THE FATAL FAITHFULNESS
By JOHN KUNNATHU

'There were two men in one city, one rich and other poor', Nathan continued, 'The rich had a great many flocks. But the poor had nothing except one little ewe lamb which was like a daughter to him. Unwilling to take from his own flock, the rich took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared for his guest.

"Finally it is all over," said the king to the prophet, Nathan.

After taking a brief nap in the afternoon, King David was strolling around on the balcony of the palace. That is when the prophet came to visit him.

"You don't know how joyful I am to see you now!" the king said. "I have been looking forward to meeting you and telling you what has been going on here for the past few months."

"I am listening," the prophet said.

"Look," the king continued, "I like it when the weather is cool like this. That is exactly how I feel inside my soul too--like a quiet ocean after a violent tempest. To tell you the truth, I have been in the midst of a tempest for the past few months. Never had I felt such tension in all my life. No, not when I fought with Goliath, the Philistine giant, or not even when I had to run for my life, and hide myself within caves.

"If it were a threat from an enemy, I knew how to handle it. I have already changed this nation to an empire, and the rulers of the surrounding nations tremble at my name. Gone are the days when I had to lead the army in battles. I need only to stay here and give orders, and they will be done. However, all these belong to Yahweh, the almighty. Every minute of my life, I am fully aware of the fact that I would have wandered around with some sheep in those hills if Yahweh hadn't called me to lead the nation. Whatever I have belongs to Yahweh. I could face all the challenges in my life only with the might of God. My success is really my God's success.

"I know that I wouldn't have successfully gotten out of the dangerous situation I have been in recently without the might and mercy of Yahweh. If the danger had been from the king of the Ammonites, I could have sent an army to chop off his head and throw it before the feet of their powerless gods! If the danger had been from an unfaithful soldier, I could have cast him into a den of lions! But the danger was not from an enemy, and that is what made it difficult for me. Isn't it such a very rare situation when a soldier's faithfulness becomes a problem to a king?"

"He was truly faithful. He was so devoted to the well being of the nation that he didn't want to take a day off and spend a night at his home though he had a chance to do so. I know and God knows that I treated him in a very friendly way. I let him eat and drink with me in the palace.

"Not once, but twice did I try to send him home to spend a night with his wife. First I tried to persuade him by words of sympathy and concern. I said, 'Uriah, my friend, yesterday, I happened to think of you. How faithful you are to me to leave your family behind and stay at the warfront! Your commitment and sense of responsibility are very impressive indeed. I realize how hard it is for you to be away from your dear family. Your wife must be so eager to see you. Take a day off, Uriah, and enjoy a day with your family.'

"I was foolish enough to imagine that Uriah would go home and sleep with his wife. He was too faithful to consider my suggestions. He spent the night in front of the palace with some other soldiers. The next day I inquired why he hadn't gone. He said, 'Yahweh is staying in a tent. My master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. Then, how can I go home, eat, drink, and sleep with my wife?'

"When I understood that I couldn't persuade him in that way, I used another tactic. I told him that I was so pleased to have such a faithful soldier, and invited him to eat with me that evening. I persuaded him to drink as much as his belly could hold, hoping that he would go home. However, I failed in that attempt, too. He was determined not to go.

"I couldn't sleep that night. Walking around here, I cried to Yahweh for a solution. It was utterly dark; not a single star in the sky, and not a glimmer of light anywhere. As dawn approached and I noticed a dim light in the sky, a dim light came to my mind as well. A solution was in sight. I hurried to my chamber, found a pen, and started writing:

From,

David, the king of Israel and Judah

To,

Joab, the commander in chief

Dear Joab:

I have received the news of what you have been doing there. I am impressed of your bravery and tactfulness. As I am seriously thinking of placing Uriah, with whom I send this letter, in a high position in the army, I want you to give him a test to see if he is fit for that position. Put him in the front line where fighting is most fierce that there might be an opportunity for him to fight alone and prove his ability

I wish you all success.

