Dear all,

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May God strengthen you through His words everyday.

University Bible Fellowship (Hong Kong Centre)

16/9/2025

DAVID MURDERS URIAH TO MARRY HIS WIFE

2 Samuel 11:14-27 / Keywords 11:27

After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

11:14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth[b]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

Footnotes

b. 2 Samuel 11:21 Also known as Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon)

1. David hoped to cover up his adultery by calling Uriah home to his wife, but Uriah would not cooperate. David should have been convicted by his friend’s faithfulness to God and to his king. But David, full of his own power and authority, plotted secretly to put Uriah to death. It was premeditated murder of his good friend.

 

2. David used Joab to accomplish this task, ordering him to put Uriah in the front of the battle to be killed. Joab clearly understood what David was planning, even if he may not know why. Joab cooperated with David, and a good man, Uriah, was cut down.

 

3. David and Joab may have thought they were good friends covering for each other. But their conspiracy was no better than Cain murdering his brother Abel.

 

4. After killing Uriah, David took responsibility for Bathsheba and married her. He may have thought the whole thing was behind him. He got away with it. But what he did displeased God (27).

 

Prayer Father, I cannot hide my sin from you. Nor can I cover my friend’s sins through deception. Let me know with certainty what displeases you in me.

One Word God cannot be mocked (Gal 6:7)

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA

2 Samuel 11:1-13 / Keywords 11:4

Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

 

David and Bathsheba

11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 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. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

Footnotes

a. 2 Samuel 11:11 Or staying at Sukkoth

1. Even David, a man after God’s own heart, was not fully obedient to God (1Ki 15:5). As his encounter with Goliath propelled him upward, his encounter with Bathsheba led to his downfall: But God was faithful to David. In his story we see ourselves.

 

2. What led David to such action? There is the obvious temptation of her beauty (2b). But look at the repeated use of David’s authority in the verbs, particularly “David sent…” Instead of fighting the war, David sent Joab, while he remained. He sent for Bathsheba (4), sent for Uriah (6). When David began to think he was in control of his life, knowing what was best, sin had him.

 

3. But not all things were in his control. Bathsheba sent word she was pregnant (5). Her husband Uriah, one of David’s mighty men (23:39), was too loyal to God and to David to abide by David’s plot to cover the adultery. David was fully trapped in sin. The story is as old as the garden of Eden. As we begin to think we can be like God – sovereign over life – Satan has us. Objectively we might feign disgust: how could David do that? But as we honestly allow God’s word to speak to us, we realize none of us is without sin (Jn 8:7).

 

Prayer Father, I cringe at this story, as it exposes too closely my own sin. Help me not to look away but allow your word to convict me of the truth.

One Word Pride is the root of sin

THE LORD DOES WHAT IS GOOD IN HIS SIGHT

2 Samuel 10:1-19 / Keywords 10:12

Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.”

 

David Defeats the Ammonites

10:1 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.

7 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. 8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.

9 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 10 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. 11 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

13 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

15 After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River; they went to Helam, with Shobak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

17 When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. 18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers.[a] He also struck down Shobak the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them.

So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

Footnotes

a. 2 Samuel 10:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 19:18); Hebrew horsemen

1. The Ammonites, Lot’s descendants (Ge 19:38) whose land was not to be taken by Israel (Dt 2:19), became Israel’s enemies during the Judges (Jdg 10:6-7). King Saul’s decisive victory over King Nahash cemented his reign (1Sa 11). Nahash had been kind to David at some point, perhaps while fleeing Saul, so at his death David sought to be kind to Nahash’s son Hanun (2). But due to suspicion and distrust, this backfired, resulting in humiliation of David’s people, leading to war (3-6).

 

2. David’s acts of kindness in these two chapters (9:1; 10:2) have differing outcomes. Jesus pointed out that his coming promised to bring peace (Lk 2:10) and division and strife (Lk 12:51). How do we understand contradictions like this?

 

3. The answer comes from a surprising voice. Joab found himself outnumbered by the combined armies of Ammon and Aram. Although a gifted military strategist, Joab realized victory is in the LORD’s hands: God will do what is right in his sight. God gave Joab victory. Soon after, David defeated the Arameans, leading to peace and making them subject to Israel (19). We can’t control outcomes, no matter the knowledge or experience we gain. Instead, let’s learn that God is good by doing what is right in his eyes.

 

Prayer Father, in my inscrutable situations and unexpected outcomes, teach me you are good.

One Word Trust God who does what is good

DAVID’S KINDNESS TO MEPHIBOSHETH

2 Samuel 9:1-13 / Keywords 9:7

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

 

David and Mephibosheth

9:1 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s[a] table like one of the king’s sons.

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

Footnotes

a. 2 Samuel 9:11 Septuagint; Hebrew my

1. Some people seek to defend or expand their position. David saw that his position as king gave him the opportunity to show kindness to others. He remembered his covenant with Jonathan and wanted to show kindness to his enemy. Learning the fate of Mephibosheth, David sent for him.

