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Uriah the Faithful Soldier of Israel
| Bro Sylvester Tembo (Mzuzu, Malawi)
A
s we all know, Uriah was the husband of
a beautiful woman who, because of her
beauty, had attracted the attention of a
well-known king of Israel – David. David’s
attraction to this woman grew into action. As
a result he committed two sins – murder and
adultery. All this re-
minds us of James’
words, “But every
man is tempted
when he is drawn
away of his own
lust, and enticed.
Then when lust
has conceived, it
bringeth forth sin;
and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth
forth death” (1:14,
15). So David’s later
troubles in his king-
dom were due to his
sin with Bathsheba.
Why have we enti-
tled this article thus?
Because of Uriah’s
very own words in 2 Samuel 11:11, “And Uriah
said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah,
abide in tents, and my lord Joab, and the ser-
vants of my lord are encamped in the open
fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat
and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As thou
livest, I will not do this thing.”
In order to put more light on Uriah’s words, let
us quote Paul’s words to Timothy, “No man
that warreth entangleth himself with the
affairs of this life; that he may please him
who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Tim.
2:4). With these words in mind, let us think:
Was Uriah wrong to decline the king’s request?
I feel he was not wrong, due to the fact that
he was a soldier on duty.
The Bible has several names of people, besides
Uriah, who were faithful to their duties or
their words; to name a few:
1| Joseph, in Potiphar’s service in Egypt, was
faithful, refusing to lie with his master’s wife
(Gen. 39:7-12).
| Abraham did not withhold Isaac his son
from being a sacrifice to God (Gen.22).
3| Jephthah was
true to his words in
his vow to God
(Judges 11:39).
4| Jesus, the chief
of all faithful men,
was a man who was
faithful and obedient
unto death (Heb.
5:8).
The thing is that
these faithful men
teach us a very
important lesson:
they suffered for no
apparent reason.
The question is: Are
we prepared to suf-
fer for being faithful? Yes, true soldiers of
Christ are asked to carry their own cross and
follow their captain (Matt. 16:24). “….And
that we must through much tribulation enter
into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
Brother Robert Roberts
~ Diary of a Voyage ~
T
o know the nature of the times
is the best qualification for
bearing them. The Bible view
tranquilizes them all. It reveals the
barren nature of the age now current
upon the earth, and it comforts with
the assured prospect of the feast of
fat things which the Lord of Hosts will
prepare - not only for his waiting and
fasting children, but for “all people
that on earth do dwell.”
King David handing the letter to Uriah (2 Samuel 11:14)