“So David sent this word to Joab: ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’ And Joab sent him to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’ So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.”—2 Samuel 11:6–9 (NIV)

Today’s passage serves as a sobering reminder that no man, apart from Jesus Christ, should ever be placed on a pedestal or viewed as divine. David, the king of Israel and famously called “a man after God’s own heart,” commits a horrendous act of betrayal against Uriah, a loyal friend and faithful soldier. While it’s true that David is ultimately forgiven by the Lord and later repents of his sin, this story should not be read or regarded lightly.

Uriah wasn’t just a nameless soldier, he was one of David’s mighty men, part of the group who stood with him during his years of hardship and flight from King Saul (2 Samuel 23:8–39, specifically v. 39). Uriah had shown his faithfulness to David long before David became king.

To fully grasp the depth of depravity and what any of us is capable of apart from God, we must consider the tragic series of choices David made:

1. David neglected his kingly duty by staying behind while Israel’s armies went out to war.
2. One evening, he saw Bathsheba bathing from his rooftop.
3. He inquired about her and was informed that she was Uriah’s wife.
4. Despite knowing this, he summoned her and slept with her.
5. When he learned she was pregnant, he called Uriah back from the battlefield.
6. He feigned concern about the war, disguising his true motives.
7. He attempted to cover up the pregnancy by sending Uriah home to be with his wife.
8. When that failed, he made Uriah drunk and tried again.
9. After both attempts failed, David wrote a letter ordering Uriah’s death.
10. He handed that letter to Uriah himself to deliver to Joab.

James 1:14–15 (NIV) illustrates the progression of sin we see at this point in David’s life: “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

Our sin always carries consequences, often far beyond what we can see. It always affects others, even when we convince ourselves that no one will ever know.

In the wake of David’s sin with Bathsheba, the collateral damage was immense. Uriah was killed, along with other innocent soldiers who were placed in the line of fire to cover David’s wrongdoing. The child conceived during the act of adultery died. And through the prophet Nathan, God pronounced a lasting judgment on David’s household: “Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own” (2 Samuel 12:10 NIV).

David’s sin reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of temptation and, without constant dependence on the Lord, even the most righteous can fall into grievous sin. It’s of the utmost importance that our faith is placed in Christ alone. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV).

Pause: Who do you most look up to? How would your faith be affected by their sin?

Practice: Compare that person’s life to the life of Jesus. Pray for them in their weaknesses and the areas that their lives fall short. Thank God for the areas in which they lead well and are a good example.

Pray: Lord, I thank You for the leaders in my life. I pray they’d come to know You and surrender their lives to You. I pray You’d bless their leadership and give them wisdom and discernment to lead well. I pray You’d strengthen them in the ways that they struggle and keep them out of temptation’s way. I pray for a blessing upon their marriages, their children, and the work of their hands. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.