READ: 2 Samuel 11:2-27a
The story of David and his family is told over the course of several chapters in 1 and 2 Samuel. David, the youngest son of Jesse, is unexpectedly anointed as the second king of Israel to succeed Saul. As an illustrious youth, David defeats Goliath with nothing more than a sling and a stone, but as he ages and reigns, he finds navigating his newfound power much more difficult. In a striking abuse of his power, 2 Samuel 11 tells the story of how he took Bathsheba, another man’s wife, to his bed and then sent Uriah, her unwitting husband, to die on the front lines of battle. Bathsheba, impregnated by David, gives birth to a son, who dies just days later.
This is not the end of Bathsheba’s story. Eventually she becomes the mother of the future King Solomon and several of David’s other children. She also becomes a political force in the kingdom, a stark contrast to her seeming voicelessness in today’s reading.
The flow of the story is dreadfully deliberate, as though the narrator wants us to mark all the opportunities David missed to make a different choice: He sees Bathsheba. He decides he wants her. He asks after her. He brings her to his palace. He lies with her. As Bathsheba’s king, David’s job is to protect her. Instead, he exploits her.
What did Bathsheba think? We can only imagine. Her feelings and preferences are not once referenced in the story. The narrator’s exclusion of her voice echoes David’s own refusal to acknowledge the fullness of her personhood. In fact, except for a servant’s report, even Bathsheba’s name is unspoken in this story.
Generations later, the author of Matthew once again refers to her only as “the wife of Uriah” as he includes her in Jesus’ genealogy. In this context, the title doesn’t seem to obscure Bathsheba as much as it reveals the truth of David’s failure. Matthew refuses to bleach out the sin that colors the threads of Jesus’ ancestral tapestry. Bathsheba encounters some of the worst actions of a corrupt ruler. Is it a coincidence that she is the foremother of Jesus, the sovereign who does not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but who empties himself instead (Philippians 2:6-8)?
CONSIDER: God took a transgression that David and Bathsheba thought had ruined them beyond recovery and made it part of God’s plan for salvation. When has God taken a catastrophe in your life and found a way to bless you?
PRAY: God, sometimes we think we’re too broken for you to redeem. Prove us wrong. Remind us of how you love to take brokenness and transform it into blessing. Remind us of how the lost sheep was the one that was found. When we lose hope in our own goodness, surprise us with your overflowing grace. Amen.
Victoria Larson, Out of the Blue Writer