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Bathsheba – “Unfair!”
The genealogy of Jesus tells us how God sees each individual as part of His intricate redemptive plan. But the story is less about the individuals and more about how His mercy and grace goes beyond cultural boundaries, moral failures, and social status. Each one is a testament of how God brings dignity to the despised, hope to the hopeless and purpose to those society often overlooks.
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Cor. 1:28-29)
This is a story about God!
The amazing thing about the Bible is that God’s story is not sanitized for comfort. It is a story of redemption; how God can transform our mess into meaningful.
The fourth woman mentioned in the genealogy isn’t actually even mentioned by name; simply as “…the wife of Urriah”. Any honest reader would immediately assume “there must be a story here!”. That once sentence is loaded with history; “David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Urriah…” Uh oh! what’s the story here David?
King David is one of the most prominent figures in the OT and the only thing mentioned of him in Matthews genealogy is his irrevocable connection to this un-named woman. A look back at 2 Samuel reveals that her name was Bathsheba. Theirs is a story of how sin and its consequences can ripple through generations AND how God can even redeem this.
Bathsheba is first introduced in 2 Samuel 11. King David, at the height of his power will make a fateful decision that will alter both of their lives forever. One evening while David is walking on the roof of his palace, he sees Bathsheba bathing and is inflamed with desire at her beauty. Even though she is married, he sends messengers out to go get her for him. As king David had all the power in this situation, Bathsheba had little to no ability to refuse. The narrative does not give us Bathsheba’s voice or perspective but chooses to focus on Davids actions. Making it clear that his actions are a horrible abuse of power. Stating simply but explicitly… “David sent messengers to get her, she came to him, and he slept with her.” (2 Samuel 11:4).
The situation gets even more complicated when Bathsheba discovers she is pregnant. Her husband Urriah is at war in Davids army leaving no good explanation for the pregnancy. Bathsheba tells David and what follows are a series of desperate attempts to over up his actions. At each turn, Urriah shows incredible character and loyalty both toward David his fellow soldiers and his wife, making David’s final action even more abhorrent. David orders
Urriah’s superiors to place him at the frontline of the battle and then to withdraw the supporting troops ensuring his death.
After a period of mourning for her husband, Batsheba is brought to the palace to be another of David’s wives. Imagine Bathsheba’s pain. In the blink of an eye, she has gone from being the wife of a noble warrior to a widow, grieving not only the loss of a husband but bearing the shame, violation and manipulation of a leader who everyone viewed as a hero. Her life had been turned upside down by forces beyond her control, yet her story does not end in despair.
God’s displeasure with David’s actions will not pass without consequence, so God sends the prophet Nathan to confront David. He tells David a story of a rich man who took a poor mans only lamb to prepare a meal for his guest despite having whole flocks of his own. Enraged at the injustice in the story, David demands the execution of this evil man. You can almost feel the weight of Nathan’s next words… “You are the man!” (2 Sam 12:7). His sin is laid bare, there is no more covering it up. He is forced to face the gravity of all his sin. Though he repented deeply the child born to Bathsheba became ill and dies as a consequence of David’s sin. This loss was just one more painful way that Bathsheba suffered for the sins of David.
Later Bathsheba will have another son named Solomon. Solomon will go on to become one of Israels greatest kings and the builder of the temple in Jerusalem. But Bathsheba’s role did not end with being Solomon’s mother. She will emerge later as a woman with incredible wisdom, influence and strength. When David is old and frail he faces a series of power struggles within his own family. Bathsheba, along with Nathan play a crucial role in ensuring that Solomon would take the throne and not one of David’s other sons, who sought the throne for personal gain. With humility and determination, she reminds David of his promise that Solomon would be king.
Bathsheba’s story seems so unfair, so unjust, so broken. How could God allow the suffering of an innocent person? How could anything good come out of it? But the story of Jesus is like that too, isn’t it? This Christmas remember, Jesus left the splendor, richness and comfort of Heaven to be born in a stable, laid in a feed trough and wrapped in rags. And He bore our sin and shame but of his own will. Why, because He loves us and plans to redeem our failure. It wasn’t the consequences of His own sin that brought about Jesus’ suffering. It was our Sin! And it was through His suffering that the generations that follow would be blessed. “God made Jesus, who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)