And they had told David saying, Urijah did not go down to his house; and David said to Urijah, Art thou not come from a journey? why didst thou not go down to thy house?
David has already sinned with Bathsheba, and he needs the sin hidden. So he calls her husband Uriah home from the siege at Rabbah — but Uriah will not go down to his own house, and in this verse the king asks him why.
David's questions sound like a commander's care for his men. One writer reads them differently:
On hearing this, David questioned Uriah as to why he did not go to his house when he had opportunity after some time of being away from home (v.10). Uriah's reply must have been a pointed lesson to David as to self restraint. He had decided that, since the ark and Israel were in temporary shelters, and that Joab and the army were camping in the open, engaged in serious combat for the sake of Israel, he was not going to relax and enjoy himself at home as though he was not a part of Israel's defence: he would virtually remain "on guard."
The ark was the golden chest that marked God's presence with His people. It was the first thing on the mind of this foreign soldier:
Uriah's first thought is concerning the ark of God. How could he think of resting in his house when God's ark was under a tent in the field of battle? He thought of Israel, of Judah, of Joab, and of the troops, but his first thought was of the ark. This brave man was not an Israelite by birth. He was a Hittite, by nature an enemy of Israel. Yet he had come to Israel, he was loyal to the king of Israel, and he clearly valued the ark of the LORD above everything else in the land he had made his own.
Uriah knew nothing of what had happened in the palace. That is what made his words cut so deep:
It seems his conscience was hard at this time. It was not open to conviction, as we would expect it to be. If it had been, he would surely have faltered before he added the sin of murder to the sin of adultery. He would have mourned under Uriah's sharp reproof — all the sharper because Uriah never meant it as a reproof — when he said, "The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house?" What a rebuke to David! The Lord and His people were in the open fields, fighting the uncircumcised enemies of Israel. But David was at home, taking his ease and indulging the desires of nature.
The most painful part of Uriah's answer is where he learned it. David had once spoken the same way himself:
He had learned this devotion in the school of David himself. In 2 Samuel 7:2 did not David say to Nathan: "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God dwells in a tent"? David's servants had taken in this godly desire and this testimony, and it had borne fruit in them. Uriah speaks like the David of earlier days. Without meaning to, what a reproach he brings to his honoured master! The man is simple and noble in heart. He says, God is calling me to perform a service, an activity for Himself, and as long as He does not rest I cannot rest.
All of this traces back to one choice: David stayed home while his army fought. That choice, one writer says, is where the door opened:
While we are at work for the Lord, whatever that work may be, nature is held down. But when we are at ease, nature begins to work, and it feels the pull and influence of things around us. We should seriously ponder this. Satan will ever find mischief for idle hearts, as well as idle hands. David came to feel this. If he had been at Rabbah with his army, his eye would never have fallen on something able to stir the corrupt principle inside him. Staying at home was itself the opening that let the enemy in.
David's question was the first step in a cover-up. The warning drawn from it is direct:
We pass over several others and come to David. He was guilty of both lying and deceit of the most terrible kind. He used them to cover up an awful sin, and so made it twice as bad. How often some previous sin is the cause of a long course of deceit and lying. Dear friends, above all things let us be straight with God, with other people, and with ourselves. And if we do fall into a sin, never, never try to cover it up with another sin, worse than the first.
- Ease — David stayed home while his army fought. Satan finds mischief for idle hearts.
- Cover — His question was not concern but concealment. He brought Uriah home to hide his sin.
- Conscience — Uriah's answer cut deep because he never meant it as a rebuke. David's conscience was hard, and he did not flinch.
- Contrast — A foreign soldier put the ark first and refused comfort while God's people camped in the open. Israel's king did the opposite.
- Consequence — Covering sin with more sin doubles it. The only way out is to be straight with God at once.
And Urijah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? [As] thou livest, and [as] thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
David's army was at war in the field while the king stayed home in Jerusalem. He called Bathsheba's husband back from the front, and the soldier's reply became the sharpest rebuke in the chapter — from a man who never meant to give one.
Uriah's words cut because of where David was when he heard them. Commentators note that the ark had gone out with the army, and the king had not.
Uriah's words suggest that the ark was in the battle area with the armies of Israel, but the king was not with the ark. Had David been there, sharing the dangers and hardships of his soldiers, he would have escaped the terrible temptation that met him. He would also have escaped the very solemn and sad stain on his history, when he dishonoured the Lord.
Notice the order in Uriah's sentence. The ark — the chest that stood for God's presence with Israel — was out in the field, sheltered under a tent. Uriah names it first, before the army, his commander, and his fellow soldiers.
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Uriah's first thought is about the ark of God. How could he think of resting in his house when God's ark was under a tent in the field of battle? He thought of Israel, of Judah, of Joab, and of the troops, but his first thought was of the ark. This brave man was not an Israelite by birth. He was a Hittite, one by nature an enemy of Israel. Yet he had come to Israel, and he was loyal to the king of Israel. It was plain that he valued the ark of the Lord above everything else in the land he had adopted.
Uriah did not invent this refusal. He learned it from the king himself, who had once said much the same thing to the prophet Nathan.
He had learned this devotion in the school of David himself. In 2 Samuel 7:2 did not David say to Nathan: "See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains"? David's attendants had taken in this godly desire and this testimony of his, and it had borne fruit in them. Uriah speaks like the David of earlier days. What an unwitting reproach he addresses to his respected master! The man is simple and noble in heart. He says, God is calling me to perform a service, an activity for Himself, and as long as He does not rest I cannot rest.
Uriah meant no criticism at all. That is what makes his words so severe — and David's reaction so alarming.
It seems his conscience had grown hard on this occasion. It was not open to conviction as we would expect. Had it been otherwise, he would have faltered and hesitated before he added the sin of murder to that of adultery. He would have mourned under Uriah's sharp reproof — all the sharper because Uriah never meant it as a reproof. What a rebuke to David! The Lord and His people were in the open fields, fighting the enemies of Israel. David was at home, enjoying comfort and indulging the desires of nature.
Uriah seals his refusal with an oath, and he keeps it. David's next move was to get him drunk — and even that did not shift him.
When David failed to get Uriah to go to his home the first night, he tried another tactic: he told Uriah to stay in Jerusalem two more days, but had him eat and drink with him until Uriah became drunk, thinking this would tempt Uriah to go home. But this plan failed too. Uriah again slept with the servants.
That immovable loyalty is what forced David's hand, and what cost Uriah his life.
Uriah's simple faithfulness ruined David's plan to cover his sin. David added to his wrongdoing by arranging Uriah's death, with the help of Joab, at the hands of the Ammonites.
Uriah would not rest while the fighting went on. Commentators press the same point on God's people today.
But the bright day when we shall rest has not yet arrived. He therefore urges the saints to be diligent in the meantime. Now is the time for work. Everyone who has the love of Christ in such a world as this must feel it, because sin and misery cover the world. Divine love, whether in God or in His people, refuses to rest in evil or in misery.
- Position. David's fall began before Bathsheba — with a king at home while the ark was in a tent on the battlefield.
- Priority. Uriah names the ark first — before army, commander, or comrades. A Hittite outsider valued God's presence above everything.
- Pupil. He learned it from David himself. Without knowing it, he echoes the king's own earlier words about cedar and curtains.
- Piercing. Uriah never meant to rebuke, which made it sharper. David's hard conscience felt nothing, and he went on to murder.
- Pattern. As long as God has not taken His rest, His servants do not settle down — now is the time for work, not ease.