 

2. We should consider Mephibosheth’s situation. When Saul and Jonathan died, five-year-old Mephibosheth’s life was turned upside down as he fled in terror, leaving him permanently disabled (4:4). He had spent his life hiding in the small town of Lo Debar. Now David, whose conflict with Saul’s family left them devastated, was calling on Mephibosheth. How hard it must have been to leave Lo Debar, the place of comfortable despair.

 

3. But David greeted him, calling him by name, and told him, “Don’t be afraid!” David restored this crippled man, blessed him beyond his dreams, and kept him close to him the rest of his life. At all David’s banquets, every day, there was crippled Mephibosheth, receiving David’s kindness, and not for anything Mephibosheth did or would do in the future; simply because of David’s covenant and faithfulness to his dead father Jonathan. So too in Jesus does God welcome and bless us.

 

Prayer Father, you have shown such kindness to me in Jesus. Grant me faith to leave my Lo Debar and join you at your table of blessing in the church.

One Word God’s kindness leads us to repentance

KING DAVID DID WHAT WAS JUST AND RIGHT

2 Samuel 8:1-18 / Keywords 8:15

David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.

 

David’s Victories

8:1 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.

2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

3 Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at[a] the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers[b] and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah[c] and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.

9 When Tou[d] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram[e] to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.

11 King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12 Edom[f] and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites[g] in the Valley of Salt.

14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

David’s Officials

15 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.[h]

Footnotes

a. 2 Samuel 8:3 Or his control along

b. 2 Samuel 8:4 Septuagint (see also Dead Sea Scrolls and 1 Chron. 18:4); Masoretic Text captured seventeen hundred of his charioteers

c. 2 Samuel 8:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 18:8); Hebrew Betah.

d. 2 Samuel 8:9 Hebrew Toi, a variant of Tou; also in verse 10

e. 2 Samuel 8:10 A variant of Hadoram

f. 2 Samuel 8:12 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:11); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram

g. 2 Samuel 8:13 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 18:12); most Hebrew manuscripts Aram (that is, Arameans)

h. 2 Samuel 8:18 Or were chief officials (see Septuagint and Targum; see also 1 Chron. 18:17)

1. This is the last battle against the Philistines, who plagued Israel prior to Samuel, through Saul, and into David’s reign. David also repelled five other aggressors, such as the Moabites, and a coalition army under Hadadezer of Zobah that included Arameans. This was the very purpose God had chosen him for (3:18). God blessed him with victory (6b, 14b).

 

2. From these enemies David received a great deal of tribute (2, 6, 8), as well as recognition from other kings who gave him gifts. Saul had built a monument in honor of his victories (1Sa 15:12). But David, from his youth and during his wilderness wanderings, came to trust in God alone in facing his enemies. So, David dedicated all these gifts and tributes to the Lord (11-12).

 

3. As we learned through the book of Judges, defeating the enemies is not enough. A ruler must learn to shepherd his people. King David actively did what was just and right for all his people. As a faithful and wise manager, David provided all needed resources, including administration and structure, so God’s people may flourish. Jesus is doing the same for us today in the church (Eph 4:11- 13), as we live in his kingdom.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for King Jesus, who defeated our enemies and whose reign is just and right. Help me obey him and thrive in his kingdom.

One Word Lead with justice and righteousness

THERE IS NO ONE LIKE YOU, LORD!

2 Samuel 7:18-29 / Keywords 7:22

“How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

David’s Prayer

7:18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human![c]

20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?[d] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Footnotes

c. 2 Samuel 7:19 Or for the human race

d. 2 Samuel 7:23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 17:21; Hebrew wonders for your land and before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt, from the nations and their gods.

1. Upon hearing God’s message through Nathan, David sat before the LORD – learning to dwell in God’s presence. Previously he spoke about the Lord; now David addresses God personally (17x by name, another 40 by pronoun!) God’s answer of “no” to David’s plans reminded David of his place under God, and how blessed he had been by God, let alone that God was preparing an even greater future for David’s family and kingdom! 

2. It takes courage to sit before God in worship and praise, when we often feel there is so much to be done. But as David reflected on God’s greatness, he came to realize that everything great was not done by David or people, but God himself – who redeemed Israel for Himself through great and awesome wonders, establishing them forever. Even the promise of blessing to David’s family would only further cement the greatness of God in the world, so David no longer puts forth plans to do something for God, but rather prays: “Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever”. 

3. The Sovereign LORD’s covenant is trustworthy. All that he promised to David he fulfilled in Jesus. We are the ones blessed in his house forever. 

Prayer Father, thank you for keeping your promise by which I am eternally blessed. Remind me of my place before you so I may never despise the blessing of entering your presence through Jesus. 

One Word Sit before the Lord in worship