathsheba. To hide his sin, David has the soldier killed in battle. God tells Nathan to rebuke David, and David repents fully. But God still takes the life of the baby boy (2 Samuel 12; Psalm 51). The story reveals two things about God. First, He is willing to restore His relationship with us when we repent from even the most horrible sin. And second, He has no interest in shaming vulnerable victims of powerful people.

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.