When you hear the name David in a Bible context, what usually comes to mind is the shepherd boy who annihilated the giant Goliath with a rock. Pretty impressive, huh! David’s journey from the slingshot to the throne is well documented in the Bible. He was a heroic warrior, led armies to victory over and over again, not a perfect record, but as good as it gets. He has a problem with Saul, the first king, who wants to get rid of him, but David’s overall honorable behavior wins the favor of God and man. He becomes the rightful king.
David’s deeds, however, were not always so honorable. An ugly affair with Bathsheba lets us know that he was not dropped out of heaven onto earth to be exalted as the perfect man (2 Samuel 11 and 12 ). Bathsheba was the hottie who lived next door. One night David goes out for a walk around the roof of his house, when he spots Bathsheba next door taking a bath. Vavoom—nothing left to the imagination! I always wondered about this. Who takes a bath without at least covering the window? For that matter, who walks around the roof at night?
Here is where cultural context like building styles and bathing rituals comes into the picture. Buildings in the Middle East tend to have flat roofs and long ago, people would go on the roof in the evenings to escape the heat of the house. It was cool on the roof, especially at night. As far as Bathsheba’s indiscretion of privacy, it’s difficult to account for that. Maybe there were no curtains; maybe the only sight line was from a roof next door. It does not seem like an intentional exposure.
So, what’s a fellow to do upon seeing a gorgeous naked woman? He should have just walked away from the temptation, especially in that she was married and so was he. Easier said than done. But that’s the point of temptation. It’s not like David never saw a naked woman. He already had a wife and sons. He was smitten by her beauty and allowed his lust to take control over rationality, and more importantly, over morality and ethics. In other words, he lost his mind. Bathsheba was a married woman and David even knew her husband Uriah. The woman was off limits and he knew it. Here is also a bit of underlying irony. The whole point of bathing is to clean off the dirt, disease, and bacteria that accumulate on skin by just living. Pretty gross stuff attaches itself as the day wears on in a hot and dusty place. David’s lust after her clean body makes his soul unclean.
I thought it would be really ironic if the word bath came from her name, Bath Sheba, so I looked it up. The English word bath does in fact originate from Hebrew beit, meaning to dip, sink, or immerse. But hold on, it’s not from Bathsheba’s name, which is more accurately transliterated Bat Sheba, meaning daughter of the oath. Bat in Hebrew is daughter. Just wanted to clear that up for those who might go off in that direction.
I have heard people say that David should have been out in the battlefield instead of sending Joab in his place. He stayed behind in Jerusalem, which put him in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that’s the reason for his mess. I’m not convinced. David was still responsible for his action wherever he was. Even if he was supposed to be out on the battlefield, who is to say that the bath scenario couldn’t have happened at another time? It’s about dealing with lust and temptation, not about “Where were you when the lights went out?” It’s a copout to blame “woulda, coulda, shoulda” instead of taking ownership of what people should actually do. What a concept—being accountable.
Here is where David goes over the edge big time. It was bad enough that David didn’t have enough sense to go back to sleep after spotting the bathing beauty, he has an affair with Bathsheba and cooks up a plot where her husband Uriah would be guaranteed dead. David didn’t do the actual deed of ending Uriah’s life, but he was definitely guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, equally guilty of the man’s blood.
Some have portrayed Bathsheba as an evil temptress, especially among those misogynists who want to excuse David of his actions. We don’t know a lot about Bathsheba because the Bible does not give her side of the story. But we do know that David was the king, and kings get what they want. I’m not sure Bathsheba would have had much ground for refusal. That, of course, is conjecture based on what we do know about absolute power.
So, how does the plot end? Bathsheba is pregnant, Uriah is dead, and David marries Bathsheba. But the story does not end there. Nathan the prophet straightens David out by giving him God’s Word on the matter. The baby dies, David repents, Bathsheba becomes pregnant again and gives birth to Solomon. David continues to be king and Solomon inherits the throne upon his death. There are more subsequent subplots with David’s sons and daughter, but that’s another story that reads like a very juicy telenovela on a Spanish TV channel. David’s relationship with God, however, is far more interesting and that is the main point of including this story of failure in the Bible.
At first David is in a huff about the prophet Nathan’s prognostications as Nathan tells a fictional story of a man’s unrighteous deeds, but then comes to understand that the judgment David would demand of Nathan’s fictional character is of his own wrongdoings. It strikes at the core of his conscience. Prophets have a habit of doing that. David is deeply repentant. Acts 13:22b tells us how God views David. “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.” We see a man that was far from perfect, yet his love of God brought him to depth of repentance and submission to God’s Will and a deep passion for the God of his salvation.
No doubt many things occurred in David’s life are not recorded for posterity. Of all his deeds in life, why would we have to know about this shady business thousands of years later, and what are we to make of this sordid affair? It seems pretty clear that it is a story of a man’s fall and redemption through God’s forgiveness. It’s about God’s grace and mercy upon a sinner who has a repentant heart. In spite of David’s shortcomings, God inspires him to write a book full of psalms used in worship for generations. God’s grace and mercy did not abandon David and will not abandon any of us who will trust Him.
Now if you are thinking that it’s okay to sin because God’s grace and mercy will take care of it, whack yourself—really hard. The Apostle Paul said, “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid (Romans 6:15).” If anybody won the grand prize to be able to say that, Paul did, but that’s the next story. No—grace is not a license to sin. Grace is the path to sanctification, the antidote for depravity, and the cleansing bath for the mess you made so you can live clean, and not so you jump back into the pigpen. Like David, a person with a heart after God acknowledges sin, seeks forgiveness of a loving Father, and repents with righteous living.
Note to self: Seek to bring every issue of life to God for forgiveness and repent quickly, no matter how small or great. Acknowledge God’s forgiveness and receive His grace to move forward.
Copyright 2015 by Eva Benevento. All rights reserved.