David and Bathsheba
And David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 2 Samuel 11:3
Much has been written about David and Bathsheba but the truth of the matter may never be known. Simply put, much of what we think took place happened on account of the way men and women see of sexual activity taking place today. What happens between a man and a woman that creates desire for the other is relatively simple but the same desire can stir up trouble when no restraint is used.
What I am saying is that it’s easy to be an arm chair coach, place the blame on others and feel no shame. Much that has been written to place the blame on Bathsheba for seducing David when it has always taken two to tango. The problem is that there can be so many scenarios coming from the information that is in the bible.
The bible has several versions and presents a criterion with different words, for example one version says Bathsheba was washing where another says bathing. The word bathing is more seductive and suggests nudity and a complete body cleansing. Washing indicates a smaller area and more practical sense of hygiene. For example, she may have been washing her arms hands and face. From the male perspective a woman does not have to be nude to be found desirable, its the way she conducts herself in the presence of men that makes her desirable. In the same way beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
The bible doesn’t say what Bathsheba did to attract David’s eye. However I am not saying that Bathsheba didn’t have a routine where she washed at the same time and place where she could be seen. At the same time David may have noticed her routine and feasted on her beauty several times.
Her husband was away on the king’s business and Uriah’s return was not expected within the foreseeable future. She may have been unaware that she was being watched by David while fantasizing of being with her lover. On the other hand, Bathsheba and Uriah may have had a loveless marriage and when they were together fought tooth and nail. Lets not forget that her husband Uriah was away and she may have wanted male companionship.
When David sent messengers to get Bathsheba, was she expecting to be seduced? Could she have said no? The fact that David sent men to get her meant she had no choice in the matter. Bathsheba went because the men sent to get her was carrying out the orders of the king and if necessary would have taken her by force to the king.
Was the seduction consensual? The evidence that occurred later makes it entirely possible. On the other hand, would the king’s attendants have responded to Bathsheba’s cry for help even if she had screamed? Many questions are still left unanswered, why did she send the message to David I am pregnant? If Bathsheba had known, would have married the man who raped her and killed her husband?
When David found out Bathsheba was pregnant he sent for Uriah only to discover that Uriah’s duty to his comrades on the battlefield was greater than a love for his wife. He refused to spend time with his wife while his men were on the front lines. Then David attempted to get Uriah drunk with wine so he would go home to his wife. But again Uriah refused to go home to be with his wife.
Was there an attempt on Uriah’s part to see or speak to his wife? There is no indication that Uriah notified Bathsheba that he was in town nor does the Bible relate what Bathsheba did to welcome her husband home.
I can see David having Uriah followed and have the house Bathsheba lived in watched to see if Uriah went home. When David was certain that Uriah didn’t go home to his pregnant wife, so he issued an order to Joab the commander of his army and sent it with Uriah back to the front lines. Was David angry that Uriah didn’t spend time with his wife as he had hoped he would? Evidently, as the order David sent back to Joab concerned how Uriah was deployed in battle in such a manner to ensure his death in the heat of combat. When Bathsheba had time to mourn her husband’s death David took her to be his wife. David used the power and authority given to him by God to kill a man and to take his wife for his own. This offended God.
God sent Nathan to point his finger at David and remind David he became King and shepherd of Israel by God’s command. Through Nathan God confronted David with the facts saying he would have given David more if he had kept his relationship right with God, but he dishonored God to have the woman he desired. David was acquainted with the Law of God and knew not to covet his neighbor’s wife.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:17
it’s the physical attributes that draw men towards women, some are drawn to blondes, while others are drawn to women with large breasts. Bathsheba had the right attributes and David spent too much time gazing upon the things he found to be admirable and desirable. Things have a way of happening when we are not in control of our thoughts. One thought leads to another and before long David inquired about Bathsheba and looked for ways to have her.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:15
David sent messengers for Bathsheba and she came. Bathsheba went home pregnant leaving the intimate details to our imagination. How often in the heat of passion men and women do things that they wouldn’t normally do, specially when they are able to restrain themselves.
Living the life that God wants demands that we live within the boundaries of moral behavior. We will never know the intimate details of the events that led to the sin David and Bathsheba committed. The sin of coveting his neighbor’s wife led to the death of her husband. If God had not brought that knowledge to David’s attention what other sins would have David had committed? Sin has to stop at some point in your life.
David could have seen Bathsheba with the eyes of his father in heaven and committed no sin. He had wives of his own to have and to hold that would not have displeased God. In addition David knew that obeying the law of God were honored by the blessings of the law. Disobedience of the law brought the wrath of God on him and the curses that also brought those who rejected God’s to ruin.
The child born out of wedlock died and David fasted in hopes God would change his mind. This was only the first penalty as a outcome of his sin? Amnon son of David fell in love with his sister Tamar and then raped her when she resisted. David’s son Absalom pitched a tent on the palace roof and slept with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
However we may want to consider that whenever David thought of Absalom sleeping with his concubines he was reminded that his son sin occurred on the same roof he saw Bathsheba from. And did this thought serve as a constant reminder to David that the cost of sin is high?
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