2 Samuel 11

2 Samuel 11

Sproul - Avoiding a Hardened Conscience - We are warned not to allow ourselves to become hardened, because if we look at the whole concept of hardening in its biblical perspective, we see that something happens to us through repeated sins. Our consciences become seared. The more we commit a particular sin, the less remorse we feel from it. Our hearts are recalcitrant through repeated disobedience. When God hardens the heart, all He does is step away and stop striving with us. For example, the first time I commit a particular sin, my conscience bothers me. In His grace, God is convicting me of that evil. God is intruding into my life, trying to persuade me to stop this wickedness. If He wants to harden me, all He has to do is to stop rebuking me, stop nudging me, and just give me enough rope to hang myself. We see in Scripture that when God hardens hearts, He does not force people to sin; rather, He gives them their freedom to exercise the evil of their own desires (James 1:13–15+). Coram Deo - Pray this prayer with the psalmist David: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23–24+). 2 Samuel 11:15 He had written in the letter, saying, "Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die." BGT 2 Samuel 11:15 καὶ ἔγραψεν ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ λέγων εἰσάγαγε τὸν Ουριαν ἐξ ἐναντίας τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ κραταιοῦ καὶ ἀποστραφήσεσθε ἀπὸ ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ καὶ πληγήσεται καὶ ἀποθανεῖται LXE 2 Samuel 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Station Urias in front of the severe part of the fight, and retreat from behind him, so shall he be wounded and die. KJV 2 Samuel 11:15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. NET 2 Samuel 11:15 In the letter he wrote: "Station Uriah in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed." CSB 2 Samuel 11:15 In the letter he wrote: Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies. ESV 2 Samuel 11:15 In the letter he wrote, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die." NIV 2 Samuel 11:15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." NLT 2 Samuel 11:15 The letter instructed Joab, "Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed." NRS 2 Samuel 11:15 In the letter he wrote, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die." NJB 2 Samuel 11:15 In the letter he wrote, 'Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest and then fall back, so that he gets wounded and killed.' NAB 2 Samuel 11:15 In it he directed: "Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce. Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead." YLT 2 Samuel 11:15 and he writeth in the letter, saying, 'Place ye Uriah over-against the front of the severest battle, and ye have turned back from after him, and he hath been smitten, and hath died.' GWN 2 Samuel 11:15 In the letter he wrote, "Put Uriah on the front line where the fighting is heaviest. Then abandon him so that he'll be struck down and die." BBE 2 Samuel 11:15 And in the letter he said, Take care to put Uriah in the very front of the line, where the fighting is most violent, and go back from him, so that he may be overcome and put to death. Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle: 2Sa 11:17 1Sa 18:17,21,25 Ps 51:4,14 Jer 20:13 and die: 2Sa 12:9 WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE WHEN WE SEEK TO DECEIVE He had written in the letter, saying, "Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that (term of purpose) he may be struck down and die - David's letter of doom, signed, sealed (it had to be sealed so Uriah could not read it!) and ready to be delivered! How utterly ironic that David trusted Uriah not to open the letter calling for his own death!!! David had clearly thought about how to kill Uriah and here was the "perfect" plan so that Uriah's death could not be directly linked to King David. Oh, how wrong he would prove to be! David is so deeply into his sin, his conscience so hardened, that he may even be falsely rationalizing that "if Israel's enemies kill Uriah at least this man's blood is not on my hands." If so, he was dead wrong (no pun intended). But that's what sin does -- it clouds and confuses our mind, so that we begin to "call evil good, and good evil....substitute darkness for light and light for darkness... (and) substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isa 5:20+). At this moment, David was thinking like those in the book of Judges, for he had no King in his heart (see Ro 6:12+ for his "king"), but was doing that which was right in his own eyes to protect his own skin (Jdg 21:25+)! A W