Esther Becomes Queen

175 – Esther Becomes Queen

Esther 1:1 – 5:8

One day the queen of Persia embarrassed the king in front of the lords of the court. They all agreed the king should replace her. So an order went out saying all the beautiful virgins were to come to the palace. From them, the king would choose a new queen.

Esther was a beautiful young woman who had been raised by her older cousin Mordecai. She went to the palace because of her beauty and virtue. But … her cousin told her not to tell anyone that she was Jewish.

In the course of time, she was selected to be the new queen. Soon after this, two events happened about the same time. The first was that Mordecai heard a plot to kill the king. He reported it, and the plot was stopped. His good deed was recorded in the official records.

The second event was that a man named Haman was made the highest-ranking official in the government. From then on, people bowed when he walked by—everyone except Mordecai.

When Haman saw this, he became angry and wanted Mordecai killed. But he wanted more than that—he wanted to totally destroy the Jews.

So he went to the king and said, “There are people in the empire who are different than everyone else. They don’t obey your laws because they have their own. It’s not good to let them live. Allow me to serve you by organizing their destruction. It would be my honor to personally pay for the cost of doing this.”

The king was pleased at Haman’s willingness to serve the kingdom, so he gave him the authority to destroy the Jewish people. Haman set a date and then sent out a proclamation.

It said all the Jews were to be killed on that date. This would include the men, women and children. Their possessions were to be given to those who did the killing.

Once the proclamation was translated into many languages, it was sent out to all the nations in the empire. Fear and panic gripped all the Jews of the land.

Esther was in the palace and didn’t know about this decree. Soon she heard that Mordecai was mourning in a public place. She sent a servant to ask him what was wrong. Mordecai told the servant everything and gave him a copy of the decree. He said, “Tell the queen she must talk to the king and beg him to have mercy upon her people.”

She sent a message back to him. “No one is allowed to go before the king without an invitation. Those who do are put to death unless he points the golden scepter toward them. It’s been 30 days since he has last sent for me.

Mordecai sent a message back to her. “Don’t assume you’ll escape, just because you live in the palace. Listen, if you don’t help, your people will be delivered by some other means. Still, you will die! I believe you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

She sent back a note. “Tell our people to fast for three days. They’re not to eat or drink anything. My servants and I will do the same. Then I’ll go and stand before the king, even though it is against the law. If I die, I die.”

After three days, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court so the king could see her from his throne. When he looked up, he was pleased to see her and immediately pointed the golden scepter towards her. She walked up and touched the top of it.

He said, “Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.”

She said, “If it pleases you, I want you and Haman to come to a banquet I have prepared.”

“Done!” said the king. “Guard, run get Haman and bring him here. We’re going to Queen Esther’s banquet.”

Continued in the next story

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Story Telling by Phyllis Hostmeyer

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Well of Mud

163 – Well of Mud

2 Chronicles 36:15-21 2 Kings 25:3-21 Jeremiah 32:1-33:26 38:1-40:6 52:1-34

Stories 159 – 164 happened during the life and ministry of Jeremiah, the prophet.

The Lord gave Jeremiah a message for the people. He said, “The choice is yours. You can have life or death. If you stay in Jerusalem, you’ll suffer hunger, disease, and death. If you surrender to the Babylonian army, you’ll live. I’ve given this city to them, and they’ll totally destroy it.”

When the officials of Judah heard this, they went to the king and said, “This man must die. He’s a traitor. He’s telling people to abandon us.”

So Zedekiah allowed them to do what they wanted with Jeremiah. They put ropes around him and let him down into an empty well. It didn’t have water in it, but instead the bottom was nothing but mud. Soon the prophet had sunk down into the mud.

Another official ran to the king and said, “This is wrong! The prophet will die in that well. He has no food or water.”

The king gave permission for the man to pull Jeremiah out of the well. So he got 30 other men to help him. They threw old rags down the well and told the prophet to put these under his arms to protect him from the ropes. They then pulled him out of the well and took him back to the palace prison.

The Babylonians kept the city under siege for two and a half years. Finally they broke through the walls and took the city. When Zedekiah heard this, he got out of Jerusalem during the night and tried to escape.

The Babylonians chased after the king and soon caught him. They brought him back to Nebuchadnezzar. He took Zedekiah and made him watch as they killed his sons in front of him. They then gouged out his eyes, put him in chains, and led him away to Babylon.

