Today’s message summary from Pastor Gus Brown:
Our loyalty and faithfulness belongs to God Himself.
Today we will look as Uriah. We remember him as the person that David had killed in order to get to Bathsheba.
Uriah was a faithful servant. He may have been under-appreciated, but God welcomes your faithfulness in service for Him.
Proverbs 27:19
As water reflects the face,
so the heart reflects the person.
Proverbs 4:23
Guard your heart above all else,
for it is the source of life.
Psalm 39:1a
I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle.”
Who is Uriah?
- His name means “Flame of The Lord” or “The Lord is Light.” Uriah is going to shine a bright light on David’s life.
- He is a Hittite: one of the earliest inhabitants of Palestine.
- He became a worshiper of Israel’s God.
- Look at the contrast between David, the Lord’s anointed, one brown a Jew, and Uriah, a convert–a man who was not born a Jew but accepted the faith of Israel and chose it for his own.
- Uriah is one of David’s “The Thirty” or “Mighty Men” because he was an outstanding warrior (2 Samuel 23:39).
- Uriah is fighting on behalf of God and David for Israel (2 Samuel 11:1).
- Uriah had to be a person of importance, because he was able to marry Bathsheba, a woman of unusual beauty, and daughter of Eliam (2 Samuel 23:34).
Uriah was faithful to God and the men he served with.
2 Samuel 11:6-11
6 David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.
10 When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn’t go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this!”
Look at the heart of Uriah in his demonstration of loyalty to his fellow soldiers and to God and Israel. He camped out with the Ark of the Covenant for the good of the people. He was being faithful. Where is David’s heart here?
When you heart is involved in sin it is not focused on God. David could not see the faithfulness of Uriah because of his sin. Uriah was focused on nothing but God and His presence. When your focus is on The Lord, there are things that you will deny of yourself to remain focused upon Him.
When your heart is set on God, He will keep you.
David is acting as the enemy; yet, Uriah is the main faithful to his conviction., even after David got him drunk.
2 Samuel 11:12-13
12 “Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and David got him drunk. He went out in the evening to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
2 Timothy 2:3
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
Uriah, as a result, shines light on David’s heart.
- He carried his own death letter from David to Joab.
- What could have been the thoughts of Joab about David from this time?
- After Uriah was killed, David only shared “not to let this upset you.
2 Samuel 11:24-25
24 However, the archers shot down on your soldiers from the top of the wall, and some of the king’s soldiers died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.”
25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this matter upset you because the sword devours all alike. Intensify your fight against the city and demolish it.’ Encourage him.”
Uriah died being faithful to both God and David. He didn’t know of the deceitful heart of David, but he knew the loving heart of the God of Israel–the One he truly served.
In living out the life of a Christian, you cannot say “do this the right way,” and live wrongly. Be prayerful to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and to never be a stumbling block before others. You won’t be perfect, but your perfection comes in obedience and faithfulness to Christ.
Akron Alliance Fellowship 