The Odyssey of King David
God’s Broken Vessel
by
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Chapter 2
The Cover-Up
The sword devours one as well as another.
—2 Samuel 11:25 (NIV)
David: It was a simple plan. Under the ruse of my wanting an eyewitness account of the war’s progress, I would order Joab to send Uriah to me. After conferring with Uriah, I would encourage him to go home and visit his wife, spend the night with her, and enjoy himself. It was the natural thing to do—the human thing for him to do.
But no, he slept with my servants on the floor, down at the entrance to the palace! I had not counted on his being a man who actually lives by the letter of the law, which forbade intimacy when engaged in combat.
I sent for him again: “Why didn’t you go home?” I asked. “Your house is just a stone’s throw away from here.” I barely caught myself before blurting out, “I can see it from my rooftop terrace!” Ah! What a slip of the tongue that would have been.
But I didn’t have to say anything; he knew … he knew something, or so I suspected. My messenger, who had brought Bathsheba to me the night of that fatal inquiry, he knew what had happened. And the servants appointed to my bedchamber surely knew. And though sworn to secrecy, my palace courtiers—who live on gossip and innuendo—they all had to know, though I denied it at the time. Might it not be, before falling asleep by the palace doors, that one of my servants whispered in Uriah’s ear, “I saw Bathsheba in the palace corridor the other night.”
Uriah responded abruptly to my questioning with no courtly, deferential protocol: “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master, Joab, and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” (2 Sam. 11:11 NIV).
Was he testing me? Did he suspect? Wasn’t he accusing me? Did he … did he intuit everything that had happened? Was he setting a trap for me, leaving me with few options?
Dr. Sam: David’s suspicions are not without merit. There is a strong possibility that Uriah knows he is the cuckold in David’s ruse. He also knows it’s unusual for the king to obtain reconnaissance by recalling one of his finest warriors from the front. There are swift messengers for that purpose. Inevitably, Uriah challenges David’s suggestion to go home and visit his wife. He knows David is aware that conjugal visitation during conflict is a violation of the military’s code of conduct, and Uriah is not about to run the risk of insubordination with its potentially severe punishment.
Regardless of the specific information he may have been given by the palace servants regarding Bathsheba’s nocturnal visit, Uriah intuitively suspects he is being played by the king; David, in return, suspects a trap is being set for him. The two men are playing a dangerous game of chess, and King David is determined to avoid checkmate.
David: I invited him to stay with me another day. He feasted at my table. I poured him drink after drink. When the king pours your drink, you drink. Now he would return home, I assumed, and spend some intimate time with his wife before returning to the front. But, no! Again, he slept on a mat among my servants and never went home that night!
What was I to do? My kingdom was in the balance. It would have been so easy if Uriah were an evil man. I did not count on his being a righteous man. There was a time I would have identified with such a man. There was a time I would have honored such a man. There was a time … I was that man.
Rather than seek God’s wisdom, I sought my own wisdom and took my own counsel. And the counsel of one’s heart can be deceitfully wicked.
Dr. Sam: How ironic that Uriah’s principles impede David’s devious plan. After his ruse fails a second time, David is desperate. He has all night to consider his options before Uriah returns to the front the following morning. After a night of mental anguish, with good and evil thoughts coursing through his mind, David could have decided to let things take their natural course, hoping that Uriah would lose his life in battle. He could have repented and prayed that his and Bathsheba’s life would be spared and restored to some measure of dignity. But, operating out of fear, David chooses to act. The action taken is not impulsive but ruthlessly calculating, and the result will be tragic.
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About the Book
Dr. Sam Mayhugh and D. Paul Thomas have achieved a unique dramatic dialogue, resulting in a text both stirring and ennobling, enacting the compelling story of David’s struggles and showing how meaning and hope can come forth from our engagement with sorrow and pain. Everyone will see themselves in David’s story and hear with joy the insights that Dr. Sam offers us when we are overwhelmed by grief, sorrow, or remorse. Especially appropriate for those facing challenges in the midst of life, The Odyssey of King David shows how God is always at work in our lives, even when we feel most alienated or alone.
The Very Rev. Gary Hall, former Dean of the Washington National Cathedral
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From his adulterous affair with Bathsheba to the death of his beloved son, Absalom, this dramatic meditation on the life of King David highlights one of the Bible’s extraordinary figures.
Moving past a sanitized, Sunday school version of David’s life story, the authors paint a revealing portrait of him in all of his humanity, telling his story in the first person. David reveals his doubts and fears, anger and shame, with the authors sharing their keen observations of the complexities of his life throughout the story. Their insights help readers discover a source of healing that can restore all of us—God’s broken vessels—to health and wholeness.
Whether you want to learn more about this young shepherd who became king of Israel or need encouragement to overcome life’s sorrows and challenges, you’ll be inspired by The Odyssey of King David.
About the Author
Dr. Sam Mayhugh is an executive psychologist who recently retired from IBH, a behavioral healthcare company he founded thirty-one years ago. He is the author of Harold’s Story—A Journey of Uncommon Healing, and COVID-19, Resources for Coping with the Pandemic and Beyond. He is Managing Director of TGA Productions.
D. Paul Thomas is an actor and dramatist. He appeared as “Jamie,” in Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the Kennedy Center. His play, Bonhoeffer 1945, was a “Best Pick” of the London Times. He is Creative Director of TGA Productions.