The Babylonians totally destroyed the city so it could never again resist them. They destroyed the Temple, burned all the houses, and broke down the walls. The city was totally demolished. The Babylon army took the rest of the people away to Babylon, leaving only a few to tend the land.

Nebuchadnezzar heard about Jeremiah, so he told his captain, “Find this man, and make sure he isn’t hurt. He’s to be cared for and given whatever he wants.”

The captain went and found the prophet. He was in chains along with the others who were being sent into exile. The captain took the chains off Jeremiah and said, “You’re free to go. If you come to Babylon with us, we’ll take care of you and meet your needs for the rest of your life. But if you want, you can stay here in Judah. The choice is yours.”

Jeremiah said he would stay in Judah, so they allowed him and Baruch to go back to their homes. The Lord also protected the official that had helped the prophet get out of the well.

The Lord said to Jeremiah, “The day will come when I’ll raise up a righteous Branch from the line of David, and He’ll bring justice and righteousness to the land. He’ll be called, ‘The Lord our Righteousness.’ ”

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Story Telling and Questions by Mickie O’Donnell

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Israel in Exile

152 – Israel in Exile

II Kings 17:1-41

Israel had been a separate kingdom from Judah for many years. Their first king set up two golden calves for worship. None of their kings destroyed the calves, and none of them followed the Lord. Some of the greatest prophets who ever lived were sent to Israel. Still, the people refused to turn to God.

So, after many warnings, God finally allowed them to be conquered. They were taken off the land and made to live in other cities.

It started with the king of Assyria attacking the kingdom of Israel and taking control of it. The people were required to pay heavy taxes. Suddenly the king of Egypt said he would help Israel get free of their bondage to Assyria. The people believed this and stopped paying the taxes.

The armies of Assyria invaded Israel, captured their king, and put him in prison. They then encircled Samaria and kept anyone from going in or out. This lasted for three years, until finally Samaria surrendered.

The Assyrians were cruel. They used the people of Israel as a warning to other nations not to rebel against their authority. Those who survived were taken off the land and sent into exile.

Other people were brought in to live on the land of Israel. They settled in the cities and called their new nation Samaria.

The new people knew nothing about the Lord, so they continued worshiping the idols they brought with them. God sent lions among them, and many people were killed.

An advisor to the king of Assyria said, “The Samaritans don’t know the God of the land. He sent lions to kill them because they don’t know how to worship him correctly.”

So the king said, “Select a few priests from the people of Israel and send them back to Samaria. Have them teach the people how to worship the God of the land.”

A few priests were selected and sent back. They taught the Samaritans about the Lord and how to worship him. The people started worshiping God, but they also kept their old idols. They mixed the two together. This continued for many years to come.

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Athaliah

143 – Athaliah

2 Kings 8:16-29 9:14-29 11:1-21 2 Chronicles 21:1 – 23:21

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wanted to establish a good relationship with the kingdom of Israel. To do that, he had his oldest son marry Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, king of Israel. Unfortunately, Athaliah influenced her husband to follow the sinful ways of Israel.

As soon as Jehoshaphat died, his son became king and put idols all around Judah, and built a temple to Baal in Jerusalem. He killed his six brothers to make sure they wouldn’t take the kingdom away from him.

Elisha sent him a message. “You’ve caused the people to worship idols, and now you’ve killed your brothers. They were all better men than you. Therefore, all of your sons will be killed, and you’ll die a slow agonizing death.”

Immediately, Judah started losing battles. The king developed a severe stomach illness. All of his sons were killed except the youngest. The king’s illness caused him extreme pain for two years. When he finally died, no one mourned his death.

His youngest son became king, and he followed the direction of his mother Athaliah. He went to visit his uncle, the king of Israel. While he was there, Jehu killed both of them.

When she heard that her son was dead, Athaliah decided to become king, even though she was a woman. Still, she knew the people of Judah always selected their kings from the descendants of David. That meant the people could kill her and make one of her grandchildren king. Therefore, she decided to kill them. She called for the guard and told him to go to the palace and kill them all.

Athaliah’s daughter heard this and rushed to the palace. She worshiped the Lord and was married to Jehoiada, the high priest. At the palace, she took the baby Joash and his nurse and left—just before the guards got there. She hid the child in the Temple of the Lord. Meanwhile the guards killed all the other royal descendants of David.

Athaliah was confident she had killed them all. So, she became king of Judah and ruled the nation for six years.

