At some point in our lives - someone will turn our heads; it could be when we're out shopping, or in a bar, or just watching a film. Whether we're in a relationship or not, every now and again perhaps our gaze lingers for a little longer than normal when someone catches our eye. What we chose to do about it remains up to us.
Today's reading features one of the most famous biblical figures letting his hormones get the better of him. Reading the chapter, the text places the blame solely on David; however, over the years people have continued to heap the blame squarely on Bathsheba and as such she remains one of the most maligned women of the Bible. She is our last skeleton in the closet.
David - the famous king was now either too old to go campaigning with his officers, or perhaps he felt that kings were supposed to govern the battle from home. The writer tells us David stayed home while everyone else went to war. Obviously, he was not where he was supposed to be, which can often open the door for trouble in our lives.
David was walking on the roof of the king's house, which meant he was far above all that occurred around him. And he spots the figure of Bathsheba. The Bible does not tell us where Bathsheba was bathing. She may have been close for David can make out she is beautiful. We don't know if Bathsheba knew David was watching her, or that she "flaunted" herself at him. What's more, David does not fall in love with Bathsheba, he just fancies her.
David had to track Bathsheba down - he had to investigate her. At that point he learns she is married, yet even that doesn't stop him. So David sends out his messengers to summon Bathsheba to court.
If any blame at all could be placed on Bathsheba, it would be because when the king sent for her, "she went". Yet, could she have said no to the King? David sent "messengers" to get her. Not only had the king commanded her presence (the messengers were sent to get her, not to convey an invitation), but also he sent more than one person to relay that command. David didn't want her around after he'd bedded her and he packed her off back home. This doesn't sound like the femme fatal she's often portrayed as.
Remember the king was an old man - in agreeing to sleep with him, chances are she wasn't caught up in the throws of passion. As she went back to her normal life, was she trying to forget what had happened? Was she spending her days praying her husband wouldn't find out? What was the worst thing that could happen? She got pregnant. Imagine her panic. Her husband is off to battle, and she becomes pregnant. She has to send to the king, the child's father, and hope for help. It's a stark contrast between David's behaviour and that of Uriah. While David has been home, bedding Uriah's wife, Uriah has been warring for Israel.
Hoping to cover up his indiscretion, David plots to give Uriah and Bathsheba an opportunity to spend some intimate time together - hoping that Uriah will then assume the child is his own. But it didn't matter how much David had things worked out; Uriah was not co-operating with David's plans. Sometimes no matter how hard we try to cover up our mistakes they refuse to stay buried.
At this point, David has to change tactics, and had Uriah killed in the name of battle. And then Bathsheba becomes David's wife. Quite often we assume that Bathsheba arranged or instigated all this, but the Bible tells us David planned and implemented the liaison, the deception and the murder....then finally the marriage. Even today, we don't have to look far for a famous and influential 'David' who commits adultery and hopes to get away with it because of who he is. Down the ages this story still resonates with us today "I did not have sex with that woman" "I didn't send those text messages" or "I didn't give her free rail travel"
Often we remember that David was a man after God's own heart, yet forget that God said David had "despised" God. Good people can do very bad things. Though David was a great man of faith, he was also a man of great deceit and sin. Bathsheba, Tamar, Ruth and other women of the Bible were just as flawed, and just as gifted.
David and Bathsheba had been punished with the loss of their son, but their next child was Solomon. Bathsheba had to assert herself to ensure that Solomon took his place as David's successor.
Bathsheba might have just been a forgotten name in history, just another scandal in a scandal-ridden monarchy. But, like many other women of dubious sexual history in the Old Testament, she has an important part in one of the major events in history.
"...and
Jesse was the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah."
A woman with a shady past, linked with adultery and murder, was part of our Lord's heritage.
Amen
(Dan Joseph)
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.