# Day 114

# The Death of Uriah

2 Samuel 11:1–27

When David first became king, he went into battle with his army. Later, he stayed in his palace while the army went to fight.

One evening, David was walking on the roof of his palace. He looked into a nearby garden and saw a beautiful woman. “Who is this woman?” he asked his servant.

“Her name is Bathsheba. She’s the wife of Uriah.”

Uriah was away fighting in David’s army. David sent for Uriah’s wife and spoke with her. He loved her and wanted her to be his wife. But Bathsheba was married to Uriah.

David made a wicked plan. He wrote to Joab, the general of Israel’s army. “Send Uriah to the front of the battle,” David wrote. “Leave him there in the hard fighting. Then Uriah will be killed.”

Joab followed David’s orders. He sent Uriah to fight near the city walls. There Uriah was killed.

Bathsheba mourned for her dead husband for some time. Then David sent for her. He brought Bathsheba into his house and married her. A baby was born to them. David loved the child. But God disliked what David had done to Uriah.

Questions: Who was Bathsheba? Why did David want Uriah dead?