Jehoiada hid Joash in the Temple until he was seven years old. Finally the priest knew it was time to act. He organized a meeting with trusted military leaders and the heads of various family groups. He asked them, “What would you do if you had a descendant of King David.”

“We would make him king!”

Jehoiada then brought Joash before them and said, “Here is your next king.”

Together, they set a date to bring him out before the people. They organized the military, Temple activities, and crowd control. On the big day, the people of Judah went to the Temple.

Joash was brought out and put in the place reserved for the king. Jehoiada anointed him with oil and placed a crown on his head. The trumpets blew, the choir sang, and the people shouted, “Long live the king!!”

Athaliah heard all the shouting, so she went out to see what was going on. People were running through the streets, celebrating, and talking about the king. She walked into the Temple and saw Joash in the place reserved for the king, and he had a crown on his head. She ripped her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

Jehoiada pointed at her and said, “Take that woman out, because it is not right to kill someone in the Temple.”

So they dragged Athaliah out of the Temple, and killed her at the horse corral. The people went through the city and tore down everything that had to do with Baal. The high priest once again set up the worship of the Lord in the Temple. Everyone rejoiced because Athaliah’s reign of terror was over.

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Four Lepers

139 – Four Lepers

2 Kings 6:24 – 7:20

The king of Syria once again invaded Israel. His army surrounded Samaria and set up camp just outside the city walls. They cut off all supplies going into the city. Eventually there was no food, and the people started to starve. It was so bad that a donkey’s head sold for two pounds of silver, and a small bowl of dove’s droppings sold for two ounces of silver.

A woman saw the king walking along the top of the city wall. She asked him to help her. He said, “I don’t know if I can. What’s your problem?”

She said, “My friend won’t keep her promise. We agreed we’d eat our two sons, mine on the first day and hers on the second. So, we boiled and ate my son, but now she has hidden her son.”

When the king heard this, he ripped his clothes. He said, “I’ll get Elisha for this if it’s the last thing I do.” He sent a guard to cut off the prophet’s head.

Elisha was sitting in his house with several elders of Israel. He said, “Our murdering king has sent a guard to cut off my head. The king is right behind him.”

Just then the king walked in. He yelled at the prophet. “You said all this trouble is from God. So why should I serve him if he acts like this?”

Elisha said, “I have a message from God. He said this disaster is almost over. Tomorrow at this time, people will buy a sack of fine flour for a few coins. They’ll buy a large sack of barley for the same price.”

The king’s chief adviser said, “Impossible! We couldn’t have that much food around here even if God opened up the windows of heaven.”

The man of God said, “You’ll see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.”

During the night, the Syrian army heard a loud noise like a large army marching toward them. The noise got louder and sounded like the army had many horses and chariots.

The Syrian soldiers thought Israel had hired other nations to come and help them. They yelled, “Let’s get out of here!” They got up and ran away, leaving everything behind.

Before light the next morning, four lepers were sitting just outside of the city gates. One said to the others, “Why are we just sitting here slowly dying of hunger?”

Another one said, “Well, it’s no better in the city. If we go in there, we’ll still die of hunger.”

“Well that’s true, but we can’t stay here. Let’s go into the Syrian camp. If they kill us—well, we’re about to die anyway. But maybe they’ll have pity on us and give us food.”

So, the four men got up and walked toward the camp, not knowing it was empty. They went into the first tent and found food, gold, silver, and expensive clothes. The first thing they did was eating the food. They then took the other things away and hid them. They came back and hid what they found in the next tent.

Finally they said, “What we’re doing isn’t right. People are dying of hunger on the other side of the wall. God will punish us if we don’t go tell them about this.”

So they went to the city gate and yelled to the gatekeeper, telling him exactly what they found. When the king heard about this, he thought it was a trap. He said, “The Syrian army is hiding out of sight, waiting for us to come out of the city.”

So he sent a few soldiers to scout out the land. The men found the route the Syrians had taken. It was full of clothes and equipment the army had thrown away so they could run faster.

The soldiers went back and told the king what they had found. With that, people flooded out of the city to raid the Syrian camp. The price of food immediately dropped.

The king gave his chief adviser the job of crowd control at the gate. Soon, he was trampled to death. All of this fulfilled what the prophet had said.

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Ditches of Water

133 – Ditches of Water

II Kings 3:1-27

For many years, Moab was controlled by Israel and paid them high taxes. When Ahab died, the king of Moab refused to pay Israel any more taxes.

