And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
When Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for him. Uriah died because David ordered Joab to place him in deadly danger, having him exposed in the fiercest fighting and then abandoned by the other soldiers, so that he fell by the sword of the Ammonites. The news that Uriah was dead was reported to David, and David answered with instructions to Joab to continue the attack, treating Uriah's death as an ordinary result of war. The history surrounding this became known and raised suspicion that David had arranged Uriah's death.
The verse belongs to the account of David's heinous sin and crime involving Uriah and Bath-sheba, in which David was guilty of Uriah's murder. Indulgence of appetite and passion led David, though especially favored by God, to incur God's displeasure. David's failure to occupy himself in useful work and idleness left him open to this grave sin, while useful employment leaves less room for temptations and thoughts that lead to evil actions. God did not excuse this transgression but rebuked David through Nathan and pronounced punishment upon him.
The chapter shows David forsaking God's teachings and thereby staining his formerly honorable reputation, proving that violating God's will brings retribution. The verse shows that the Bible does not hide the faults of even people entrusted with great responsibilities, but records their wrongdoing to warn readers against sin and to teach that God punishes crime. David's royal authority came from God but was to be exercised in harmony with God's law, and Joab sinned by obeying a royal command that violated that law, showing that human authority does not justify obedience to commands contrary to God's law.
When Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for him. Uriah died because David ordered Joab to place him in deadly danger, having him exposed in the fiercest fighting and then abandoned by the other soldiers, so that he fell by the sword of the Ammonites. The news that Uriah was dead was reported to David, and David answered with instructions to Joab to continue the attack, treating Uriah's death as an ordinary result of war. The history surrounding this became known and raised suspicion that David had arranged Uriah's death.
The verse belongs to the account of David's heinous sin and crime involving Uriah and Bath-sheba, in which David was guilty of Uriah's murder. Indulgence of appetite and passion led David, though especially favored by God, to incur God's displeasure. David's failure to occupy himself in useful work and idleness left him open to this grave sin, while useful employment leaves less room for temptations and thoughts that lead to evil actions. God did not excuse this transgression but rebuked David through Nathan and pronounced punishment upon him.
The chapter shows David forsaking God's teachings and thereby staining his formerly honorable reputation, proving that violating God's will brings retribution. The verse shows that the Bible does not hide the faults of even people entrusted with great responsibilities, but records their wrongdoing to warn readers against sin and to teach that God punishes crime. David's royal authority came from God but was to be exercised in harmony with God's law, and Joab sinned by obeying a royal command that violated that law, showing that human authority does not justify obedience to commands contrary to God's law.