May you have the blessing of Yahweh!

I signed it, sealed it, put it in an envelope, and gave it to Uriah to be delivered to Joab.

 "After a few days, a messenger came from Joab to inform me what had happened to Uriah. He had died at the warfront. Though I was relieved, I really felt sorry for him. He was such a faithful man. Soon I sent for Bethsheba, Uriah's wife, and let her stay in my palace, and recently, she has given birth to a baby."

 "May I interrupt if you don't mind?" asked the prophet. "I still do not understand exactly how Uriah was a problem for you."

 "Oh, I should have told you the story from the beginning," the king replied. "It all began one afternoon when I was walking around on the roof of the palace. I usually see somebody washing clothes or taking a bath in that stream down there. It was there that I saw her -- taking a bath. I immediately realized that she was unusually beautiful. I couldn't help looking at her again.

"I inquired about her and gathered information. The more I thought about her, the more I wanted her. Thus I arranged for her to spend some time with me in the palace. She promised me to keep it a secret, and all those in the palace who were involved in this were asked by me to keep it to themselves.

"After about three months, when I had almost forgotten her and the incident, I received a message from her saying that she was pregnant. Her husband, being in the army, had not been with her for a long time. As the child grew in her womb, people would ask her whose child she was bearing. Someone had to be responsible for the conception. Otherwise, she would be killed publicly like a mad dog. I couldn't imagine such a thing happening, not only because she was a woman I loved but also because she was bearing my child. Moreover, I would never escape the judgement of God if she were killed in the street. What if I openly admitted that I was responsible for her pregnancy? I could perhaps do it if I were not the king of Israel. Once the people knew that I had broken the moral code of Israel, I couldn't expect their support. It could lead to the destruction of the empire. It was not a time to be silly. All the neighboring nations were looking for such a chance. They would certainly take advantage of it. They would tear this empire into pieces, and God's people would be taken as slaves. No! Being a responsible king, I couldn't allow it.

"The best possible solution Yahweh showed me was to bring her husband back from the battle field and let him sleep with her. If that man had done that, everything would have ended well. The only bad thing about that solution was that my own child would have to grow up as Uriah's child. When he refused to sleep with his wife, the only sensible alternative that I could think of was to let him die in the warfront. There is nothing unusual about a soldier dying in the war front.

"After a few months, when she would give birth to a child, people would normally believe that she conceived the child after she came to the palace."

"In fact I feel pity for Uriah, and I feel guilty when I think about him. But I had no other alternative. I had to choose between two evils: the death of Uriah or the destruction of the whole empire. And I chose the lesser evil."

 "Well, it is certainly the mercy of God that saved you from such a dangerous situation," the prophet said.

 The king was relieved to hear those words because he was not sure what the prophet would think about the whole story. Though everything he talked about was a very personal matter, and very shameful to him, he didn't dare to hide anything from the prophet because he was convinced that nothing could be hidden from a prophet of God. He invited the prophet to stay at the palace that night, and the prophet accepted the invitation.

 The next morning when they met again, the prophet said: "In fact, I was here yesterday to make a complaint to you, but as you were too busy telling me your story, I couldn't say it to you."

 "A complaint about what?" the king was curious.

 "An evil deed," the prophet said. "Though God has given me the ability to see things and speak for God, the authority to pronounce justice is given to you. With the authority entrusted on you by God, please, do decide what is right and wrong in this case, and pronounce judgment."

 "I give you my word that I will do my duty," David said. "Tell me, who on earth dared to do an evil deed against you, the prophet of God?"

          "It is not directly against me, but it is something I am greatly concerned about," the prophet said. "An evil deed is an epidemic, and it spreads like fire. We need to put off the fire before it devours the whole nation."

          "I fully agree with you," the king said.