Ahab’s son, King Joram organized his army and prepared to march against Moab. He sent a message to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. “Please join me in our campaign against the king of Moab. He has rebelled against me.”

Jehoshaphat agreed and the two armies marched south of the Dead Sea and into Edom. The Edomite army joined them. So all three continued their march toward Moab.

Soon they realized there wasn’t enough water in that desert for all their men and animals. Joram said, “I think the Lord has led us here so we could all be captured by the Moabites.”

Jehoshaphat said, “Do we have a prophet of God with us?”

One of the officers said, “Yes, Elisha is here.”

The three kings went to him. When he saw Joram, he said, “Why are you coming to me? Why don’t you talk to one of your idols?”

Joram said, “Please, I think the Lord your God has led us here so we would be captured by the Moabites.”

Elisha said, “If it was just you, I wouldn’t give you the time of day. But I have great respect for King Jehoshaphat, so send someone with a harp.”

As the harp played, the Lord gave Elisha a message for Joram. “Dig ditches in this dry riverbed. You won’t see a storm, but this riverbed will fill up with plenty of water. There will be enough for you and your animals. This is an easy thing for the Lord to do. He will also help you defeat the Moabite army, and you’ll be able to capture their cities.”

The next morning, the water suddenly started flowing, so much so that it flooded the land. The Moabite army got up early and looked in the direction of the three kings. The sun was shining on the water and made it look red. They shouted, “Look at all that blood. The armies of the three kings have turned and killed one another. Come! Let’s go collect the spoils from their camps.”

When they got to Israel’s camp, the Israelite army attacked them. They chased them back into Moab, and started taking city after city. Finally, there was only one left that hadn’t been defeated.

Israel surrounded it. The king of Moab tried to escape by taking 700 of his key soldiers and breaking through the front lines. The plan failed, so he grabbed his oldest son and sacrificed him as an offering on the city wall. The sight of this was so horrible that the Moabite soldiers went into a frenzy of rage. Seeing this, the three armies withdrew and went home.

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Naboth’s Vineyard

128 – Naboth’s Vineyard

I Kings 21:1-29

In the town of Jezreel, a man named Naboth owned a vineyard next to the palace of King Ahab. The king told Naboth he wanted to buy the vineyard and make it into a vegetable garden. He said, “I’ll pay you full value in silver or, if you prefer, I’ll give you a better vineyard someplace else.

Naboth said, “No. I couldn’t sell this vineyard. It has been owned by our family for several hundred years.”

At first, this made the king angry. He went home and refused to eat anything. Finally, he became depressed and went and lay in his bed facing the wall.

Jezebel, the king’s wife, asked him what was wrong. He said, “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard and he told me no! I even offered him a better vineyard in exchange for his.”

Jezebel said, “Oh, is that all? Well, come have something to eat, and don’t worry about Naboth’s vineyard. I’ll get it for you.”

She wrote a letter to the town officials. It said, “Go get Naboth and have him stand before you. Bring in two liars that will swear he cursed God and the king. Then take him out and stone him until he’s dead.” She signed Ahab’s name to the letter and sealed it with the official seal.

The city leaders did exactly as they were told. They got Naboth and condemned him to death. After the stoning, they sent a message back to Jezebel saying, “Naboth is dead.”

She went to her husband and said, “You now own the vineyard you wanted. Go and enjoy it because Naboth is dead.” When the king heard this good news, he went to see his vineyard.

At that same moment, the Lord said to Elijah, “King Ahab just stole Naboth’s vineyard. Go tell him this. ‘You murdered Naboth and the dogs licked his blood from the ground. Dogs will lick your blood at that exact spot.’”

Elijah went and found Ahab at Naboth’s vineyard. When the king saw the prophet coming, he said, “Well, look at this. My enemy has found me.”

“Yes, I found you. And you have found every way possible to do the things God hates. Now it’s time for judgment. Your punishment will be just like King Jeroboam. You’ll have no descendants. First, dogs will eat the body of your wife Jezebel. After that, your entire family will be eliminated from the earth. Dogs will eat all your relatives that die in the city. Birds will eat those who die in the country.”

This struck Ahab in the heart. He ripped his clothes in sorrow. He fasted and wore sackcloth day and night. Finally, the Lord said to Elijah, “Ahab is truly sorry for what he did. Therefore, I won’t destroy his family until after he’s dead. All that I said will happen when his son is king.”

