Chapter 4: The Letter

The next morning, David sat down and wrote a letter to Joab. The contents were specific.

DAVID“Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”— 2 Samuel 11:14-15

Then David sealed the letter and handed it to Uriah himself. The soldier carried his own death sentence back to the battlefield without knowing what was inside.

Joab received the letter, read it, and obeyed. He studied the walls of Rabbah and identified the section where the strongest Ammonite defenders were positioned. He assigned Uriah to that spot.

JOAB“Take your men to the wall.”

The Ammonites came out to fight. The battle pressed close to the fortifications, exactly where the defenders had the advantage. Arrows rained down from above. Several of David's soldiers fell. And among the dead was Uriah the Hittite.

He died with his sword in his hand, facing the enemy, doing the very thing his king had refused to do.