Bathsheba—2 Samuel 11:1-12:25

Downloadable Reflection Guide

It all began innocently enough. Rather than join with his men, David sent his army out to battle but did not join them. This left him with time on his hands which allowed for him to get himself into a bit of trouble.

As king, David lacked for very little, had he remained satisfied with the blessings that he had already been provided with by God, he might have been able to avoid getting himself in trouble. Yet, at the same time, God was still able to make use of his indiscretion to bring about the coming of the long-promised Messiah.

David was already a married man, having wed Michal (daughter of Saul) and Abigail (former wife of Nabal). This however did not prevent David from admiring the beauty of the wife of Uriah the Hittite. (Interestingly Matthew identifies Bathsheba as simply Uriah’s wife, not mentioning her by name). Worse yet, his admiration combined with the power of his kingship allows David to summon Bathsheba to the palace where the pair violated their wedding vows.

When Bathsheba becomes pregnant David attempts to deal with this issue, first attempting to have Uriah return to sleep with his wife, then when that fails arranging to have him killed so that David could “legitimately” claim Bathsheba as his own. The prophet Nathan is sent by God, relaying a famous parable that exposes to David the depths of his betrayal of his wives, Uriah, and most importantly his God.

In the end, the son from this union, who is never named in the text, dies as a judgment from God. Yet, we learn next that Solomon is born to David and Bathsheba who went on to be a great king in his own right and continue the lineage that brought the Messiah to the world.

Thoughts for Reflection

Read 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25. Most of the story is focused on David. From the text what can we learn about Bathsheba?

What can we learn about God’s use of Bathsheba in bringing forth the Messiah and Matthew’s inclusion of her in his genealogy of Jesus?