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Jezreel-Valley-from-Tel-Jezreel

Panorama of the Jezreel Valley from Tel Jezreel, from March 2019 BibleTelling Seminar in Israel

Jezreel-aerial-from-south

Aerial view of Tel Jezreel from the South, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Jezreel-aerial-from-east

Aerial view of Tel Jezreel from the East, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Abijah & Asa

123 – Abijah & Asa

I Kings 15:1-34 II Chronicles 13:1 – 16:14

Jeroboam was still king of Israel when Rehoboam died. After his death, Abijah became king of Judah. Soon afterward, Jeroboam and the army of Israel invaded Judah.

When the two armies faced one another, Israel’s army was twice as big. Still, Abijah stood on a hill and yelled over at the army of Israel. He said, “Men of Israel, you have left the family of David to serve a servant of Solomon. On top of that, you have left the God of Israel to worship Jeroboam’s two golden calves. And your priests are not from the tribe of Levi.”

He went on and on, preaching to the men. He didn’t realize that while he was doing this, Jeroboam was sending half of his men around to the back of Abijah’s army. Suddenly the army of Judah realized they were surrounded. They cried out to the Lord and the priests blew the trumpets. God fought against Israel and they ran from the battlefield. Many of their soldiers died that day.

Jeroboam never recovered from this massive defeat, and he died soon afterwards. Abijah became stronger because he trusted the Lord.

After Abijah died, his son Asa became king of Judah. He ruled for 41 years. The Lord gave him 10 years of peace because he returned the nation to the ways of David. He destroyed the idols Solomon had set up. He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God.

Suddenly a vast army from Ethiopia invaded from the south. The army of Judah was greatly outnumbered. Asa prayed, “Oh Lord, only you can help us now!”

So the Lord helped him defeat the Ethiopian army. Many of them were killed as they tried to run away. When it was all done, their army was crushed before the Lord. The men of Judah collected all the possessions from the bodies that were lying on the battlefield. They also got all of their sheep and camels.

As Asa and his men went back to Jerusalem, a prophet met him and challenged him to continue his walk with God. So the king decided to start destroying the idols from all the other cities of Judah. He even removed his grandmother from being Queen Mother because of her loyalty to an idol.

People from the northern kingdom of Israel moved to Judah in large numbers because they worshiped the Lord. On a certain day, everyone met together and vowed to always serve God. Asa then took silver and gold and put it in the Temple treasury. So the Lord gave Judah peace from all their enemies.

Unfortunately, Asa came to a turning point in his life. The new king of Israel declared war on Judah and invaded the land. He took control of a key city.

Instead of trusting the Lord, Asa thought of another way he could get the advantage over Israel. He took the gold and silver out of the Temple and sent it to Ben-hadad, the king of Syria that was north of Israel. He sent a message saying, “I’m sending you gold and silver so you will break your treaty with Israel, and establish a treaty between our two nations.”

Ben-hadad took the gold and silver and made a treaty with Asa. He then invaded Israel and captured several of their cities. Quickly the army of Israel left Judah so they could defend themselves against Syria.

It seemed like Asa’s plan had worked. But then, a prophet went to king Asa and said, “You should have asked the Lord to fight for you— not Syria! Don’t you remember what God did with the massive army of Ethiopia? The Lord is looking for those who will trust Him. You were foolish in doing this. Therefore, you will be at war until you die.”

Asa was angry with the prophet and called for a guard. “Put this man in prison!” After that, he became cruel toward his own people. Suddenly he developed a disease in his feet, which got worse and worse. Still, he didn’t seek the Lord’s help, even when the disease became life threatening. Instead, he trusted the doctors to help him. Finally, he died after two years of great pain.

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Tamar

106 – Tamar

2 Samuel 13:1-39

Amnon was David’s oldest son—and his favorite. Amnon had everything he wanted, except one thing. He wanted his half-sister Tamar. She was beautiful and a virgin. He thought about her all the time. He literally got sick wishing he could go to bed with her.

He had a cousin who was known to be crafty. Once he heard how Amnon felt, he came up with a plan. He said, “Lay in your bed as if you’re sick. When the king asks about you, tell him you want Tamar to come make some bread in your room. Tell him you want her to feed it to you.”

Amnon followed this plan, so the king asked Tamar to go help her brother with some food. While she was there, Amnon sent all the servants out of the room. As she handed him some food, he grabbed her and said, “Get in bed with me!”

