The more I reflected on the life of Bathsheba, there is still one more lesson to be learned from her. I really find it amazing that all of the 2 Samuel account (chapters 11 & 12) never gives us the storyline from Bathsheba’s perspective. We are left to imagine, as women, what was going on in her mind, as well as in her heart. Within a three month period of time, she went from being the wife of a soldier to the wife of the king, and, from being married to widowed to remarried; she went from being childless to pregnant (and given the news that the boy she would bear would not live); she went from living in an ordinary home to living in a palace; she went from obscurity to being the talk of the nation (if there had been paparazzi, she would have been on the cover of every checkout-line tabloid). One commentary I read said this about Bathsheba, “1 Kings 1 reveals to us that Bathsheba was more a tiger than a housecat.” Another theologian made the comment, “There is more than suspicion that Bathsheba spread the net into which David so promptly fell.” Some have speculated that maybe because of her birth to one of David’s advisors, she felt “destined” for more greatness than being the wife of a rough, focused soldier, who was absent more than at home. Who can know? – But for sure, one day we can ask her in heaven. J
No matter what was in her mind, we can’t deny the painful, emotional consequences that came with Bathsheba’s infidelity. It is never easy for those who fall prey to heal and rebuild their lives, let alone try to establish a new home. One moment of stolen passion leads to a tangled mess of emotional baggage, as well as situational complications. If only we’d catch our breaths before making unwise choices – and play a little game of “Back from the Future”, reflecting on what could happen if we were to give in to our lusts (see note**).
Regardless David and Bathsheba sinned against God and by Jewish law deserved to be stoned to death (Lev. 20:10; Deut 22:22-24). The Lord takes seriously our marriage vows.
But God… We can only imagine that as David repented, so did Bathsheba. Psalm 32 & Psalm 52 give us a picture of the emotional grief David experienced over his sin. Undoubtedly, Bathsheba joined him in the same camp. As sin was confessed, and repented of, the Lord put their sin as far from them as the East is from the West. Their sin was remembered no more. Later David expressed this freedom in Ps. 103:3-4, 12, and in Psalm 130:3-4 wrote, “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.”
Bathsheba’s marriage to King David reminds us we serve a God of second chances (and he gives us second chances time and time again). Another author wrote, “2 Samuel 3:1-5 would suggest that Bathsheba was David’s seventh wife. However, they do not mention Michal, who was childless. So, Bathsheba counted as David’s eighth wife. In Scripture, the number eight is often the sign of a new beginning, and with the birth of Solomon to David and Bathsheba, this hope was fulfilled.”
There’s something about beginning again that cleans the slate, and washes away the emotional pain, releasing us from bondage. Repentance is the eraser. Repentance is the delete button on the junk from our past that we wish we could wipe away. Repentance is the New Year’s Eve resolution that allows us to enter life with a complete do-over. Repentance is God’s way of giving us an extreme makeover. However, you want to phrase it…God has provided a way for us to begin again, to provide hope, to right the wrong. Of course, David and Bathsheba still suffered some consequences from their actions (see Galatians 6:7), but their hearts were restored.
This is the great news of the gospel!
** I know that many believe Bathsheba may have had no choice in the decision to “go to the King,” because to disobey, or refuse, a king could have potential dire consequences. However, it was true at that time, that no Jewish citizen had to obey a king who himself was disobeying God’s law, for the king had covenanted with God and the people to submit to the divine law.