          "There lives a rich man in my village," the prophet continued. "He is really rich: A big home to live, a lot of cattle and sheep, and a lot of servants. He has a poor neighbor. He is utterly poor. The only wealth he had was a lamb. He loved the lamb and fed it like his own child. One day I happened to see a heart-breaking sight--the poor man running around looking for his lamb. He was even at my home to ask if I had seen it. No one could console him. After two days, I heard news from one of the servants of the rich man: The lamb was indeed stolen by the rich man. He happened to see the lamb running around the poor man's hut. 'It is a stout lamb, it must be delicious,' he said to himself, and sent a servant to fetch it."

            The king trembled with anger. Drawing out his sword, he said: "I can't wait a second to root out that evil from this land. Here is my judgment: Whoever he is, he deserves to die. A heartless man who dared to break a fellow being's heart for a moment's fancy has no right to live. Let the whole of Israel know that there is justice in this nation."

            The king's vigor to establish justice made the prophet hesitate to continue.

 "Who is he? Where is he? Tell me!" the king demanded.

Again the prophet hesitated because he was not sure how the king would react to the truth. But then the prophet had no other choice but to answer.

"He is right here in this palace," the prophet said.

The king was surprised.

"He is out there? How could you manage to bring him here?" he asked with surprise.

The prophet looked steadily at the king's face and said, "No, he is right here in this room."

The king looked around, but he couldn't see anyone else in the room. When the king turned his eyes at the prophet with surprise, he noticed the peculiar way the prophet was staring at him. It was a moment of realization.

 "Yes," the prophet said. "You are that man."

 The truth dawned on him heavily. He was ashamed even to look at the prophet's face. He couldn't even open his mouth. The sword slipped off from his hand.

 "I am here with God's message," the prophet said. "Hear the words of Yahweh:

Here is a riddle for you to solve,
A question for you to answer:
A lad, wandering in the woods with a flock of sheep,
was made the great shepherd of the people of God!
A servant boy, playing harp in the palace,
was given the throne of the king!
A rebel who had to hide himself within caves
and behind the bushes
was made the emperor of Israel!
Tell me, who is that? :Speak out, let me hear.
The answer you know,
but your mouth can't utter it,
your tongue is too ashamed to sound it.
More than what you could imagine was what I gave you,
More than what you could dream is what you possess.
Didn't I give you your master's palace with everything in it?
Didn't I give you all the women in the palace?
If you were not satisfied with them, you could have asked me,:and I would have given you more.
How could you forget you are the shepherd of Israel?:How could you forget you are the anointed judge of Israel?:What would happen if all of them follow your example?
Do you want all men of this nation to kill one another,:blinded by passion?
If this nation perishes like that,:you bear its blame.
Don't you know that the neighboring nations, like wolves,
are looking for a chance to tear this nation:into pieces?
When they come in, they will rape your women openly in the streets in bright day light.
That will be the effect of what you did inside your palace
under the cover of darkness."

  Hearing these words, the king covered his face with his hands and fell on his knees, and then he began to roll on the ground. It was more than what he could bear. He remembered that he had pronounced a judgement a few minutes ago. The judgement had to be executed. Ironically, the judge and the criminal happened to be the same person. He found his sword and raised it to pierce his own heart.

However, the prophet was quick enough to restrain him.

"I have received the message of God again," the prophet said. 'God says:

As you have realized your mistake, and were ready to punish yourself for that, I have forgiven you."

 The king wept bitterly like a child and his tears cleansed his stained heart. The prophet patted on his back and consoled him.

He said, "David, my brother, don't be too upset. Forget everything. This experience has made you a better and stronger person. God doesn't want you to die because the nation needs your leadership now. However, as the judgement has been pronounced, and as it has not fallen on you, it will certainly fall on someone else in the palace. Most probably it will be on your new born babe."

 After the prophet left, the newborn babe became sick. David couldn't swallow the idea of an innocent babe being punished for his mistake. Therefore, he fasted and prayed earnestly for seven days to save the life of the child. However, on the seventh day, the child died. By that time, David had made up his mind to accept the will of Yahweh.