2 Samuel 11 David and Bathsheba

There’s a saying, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” meaning a person's sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases according to Lord Acton, a British historian in the early 1900s. We see this play out in this story of King David and his neighbour’s wife Bathsheba. David has become arrogant; instead of going out on the battlefield with his men, David stays at home like an eastern emperor, staying safe in his luxury while others fight his battles for him. This arrogance and use of power and privilege is what gets David into deep moral trouble. One evening David sees his neighbour’s wife taking a bath and he wants her, even after his servant tells him she’s someone else’s wife, a close friend’s wife.

The servant remembers Bathsheba’s first encounter with the King, “I remember the first time that she met King David. It was a hot spring evening and she went to take a bath on the roof of the house where there was a cool breeze. This is what we all did, it was normal and even though King David lived right next door, she thought he was with her husband Uriah on the battle field. Even if she had known he was home, men never looked, they had too much respect for other people, especially a best friend’s and trusted general’s wife. Uriah, like Bathsheba’s father, was one of David’s most trusted and dearest friends, one of his 30 mighty men who had pledged their lives to the king.”

This story of David and Bathsheba is one of deep betrayal where King David steals the wife of one of his most trusted generals. Emily Dickinson wrote, “The heart wants what it wants." Depending on how old you are, you might connect this quote with Woody Allen or Selena Gomez instead. This is how David acts in his relationship with Bathsheba; but God calls for our hearts to want God more than anything else. David treats Bathsheba horribly, treating her like something you buy, use, and then throw away. He doesn’t treat her with any kind of respect and when Bathsheba tells David she’s going to have his baby, David becomes even more cruel and calculating, sinking even deeper into sin, walking even further away from God’s will. David moves from lust and adultery into something even worse. 

Bathsheba’s maid servant told me that when Bathsheba found out that she was going to have a baby, she right away sent her to let King David know. Then, a few weeks, later she learned that her husband Uriah had stayed a couple of days at the King’s palace, believing that the king wanted to talk to him about what  was happening on the battle field since her husband was one of his most trusted generals, it was a good idea to consult with him. The king told Uriah to spend the night with Bathsheba, but I’m not surprised that Uriah spent the night with the king’s servants instead. Uriah is an honourable man and he would never sleep in a comfortable bed while his men were on the battle field. She’s not saying that King David was wrong to stay home, but that Uriah was a very honourable man who loved God and his people.

David’s plans to have Uriah spend the night at home with Bathsheba fails, so he creates an evil plan to solve his problem. David knows he has to do something because if his other generals find out what he’s done, they will rebel against him because he betrayed one of the great men in the army and Israel, all because David’s become greedy, arrogant and cruel, just like so many other kings of that time. David knows he has to hide his sin, so he writes a letter to Joab, a general known for being ruthless. David tells him to make sure that Uriah dies in battle. David then tells Uriah to take the letter to the general Joab. David trusts that Uriah will not read the letter, even though he’s a general himself and it would be natural for him to need know of David’s battle plans. Uriah’s honour and loyalty are a contrast to David’s cruel evil ways.

The maid servant remembers the day Bathsheba heard her of husband’s death, it was devastating for her. A couple of weeks after Uriah had come to the palace to talk to King David, a messenger came to our home with the horrible news; our master Uriah was killed in battle! I couldn’t believe it, Uriah’s one of King David’s mighty men and has fought with the king for years, even going into hiding with the king when King Saul had tried to take King David’s life before he was king. How can he be dead? Who’s going to take care of us, who’s going to help my lady Bathsheba raise her baby and protect us from King David? I’m so afraid, Uriah’s gone!

David thinks he’s gotten away with his sin; he even takes Bathsheba into his palace after her time of mourning for Uriah is over. Bathsheba becomes another one of David’s wives, and when the baby is born, it’s a son and David’s feeling blessed, even though he’s created enormous chaos and put the kingdom of Israel at risk; all so he could have another man’s wife and hide his sin. David’s put God’s plan of redemption at risk with his selfish sins. If any of the other generals or any of David’s 30 mighty men learned of David’s callous murder of Uriah, they would have rebelled against him, bringing the nation into civil war, destroying Israel. In David’s arrogance, he counts on knowing that the only one who knows what really happened is Joab, and he’s fiercely loyal to David and will never say anything. But even if Joab doesn’t tell a soul, God knows and we learn that “the thing David had done displeased the Lord.”

Bathsheba’s maid servant remembers King David’s servant coming to take my lady Bathsheba as one of his wives. Then more heartbreak, when their son was born, he died. Bathsheba mourned again; her heart was broken. But the Lord heard her cries and saw her broken heart. The prophet Nathan came and was really hard on the king, but it did change the him, King David turned back to the Lord and even asked Bathsheba for forgiveness after repenting to God. The Lord blessed her with another son, Solomon, who became king after David. Life isn’t always easy, but I know the Lord watches over us.

This story echoes forward to Jesus and how he is betrayed by someone close to him, one of his twelve disciples. Judas betrays Jesus because Jesus isn’t claiming the throne of David in Jerusalem. This betrayal leads Jesus to the cross, where Jesus claims kingship over all creation as he defeats death and bring healing and wholeness into creation again. The cross brings forgiveness, even for betrayals such as David’s and Judas’. Jesus’ death and resurrection are a sign that forgiveness isn’t easy or cheap. Jesus’ grace is costly, even as it’s offered free to us. It calls us to respond by offering our lives to Jesus.

God sends Nathan to confront David with what he’s done and who he’s becoming. It’s not just what David’s done, it’s about who David has become: a king in the image of other earthly kings rather than following God who calls us to love him above everything else, and to love his neighbour as himself, to show mercy, fight for justice and to walk humbly with God. As Jesus teaches, you get more out of life by giving than taking. When David’s confronted with who he’s become and how he’s destroyed the lives of people he’s called to protect, David repents; he changes and begins working on becoming who God has called him to be.

The cross calls us to repentance, to a searching of our souls and hearts to recognize how we’ve hurt others because we want to be gods of our own lives.  We are called to embrace Jesus’ call to follow him so that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. The cross confronts us, calls us to focus on our character, on who we are, and whether we allow what we say we believe about Jesus to actually shape who we are. Faith is about how our relationship with Jesus shapes our character. It comes down to obedience in becoming who Jesus calls us to be: people shaped by grace, mercy, forgiveness, desiring justice, fighting against oppression within our cultures, creating communities of health where people are able to flourish; summed up in Jesus’ command to love God above everything and to love our neighbours as ourselves.