So it was, while Joab
besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were
valiant men. Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some
of the people of the servants of David fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite also
died. --- 2Samuel 11; 16-17
The time was spring in the land of Israel. I was a
soldier in the kingdom of David and his LORD almighty. We had besieged the city
of Rabbah and completely destroyed the people of Ammon. My name is Uriah. I am
a Hittite from the lands north of the 12 provinces of Israel. I was not born in
Israel, but I gave my full allegiance to my adopted countrymen as I also put my
trust and faith in their LORD. I have a story for you. I am currently in the
last moments of my life. I am flanked on all positions by valiant men, in the
heat of battle. I have been struck many times with the sword and I think I am
about to leave this world to be with my king, forever.
A few weeks ago, the King himself, David, sent a message
to my master and the commander of the army, Joab. I was to leave the company
and report immediately to the king. The King did not leave any details as to
what the business was all about. I grabbed my battle gear and left immediately
with the messengers.
To be summoned before the King is a terrifying feeling.
But it can also be one full of reward. The King had in himself the power of
life and death. He could destroy me with punishment or prosper me with reward.
And my King was the King of Israel himself. It was common knowledge that the
LORD had given the King all his enemies to do as he wished. David was a valiant
fighter himself, first establishing himself as a fighter when he, a short man,
took on Goliath the giant and defeated him before cutting his head off for
blaspheming the name of the LORD and his Army.
So to go see the King was as if I were going to see God
himself. I arrived hours after I was summoned. With all my gear, I ran the
whole trip up to Jerusalem where the King’s Palace stood. When I arrived, I was
in full military gear, in military posture, ready to give my report to the
King. He summoned me before the throne.
The King asked me how the battles were going. I told him
that we were fighting our hearts out there. There were some setbacks. We lost
great fighters and we made some mistakes along the way. In Ammon, we took
arrows from the wall. One of my comrades was killed when a woman dropped a
large rock on his head from the wall, but all in all, we were able to advance
and siege the city were not one man woman or child was left alive.
I reported my own battles to the King. I was in the
middle of 3 battles in which I captured enemy combatants and brought them
before Joab to be searched and interrogated for intelligence. The men that I
captured told us the exact location of their king and where all the wall
fortifications were so that we could avoid those and hit the enemy army where
they were at their weakest.
The King replied that he was most proud of me. That as a
son of Israel, he would see to it that I receive meritorious service medals and
a command position of a hundred men. I was most humble to hear my lord’s words.
He then commanded me to go home, eat, lie with my wife, and sleep for the night
before I was to go back out to the army.
I disobeyed the king. I slept outside the palace gates
with the rest of his servants. I ate nothing but the war rations within my
pack. I did not go to my house to let my beautiful wife, Bathsheba, know I was
around. I could not betray my brothers like that. Some of them were still in
the middle of bloodshed and battle. Who knows how long it would be before they
got a chance to see their families, if ever again. I could not bring myself to such
betrayal of my countrymen, even though my heart was longing for seeing my wife;
to make love to her; to be comforted by her touch, voice, and the wonderful
food she always prepared for me; to hear about the simple tasks of her days.
The King summoned me again. A report was made of my
whereabouts. I presented myself to him once again. I thought it quite strange
that the King in all his majesty and distinguished presence would offer me, a
lowly man, a position at his table to dine with him. What more, I wondered why
he was spending so much time in the palace in the first place. The King usually
was in the vicinity of the battle, directing reports and commands. Yet here he
was offering me food and wine. Inside I was distraught, but for fear of my
life, I kept the matter to myself and obliged the King.
For hours he fed me, and poured the wine in my cup
himself. He asked about my family. He wanted to know what my upbringing was
like and how I had come to be a part of his great army, when I could have
remained in my former house, away from the people of Israel. He was amazed at
my loyalty.
Then he commanded me again. He told me to go get comfort
at my home. He said that I would hold much higher rank in days to come, and the
time for family would be diminished with such a heavy burden of
responsibilities. It would be good for me to lie with my wife before I go back
out to battle.
Even in my drunken state, I would not obey the king in
the matter. Again I slept at the palace gate with the rest of the servants.
Again my wife would rest her head not knowing that I was inside the city,
minutes from being able to lie next to her and tell her my love and devotion
for her. I could never love another woman apart from Bathsheba. Yet I also
could not betray my countrymen in battle. How could I comfort myself while they
lived every minute not knowing if it would be their last? May God deal with me,
be it ever so severely if I took upon myself such a pleasure.
The King of Israel, David, summoned me one final time.
This time he was not kind. He asked me why I did not do as he recommended. When
I went to explain myself, he cut me off. He gave me a piece of papyrus paper,
with a note written, The King said I was to deliver the note to the Commander,
Joab.
I did not ask what was written in that note. I did not
consider myself worthy enough to know the King’s business before Joab. I left
the city with haste. Hours later I was standing tall before Joab. I told him
all that I had reported to the King. Joab took the note from my hand and read
it while in my presence. When he finished his eyes were quickly fixed on me and
he smiled. At this time I had assumed that the King had spoken of his
recommendation for my promotion within the army.
Now as I lay here in the throes of defeat in battle, I
think that note contained something much more sinister, something much more to
my demise than to my benefit. Joab had ordered me to a forward position where
there only the best fighting men of the enemy army were located. I know this
because of the intelligence that I had garnered from other enemy troops during
the time when I captured those other men.
As I sit in this cave, out in the deserts of the battle,
I have come to some conclusions. I must have been naïve as well as brave before
the King. He had it out for me. When I fought today, the rest of the army of
Israel was told to retreat. I was surrounded by enemy fighters and I have two
arrows to the chest. I’m hiding from them, although I can hear them advancing
on me. I can hear their talks about cutting my head off when they find me.
I will never see my Bathsheba again. I will never look
into her beautiful lavender eyes and tell her how I want to start expanding our
family, like she had always wanted. I will never feel her breasts pressed up
against me as we hug for dear life, every moment I come home from yet another
of the LORD’s battles. As my breath gets shallower by the minute, I wonder if I
should have listened to the King. I wish now that I could have gone home one
final time.
I may never see my Bathsheba again, but I am about to see
another king; The King of Heaven’s Army, the LORD himself. I hope that it is
him who will repay me for my loyalty. I hope he tells me how hard I fought for
him and how well I did for my countrymen. But before I die, I am going to run
out of this hiding place, and try to take out at least one more enemy with the
blade of my sword.
Yours Truly,
Uriah the Hittite.
No comments:
Post a Comment