February 18 - David & Bathsheba

February 18 - David & Bathsheba - 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25

The greatest love story ever? The most foolish mistake a man has ever made? A King loses his head over a woman?

The story of David and Bathsheba is like the proverbial train wreck. You see it happening and you can't look away. Can this man who is a 'man after God's own heart' really be this stupid? Is he really going to be ruled by his baser instincts? Oh my goodness ... ... YES!

You can tell that the story teller knows how to draw in an audience. Look at how the story begins! 2 Samuel 11:1, "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war ..." The audience knows full well what this looks like, they have experienced it year after year. But, the story teller has a little different twist. You see, this year, David sent Joab out with the army and he remained in Jerusalem. The plot is set, trouble is coming, the King made his first mistake.

Now, a king that should be in battle but isn't, probably has some extra time on his hands. What better thing to do than walk around on the roof of the palace?! And of course, the thing to do when you peer into another man's home and see a beautiful woman bathing is to send someone to find out about her. Then, as if playing the peeping tom isn't bad enough, he sends for her and sleeps with her. When she got pregnant, David attempted the great coverup and sent for her husband. Maybe, just maybe, the man would be so happy to see his beautiful wife that he might sleep with her and then think the child was his.

What David didn't grasp was Uriah's devotion to him, his men and Israel. It was much greater than his devotion to his wife. How could he possibly relax in his comfortable home when everyone else was at war? Good heavens, David even tried to get the man drunk, but he still wouldn't return home. Well, if you aren't going to sleep with your own beautiful wife, the next best choice is obviously ... kill you!

And that's just what happened. David had Joab (his general) place Uriah on the front lines of the battle which pretty much guaranteed a quick death. Whew! It's all over.

Not so much. What David forgot to take into account was the fact that God sees everything.

So far, David & Bathsheba aren't doing very well. A night of illicit passion leaves a rather messy cleanup. Nathan, the prophet, starts hearing from God about this. God was not happy with David's choices. It took a little doing, but Nathan finally got to the point in the story where David realized that he had been caught and needed to feel shame. He felt great shame. One of the most beautiful Psalms was written as he attempted to patch things up with God (Psalm 51:1-19).

The child from that night of passion died. But, Bathsheba and David had another son, Solomon. This son would become the most famous King of Israel, would build the temple that David could only dream about and when offered any gift from God, asked for wisdom.

1 Chronicles 3:1-9 lists the 17 sons of David and his seven wives. Bathsheba gave birth to four of them.

Passion? Lust? Love? Her name will never be forgotten. Every woman dreams of being courted by the king. But, I wonder if she was ever truly happy with the choice that she made that fateful night.