Bathsheba: a twisted story of sex, politics, and a cover up

When I started this month’s study on Bathsheba, I thought I knew her story. And as I researched for this post, I never realized how many viewed her part in her story. Many have viewed her as an adulteress who knew what she was doing when she took her ritual cleansing bath. But I have one problem with this view, how could she have known that King David would be on the rooftop that night? If we take evidence from the Biblical story, we can see that she was innocent in this twisted story of sex, politics and a coverup. This story is told in 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25. 

We first see Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11:2 as King David spots a beautiful woman bathing. Verse 4 tells us that she was taking her ritual cleansing after her monthly period. Her husband, Uriah, was off at war, when messengers came to take her before the king. David sleeps with her and later Bathsheba discovers she is pregnant and tells David. This news sets in motion a series of events which would lead David to greater and greater transgressions which his family would feel the ramifications for generations. David tries to cover it up. He sends Uriah home from the battlefield, hoping he would sleep with his wife and think the child was his. But Uriah doesn't do that. In desperation, David sends Uriah back to the battlefield and sets him up to be killed in battle. When news came that Uriah had been killed and after an appropriate mourning period, David marries Bathsheba and she gives birth to a son. The prophet, Nathan, confronts David, first with a story that enrages David, and then with David’s sin that the story illustrates. David sought forgiveness and God forgives him; however the baby boy would die. 

Did Bathsheba have a choice when the messengers took her to David? Many people have argued that yes, she did. She could have said, “no, I’m married.” But could she really? She lived in a time when women had very little control in their lives, let alone a voice. If the king requested (in other words, demanded) your presence, you came. There was no telling the king, “no.” Also, 2 Samuel 11:4 says the messengers took her to him. The word “took” is very important. In Hebrew, the word implies force. It means to seize, take captive, to be captured (Bernock, 2019). Bathsheba had no choice but to come. Could not have fled like Joseph did from Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:7-12)? I still say no, she probably felt she couldn’t. Even God identifies David as the sinner and Bathsheba as the innocent party (Feinstein, 2008) as Nathan uses a lamb to illustrate her role in his story (2 Samuel 12:1-4). And David probably intended for this encounter to be, essentially, a one-night stand, until the pregnancy changed everything (Adelman, 2021). And he chose to cover up his sin with sin after sin. 

There are three lessons we can learn from this story. First, trying to cover up sin only makes it worse. Have you ever lied to cover up a lie? And continued to lie? We all have. While telling the truth can make us look bad or even hurt someone; however, in the long run, honesty is always best. It’s the same with sin. Being truthful and resisting sin in the first place is better than trying to hide the first sin with more dishonesty. Second, even the innocent can be hurt by sin. Bathsheba would lose her husband and her baby son, Uriah would lose his life, and a tiny baby would die because of David’s sin and cover up attempts. There were many lives in future generations ruined because of one man’s sin. Third, repentance doesn’t reverse the effects of sins. While David was repented and God forgave him, the results of his sin and the ramifications could not be taken away. David would see his kingdom fall into turmoil as sons fight for the throne and eventually his kingdom torn in two (1 Kings 12). 

In conclusion, Bathsheba was a woman who was drawn into a situation driven by one man’s desire. While she seems to be the catalyst that sets the ball rolling. It began with David and it ended with David. It seems that her only crime was that her beauty made her a victim to another man’s desire. She is fairly silent, only uttering three words in the entire story. But she certainty isn’t passive. She reappears in the Bible and becomes more active as her son, Solomon becomes king of Israel (1 Kings 1). From her story, we can see that we don’t have to be the sinner to be affected by its consequences. 

References

Adelman, Rachel (June 23, 2021). Bathsheba: Bible. Jewish Women’s Archive. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bathsheba-bible. Retrieved October 24, 2021. 

Bernock, Danielle (August 19, 2019). Who Was Bathsheba in the Bible? Christianit.com. 

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-was-bathsheba-in-the-bible.html. Retrieved October 24, 2021.

Feinstein, Jessica (January 25, 2008). Bathsheba is One of the Most Beguiling Characters in the Bible. US News.com. https://www.usnews.com/news/religion/articles/2008/01/25/bathsheba-is-one-of-the-most-beguiling-characters-in-the-bible. Retrieved October 24, 2021.