Bathsheba Bible Study
Reading 2 Samuel 11 will provide context for this post.
Alone by Sammie Burton
Alone
I lay weeping at the feet of no one
my husband is dead
My body is aching
My child is stirring
Alone
I wait for the compassionate hand of anyone
My husband is new
My child is dying
my body is breaking
Alone
I hear the news a mother most fears
My husband at last comes
My child is dead
My heart has broken
Alone
I will bear another child
May my husband stay here
May my child live
May my heart at last be healed
Amen
Photographer Unknown, brought by Katherine Hoppe
I chose this picture because it depicts the elusiveness of Bathsheba’s character. We know almost nothing about her because things are primarily done to her and not by her.
Thinking about this made me wonder why we always assume that Bathsheba was an unwilling participant. Why do we assume Uriah was good to her? He may have been a loyal, hard working soldier, but maybe he neglected his wife. He did not stay with her when he returned to Jerusalem. Perhaps he was constantly putting his job over his wife. Perhaps she was lonely.
Bathsheba consenting to the adultery does not make David’s actions less sinful. I think it is simply something to consider when reading the story. Reading it this way, it almost makes more sense to me why they continued to have children together even after David repented. Otherwise, wouldn’t Bathsheba have hated David and wanted to stay far from him? If he was repentant, would he not have honored those wishes? Of course, perhaps having children was more important to Bathsheba than hating David. Who knows? All we can do is wonder.
Bathsheba by Brooke Sweatman
Sometimes sin comes in a disguise -
The murder of the righteous
By another called righteous.
Human darkness hidden from sight.
But the pain is more than alive
It feeds, it eats, it destroys
It numbs my heart with its noise.
A story the devil contrived.
How devastating to be wronged
By evil people, but the pain
Just hits in a different way
To bear sin of one praised by throngs
The lust of mankind hits its mark
The “good king” for me will come -
Oh, I’ve been wronged by the one
Called “a man after Gods own heart”
In reading the story of David and Bathsheba, I kept being struck by how much it must’ve hurt to be wronged by the good guy instead of the villain. David’s adultery and subsequent murder do reveal the depth of God’s forgiveness, but His faithfulness to Bathsheba despite her pain can go unnoticed in the story sometimes. As He is so good at doing, He brought beauty from ashes - she became David’s wife in the worst possible way, and yet because of it she became part of the line of Christ.
Bathsheba by Ruthie Wu
Bathsheba is an interesting character because she is described as an agent as much as she is described as being acted on in the Bible, which is not typical of many women in the Bible. This is a challenging analysis since Bathsheba is primarily known for what happened to her: David impregnates her and kills her husband. Additionally, her main action in reminding David to make Solomon king seems to have been initiated by Nathan's instructions to her, which has some interesting parallels with Esther's story and Mordecai's role in her story. Nevertheless, it is equally important to know Bathsheba as someone David takes advantage of and as the mother of a king. I also think it's interesting that as King David becomes elderly, another beautiful young woman is brought in to serve him, but he does not sleep with her (1 Kings 1). I wonder if part of that is due to his experience with Bathsheba. My observations of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11-12 and 1 Kings 1 are listed below.
Bathsheba acts in that she
1) bathes (2 Samuel 11:2)
2) purifies herself from her monthly uncleanness and goes back home (11:4)
3) tell David that she's pregnant (11:5)
4) mourns for her husband (11:26)
5) bore David a son (11:27)
6) bore David Solomon (12:24)
7) goes to see King David (1 Kings 1:15)
8) bows to pay homage to the king (1 Kings 1:16)
9) reminds David of his promise to make Solomon king (1:17-21)
10) went to David and stood before him (1:28)
11) bowed and paid homage to the king again (1:31)
Bathsheba is acted on when she
1) was seen by David (2 Samuel 11:2)
2) was found by one of David's people (11:3)
3) was brought to David and David sleeps with her (11:4)
4) is brought to David's house (11:27)
5) son and husband die (11:24, 12:18)
6) is comforted by David and David sleeps with her again (12:24)
7) is persuaded to tell David to make Solomon king (1 Kings 1:11-14)
8) David asks her what she desires (1 Kings 1:16)
9) called to David (1:28)
10) promised that Solomon will be king after David (1:29-30)
Body and Soul by Emma Ware
I was struck by the way Bathsheba's surroundings and quality of life suddenly skyrocketed when she became the wife of David, and the juxtaposition with the state of her soul. Her husband was killed in war. Her son died after living for seven days. Yet she is thrust into a position of wealth and affluence as the wife of the king. What agony that must be, to have been given the promises of a secure life at the very moment your true life was taken from you.