She begged him, “No, please. Stop this. This is a horrible sin. You’re putting me to shame. Ask the king and he’ll give me to you. He’ll give you anything.”

But Amnon wouldn’t listen. He pulled her into bed and raped her. As soon as he was done, he no longer wanted her. In fact, he hated her. He said, “Get out of here!”

She yelled, “No! Don’t throw me away. What you’ve done is wrong, but sending me away is worse.”

He shouted for his servant. “Take this woman out of here and lock the door behind her.”

After Tamar was put out, she tore her clothes, the ones that showed she was a virgin. She put ashes on her head and cried as she walked along.

Her brother was Absalom. As soon as he heard what happened, he vowed to kill Amnon. But he knew it had to be planned out carefully. So, he had his sister move into his house. He told her, “For now, try to put it out of your mind. Don’t say anything about it.”

From that day on, Tamar was sad and moody, and Absalom totally stopped speaking to Amnon. The king was furious when he heard about the rape. Still he didn’t do anything about it.

Two years later, Absalom held a sheep shearing party and invited all of David’s sons. He made sure Amnon would be there. Absalom provided a large banquet for the occasion. Everyone had plenty to eat and drink.

Absalom told the servants to watch Amnon carefully. He said, “Wait until he’s had plenty to drink, then kill him. Don’t be afraid. You won’t get into trouble. You’re simply following my orders.”

They did exactly as they were told. When the time was right, they killed Amnon. The other sons ran for their lives.

News of this quickly got back to the king. He was told Absalom had killed all of the king’s sons. David ripped his clothes and fell to the ground. Finally, someone told him that it wasn’t true. Only Amnon had died. They said, “Absalom has been planning this since his sister was raped.”

Finally, the other sons of David came down the road and went before the king. Everyone cried together.

Absalom ran to a neighboring country to hide from his father. David grieved for Amnon for three years.

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Bathsheba

104 – Bathsheba

II Samuel 11:1-27

When it was spring, it was time to once again attack the Ammonites. Normally David would go with his men, but he decided to stay home.

After taking a nap one afternoon, he walked along the sundeck that was on the roof of the palace. From there, he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. He sent for a servant and asked, “Who is that woman?”

“Oh, her name is Bathsheba. She is the wife of Uriah, one of your 30 fighting men.”

David sent for her, so she came to the palace. He slept with her that night. In time she realized she was expecting a baby, and she knew it was from the night she spent with the king. She sent word to David that she was pregnant.

He decided he had to hide what he had done. So he immediately sent a message to Joab. “Send Uriah to me.”

The soldier arrived and the king asked him, “How is the battle going? Is Joab well?” After Uriah gave a report, the king told him he could go home to his wife before going back to the battle. He even sent a gift for the couple.

Uriah left the king, but didn’t go home. He slept the night at the door of the palace with all of the king’s servants. In the morning, the king called him in and asked, “Why didn’t you go home?”

“No, I wouldn’t do that. The Ark of God is on the field of battle. The army of Israel sleeps in tents. Joab and his officers are on the field. I can’t go to my house and live in ease. I can’t eat and drink with my wife while they are sacrificing for our nation.”

David said, “Stay here one more day, and then I’ll send you back to the battle.”

The king then asked Uriah to eat and drink with him. During the course of the evening, David got him drunk. Still, he didn’t go home, but slept on a cot at the palace doors.

The next morning David wrote a letter to his commander. “Put Uriah in the front where the fighting is the fiercest. At an assigned moment, have your men fall back, leaving him to die.”

The king gave the sealed letter to Uriah, and told him to take it to Joab. He went back to the battle and gave the letter to his commander. Joab obeyed the order and put Uriah at the exact place that was the most dangerous. At the assigned moment, everyone else fell back and Uriah was killed. Bathsheba heard that her husband died in battle, and she mourned his death.

Joab continued his battle against the Ammonite capital city. Finally, he broke through and captured their water supply. He sent word to David. “Come quickly! Lead the army into the city and capture it so you’ll get the glory.”

David went and led the army to victory over the Ammonite cities. He had the Ammonite people totally tear down their walls and all of their buildings. He took everything of value, and put the people to work making bricks.

David then went back to Jerusalem. Once Bathsheba’s time of mourning was over, he made her his wife. Soon afterwards, she gave birth to their son. Only God knew about their sin, and he was not pleased.