Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 20.
We remember the story of David and Bathsheba. The pregnancy that resulted from their affair led David to arrange to have her husband killed. There are many lessons to be learned from David’s sin, but I want us to remember at least one point from Bathsheba’s husband – Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11:3).
Uriah was described as a servant of David (2 Samuel 11:24) who fought under the command of Joab (2 Samuel 11:1,14-16). He was also a Hittite. This is significant. Notice a couple of passages:
“For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them” (Exodus 23:23).
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them” (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).
Uriah was born into one of the nations that was marked for destruction. Yet here he was among the people of God, serving David, and fighting the enemies of Israel. What this shows us is that God, even during the time when the Law of Moses was in force, accepted those from every nation who would leave their people and join with the people of God. It is as Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35).
God continues to accept those who will come to Him, regardless of their background. No matter who we are, if we will faithfully obey Him, we can be saved.
Tomorrow’s reading: Psalm 32, 51, 86, 122
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
