Canning the Cover-Up

Canning the Cover-Up
Words of Faith 2-4-25
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2025
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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2 Samuel 11:4-13
[4] Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. [5] The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." [6] So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. [7] When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. [8] Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. [9] But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. [10] When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" [11] Uriah said to David, "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!" [12] Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. [13] At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.

Sometimes, we learn as much from what we do not see as from what we see. David had sinned. He had betrayed God's commandments, his relationship with the Lord, his family, and his country. But there was no remorse, no deep sorrow, no immediate grieving before the Lord, or confession to his family. He had gotten away with this sin. He had what he wanted in the dark of the night and then sent Bathsheba on her way.
It is likely that a couple of months went by before Bathsheba knew for sure she was pregnant. There were no test kits at the corner pharmacy. David was sure he had gotten away with this one-night indulgence until word came from Bathsheba that she was pregnant. It would be months before her husband came home, and it was impossible to account for this. He was fighting a war, loyal to his king and commander.
David could have sent for Uriah and confessed the sin, but by this time, David had descended into the murky world of the cover-up. After all, he was the king. He could do as he pleased and easily cover this. He would send for Bathsheba's husband and bring him in for a "family visit." David would smooth all this over under the guise of being a benevolent king. Who would ever know?
Uriah may have been a little baffled as to why he was being called to the palace for such a visit to the supreme commander. His sense of loyalty and duty was quite high. Though he had started as a Hittite mercenary, he now honored God, the Ark, and the nation of Israel.
Uriah was with the king, who was chit-chatting about how things were at the battle front. Then David sent him home to "wash his feet"- a euphemism meaning to be "refreshed" with a marital visit. Uriah left but did not go home because of his deep sense of duty to the field commander and fellow soldiers. Uriah's extreme loyalty should have stirred something within David, but he was desperately self-absorbed.
David's response was to try a more devious plan. By getting Uriah drunk, he thought he might get him to relax his sense of loyalty and at least go home. If David could just set up the possibility of Uriah being the father of this child, he would be off the hook. But once again, Uriah, even when drunk, refused to go home. Instead, he slept on a mat among the servants.
The huge truth here is that cover-ups are futile. Paul wrote to the Galatians: Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows (6:7). Jesus said: There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs (Luke 12:2-3). The cover-up only opens another level of failure and sin. He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy (Proverbs 28:13).
Have you been covering something up? It might be something relatively small-- an expense or decision you have been afraid to reveal. A sin against another person or some people? It could be something long ago that you need to talk through with a trusted friend. Is there a person that you have gossiped about or hurt their reputation? Confession is good for the soul. Confession brings freedom, but it should also be entered into carefully. Can you find someone to bring that issue to? You may need to seek forgiveness or make some restitution. One thing is sure, cover-ups don't last, don't heal, and only steal.

Lord, search me and know me, heart and soul. Reveal anything that displeases You. Show me anything that I need to bring into the light. Give me the grace to forgive myself for my failures and the strength to seek your healing. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2025
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2025 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.