Lying, Deceit, Dishonesty, Trickery, Hypocrisy--Part V

As we contemplate the HUGE PROBLEM of dishonesty in human life, THE FAMILY constantly affects all the members: husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, extended members of the family. Stories of all kind "tumble out" on the radio, on the evening news on TV, on magazines--everywhere. Numerous blogs could arise on this one issue.

As only one example, let us recall the story of David and Bathsheba, related in 2 Samuel 11. Here are a few relevant facts.

1. David was an aging king, who already had between fifteen and twenty wives--recall 2 Samuel 3:2-5; 5:13-16. The prophet Nathan reminds David of this fact in 2 Samuel 12:8, 11. But in spite of all this, David took the wife of another man--Uriah the Hittite. Today, we call this infidelity, an affair.

2. David intentionally found other whether Bathsheba was already married. 2 Samuel 11:3. And when messengers told David Bathsheba was already married, David still persisted to bring her to him and commit adultery with her.

3. David assumed he could "hide" this adultery. But Bathsheba became pregnant, and she sent a message to tell David she was pregnant. 11:5.

4. David tried to hide his sin by engaging in several dishonest activities.
a. First, he sent a messenger to Joab, David's commander of the army, at Rabbah, where Uriah was serving as a soldier to fight against the Ammonites. Uriah must have been puzzled that David would send a message and specifically choose him to return to talk with David at Jerusalem at his palace. When Uriah arrived, David only "shot the breeze." He asked Uriah how the battle was going, then instructed Uriah to go down to his house and wash his feet. How interesting!!! The king is interested in Uriah's feet???!!! What is going on. But Uriah refused to do this BECAUSE he was a noble, upright individual. So he stayed just outside David's palace. 11:6-11.
b. David made a second move. He gave a banquet for Uriah. When Uriah was there, David egged him on and "made him drunk," hoping he would go down to his house and have sex with his wife. But Uriah was too noble. He remained outside David's palace. 11:12-13.
c. In desperation, David wrote a memo sealed by the king's seal, and sent it back to Joab at Rabbah in Uriah's hand. When Joab received David's memo, David instructed Joab to put Uriah in the thickest part of the battle against the Ammonites at Rabbah and make sure Uriah was killed. Joab yields to David's instructions, and the Ammonites kill Uriah and several other Israelite soldiers. 11:14-17.
d. Joab sends a messenger back to David to assure David that Uriah was dead. When David received this message, he says essentially: It is unfortunate that Uriah was killed, but when a person becomes a soldier, he knows he might have to die. David shrugs his shoulders as if this was of little concern. 11:18-25.
e. After Bathsheba mourns over the death of her husband Uriah, David officially marries Bathsheba, and after nine months she bears a son. David assumed he had hidden his sins. "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." 11:26-27.

All of us rightly reprove David's dishonesty. But we all know that frequently we behave in similar ways. Unfortunately, often we are dishonest about members of our own family. This is an epidemic in the land and in the world. All this displeases the Lord.

Share YOUR experiences and insights with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis