October 19, 2017
Aileen McPherson
Philosophy
On Justice a Perspective
The story is full of symbologies for those involved, Nathan uses the story to have King David pass judgement on his own crime, by hearing it through the perspective of property stolen, instead of adultery which would be blatantly accusing David, which Nathan most likely would not have done for fear of death.
In the story David is the Rich man after all he is the king, and as the king he has a harem, which is a flock, and Uriah is the poor man, he is David’s servant and of lesser stature, a mere soldier, with one wife Bathsheba, the one ewe lamb, the story tells of the love, care, comfort, and devotion the ewe lamb, has brought to the poor man, which could be Uriah and his house in theory, now David as the rich man steals the ewe lamb to serve to this traveler his guest, the act of adultery is the stealing of the ewe lamb.
Yet Bathsheba is also the guest, and David upon finding out Bathsheba is pregnant attempts to cover up his indiscretion by having Uriah come home from the battlefront to bring word of how things are progressing with the siege, he then sends him home to his wife with a gift to follow, however Uriah does not go home, when asked why he did not return to his home, he is honest and does not for his duty is to those out on the battlefront awaiting his return, and they have no comforts there so why should he here, and thus refuses to go home, David then tries to trick him by getting him drunk, and when this fails, he sends Uriah back to the battlefront with a letter to Joab, Uriah’s superior, and it is Uriah’s death sentence, which he hand carried and delivered unknowingly to his executioners, both his countrymen and his enemy, making Uriah the ewe lamb, who is then sacrificed by David to cover up the pregnancy of Bathsheba and their adultery.
Now Nathan merely sets the stage for David, by narrating a story which has already happened, merely changing the characters, and David’s anger is just and so is his punishment for the crime, for stealing was a crime punishable by means of mutilation, torture, and capital punishment which includes death, during this time period. However David forgets one thing, so is the act of adultery, and his crime is both. The ewe lamb is irreplaceable, you may give four new lambs in its place, yet they will not be the same as the one lost, nor will they have the same attachment to their new owner, for it was their time together as a family growing, learning, loving, and caring for each other that cannot be replaced, and as for pity David showed no pity when it came to stealing what was not his, and should be made an example of not allowed to continue to rule, however that is not the story set before us, yet this story does show how the rich because of their wealth and power use it to influence getting their objectives met, even at the cost of another being’s suffering, subjugation, or even death.
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