By: Reverend Katherine Kaminer, M.Div.
Beautiful Bathsheba is remembered as a bad girl in the Bible (the story is found in 2 Samuel 11). Bathsheba’s adulterous sin with King David eclipses her later life. We never forgive her. Her reputation endures as Bad Girl Bathsheba.
One evening, David gets up from his bed and walks around the roof of his palace. Looking down on the dwellings below, he notices a woman bathing. Her exquisite beauty is irresistible to handsome King David, and he desires a secret meeting. He sends for the woman. David’s power, her powerlessness, and perhaps a mutual attraction pull Bathsheba to his bed.
The sin is secret until it cannot be contained. Bathsheba is pregnant. Sin gets complicated, and a “love child” will reveal the passion of the night in bright daylight.
Lies entangle lives into an escalation of sin. Desperation leads to a murderous plot for King David, and Bathsheba’s devoted husband Uriah “just happens” to die in battle.
Nathan, the prophet, meets David with a stinging rebuke and asks, “Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes?” David knew the Word of God, “Do not commit adultery; do not murder.” In surrendering to his lustful desire and then scheming in military deceit, he ignored the nudges of his conscience and despised God’s divine direction.
David knew it was wrong to have sex with another man’s wife, and the guilt of Uriah’s murder pressed upon him. David repented and cried, “I have sinned against the LORD.” David’s brokenness of heart is recorded in his songs, particularly Psalm 51, where he prays, “Cleanse me from my sin . . . create in me a clean heart.”
Nathan assures David, “The LORD has taken away your sin.” God forgives David, but judgment remains: violence and strife plague King David’s household for years.
After mourning her husband Uriah, Bathsheba becomes King David’s wife, but the child dies. Bathsheba didn’t write a psalm or receive a prophet’s pronouncement. Her prayers are not recorded in biblical pages. We know that David comforted her, and their marriage produced another son named Solomon. Scripture says of this baby, “The LORD loved him.” Bathsheba trained Solomon to love the LORD God of Israel and humbly trust Him.
Years pass, Solomon becomes king, and his wisdom becomes legendary. Bathsheba re-enters the story by appearing before him with a request. Notice King Solomon’s respect towards his mother: “The King stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat down at his right hand.”
God forgave David. God forgave Bathsheba. God blessed them; he doesn’t call them bad forever. Solomon respected and honored his mother.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive others . . .” We like the first part, but do we forgive others? Why won’t we forgive that coworker or cousin? Why won’t we forgive the husband, the wife? The whites? The blacks? The church? Why won’t we forgive Bathsheba?
Jesus clearly said, “If you do NOT forgive others their sins, your Father will NOT forgive your sins.” If our sins are not forgiven, we will be cast outside the Eternal King’s presence to perish.
In John’s gospel, there is a story of another woman caught in adultery. Ready to stone her, the crowd melts back when Jesus says, “If anyone is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
What stones are in your hands? Has unforgiveness hardened your heart? Drop those stones! Forgive. Love mercifully, as Jesus loves. God filters his records through his grace and the sacrifice of his Son. “Go and sin no more,” he says. Love will overlook the past.
Bathsheba and David repented and were forgiven, and God gave them new beginnings. She is not Bad Girl Bathsheba, but the beautiful mother of the wise and great King Solomon.
A Prayer: Forgive my sins, O Savior, and may I forgive others in the mercy of God’s love.
Author: Tracy Sanders
