First Impressions and Understandings

A deeper look at some uncomfortable Bible Stories Part I

The story of David’s sin with Bathsheba told in II Samuel 11:1-12:25 is known as King David’s greatest downfall, but it’s interesting as to how this story is taught as to who is to blame. There’s a classic expression that “It takes two to Tango” which holds much truth, but can also be used to hold one more accountable to participating in wrong doing than should be.

“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her.”

It’s often been told that Bathsheba was advertising in this instance, but let’s back up to the verse preceding which is often overlooked.

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army… But David remained in Jerusalem.” The WHOLE army eh? Well where is its leader, King David? Why did he stay behind? There’s lots to speculate on here. But one thing is clear, David wasn’t leading much less leading well.

What is he doing on his bed early enough in the evening that he can get up from it, look around from his roof top, and have enough daylight left that he can spot a woman caring for herself? Last I checked when at war, rest and relaxation much less sleep is a rarity. In fact it’s rare even in times when not at war!

Continuing on with the text, it says, “A woman bathing.” She wasn’t dolling herself up to go party with the girls. She’s the wife of one of the most faithful of David’s warriors.

Context and history matter. So be wary of those who pull Bible verses out of historical context to justify their wants and desires.

Folks, modern private indoor bathrooms weren’t the standard way to bath in ancient times. Natural pools springs and rivers were the means. Remember that’s how Pharoah’s daughter found Moses in the basket. Exodus 2:9.

Some had a private garden of sorts with a natural spring or pool in the ground to emerge in to bathe. One can read of this in the story of Susanna that is recorded at the beginning of the book of Daniel in the Orthodox Bible. See link below in references.

There are two elders who had been spying on Susanna on her family’s private property. They would hide in her garden to do so. They pined after her beauty and nursed a passionate desire to have sexual relations with her. One day when she went to bathe in privacy away from her attendants, they cornered her and tried to persuade her to consent. Since she refused, they hardened their hearts, conspired further, projected their evil, and framed her to receive their just punishment, condemned to die.

There’s nothing new under the sun. -Ecclesiastes 1:9b.

David’s royal palace elevated him high up where he could peer into people’s private homes. This was something that he should have been very careful to guard against and to not abuse. How else did Abimelech spot Isaac caressing Rebecca in Genesis 26?

But this is rarely highlighted. Instead Bathsheba’s beauty is used against her to minimize David’s pathetic weakness. Didn’t he have enough wives already? How about Abigail? She was so noble! According to 1 Samuel 25:3 she was also beautiful. Why wasn’t David satisfied with her? Was she pushed to the side because she was so intelligent and savvy? One hears very little of her in David’s life after she prevents him from shedding more blood and he makes her his wife.

In the book of II Samuel 7, Nathan the prophet told David that he was called by YHWY to lead the people of Israel so that they could have land to build safe homes of their own which would not be disturbed by the wicked who had been oppressing the since the beginning. But here, David behaves as the wicked, by extorting his kingly power to call for Bathsheba, committed adultery with her, tries to cover it up when he learns that she got pregnant, then planned the murder of her husband to suffer the fate that clearly should have been his according to Law stated in Deuteronomy 22:22. Then one wonders why people lose faith and hate both the church, synagogue, and /or state.

Returning to the text in II Samuel 11-12. The plot thickens with so much more heartache when the reader gets acquainted with Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. When summoned back home to cover for David’s sin, he responds when asked why he didn’t go into his wife, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing.” Consider this contrast of men? Who is living righteously and who is living wickedly? It also points out that men are capable of saying, “NO” and showing self-restraint. It is not the wife’s job to deliver everytime her husband desires sexual relations to keep him from falling into sin with the attractive woman at the office.

If only churches and Bible teachers wrote Children’s books, Bible studies, and preached sermons on what kind of role model Uriah was I think our men would behave differently. But instead they are raised with, “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” which is true, but taken out of context. They wink and forgive prominent Christian leaders time and time again with this while overlooking the wealth of scriptural passages that call for and denote those who live righteously.

When it’s taken out of context the deceiver successfully convinces men over and over again that it’s ok to look at the pornography, watch movies that they shouldn’t, look longer at women dressed immodestly to entertain wicked fantasies that they should not. Which leads them down the path to fornication and adultery even though huge sections of the book Proverbs warns them not to.

Now the most important point of the story is that YHWY stays faithful even though his best human king does not. He fulfilled what He predicted in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heal.” Then He promised it to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David that salvation would come through their lineage.

YHWY keeps the promise alive and sheds clarity on in through his prophet in Isaiah 7:14, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.”

This is very important because Israel was never supposed to have a king other than YHWY according to I Samuel 12:12. They were to be a people who were capable of self rule instead of the typical king otherwise known as the biggest adult bully who takes as much land and bounty possible while subjugating all he is capable of conquering.

But Israel wasn’t following YHWY and ruling self as he directed them to. In fact, the Judge Samuel couldn’t even get his sons to follow YHWY. With this being the case, how could his sons lead the people to? So the people asked for a king in I Samuel 8.

Unlike other gods, YHWY never forces his followers to obey. He loves them and desires their voluntary love and faithfulness in return. What accompanies this free will are real world consequences. Good decision result in blessings, but poor choices produce bad outcomes. Sadly, the fact that they demanded a king to rule over them was an indication that Israel as a whole was leaning towards the later. YHWY gave them King Saul, their first king who proved to be a classic tyranical narcissist, I Samuel 13-31. In other words, Israel got what they asked for.

But YHWY intervened in I Samuel 16, he directed Samuel to annoint David before David slew Goliath or performed any military win that would make him worthy. YHWY chose him when he was a shepherd to point forward to the Good Shepherd of which Yeshua, Jesus would fulfill in John 10.

So returning back to the story in II Samuel 11-12 the story of David’s sin with Bathsheba, while Bathsheba may not have been completely innocent, I am comfortable placing the bulk of the blame on David. Especially because when Nathan rebukes David. There is not a rebuke for Bathsheba.

In fact the story that Nathan tells to bring David to recognize his sin paints Bathsheba and her family as completely innocent victims of a selfish tyrant. It says, in II Samuel 12:9b “You took his wife to be your own.” The story should be told as David and Uriah instead of David and Bathsheba.

The confrontation that Nathan delivers in I Samuel 12 is a stark contrast to how Joseph responded to the advances from Potipher’s wife in Genesis 39. So why is it that Bathsheba and her beauty get so much empahsis when discussed and taught?

May I recommend you take several days to work through all the passages on your own sited here to draw your own conclusion?

The story of David’s adultery https://www.esv.org/verses/2+Samuel+11%E2%80%9312

Genesis 26 Isaac, Rebecca and Abimelech https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%2026&version=NIV

Introduction to Daniel in the Apocrypha: https://biblehub.com/topical/s/susanna.htm

I Samuel 25: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%2025&version=NIV

II Samuel 7: https://www.bible.com/bible/111/2SA.7.niv

Marriage Violations in Deuteronomy 22 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/? search=deuteronomy%2022:13-30&version=NI

Proverb warnings: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%205&version=NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%207&version=NIV

I Samuel 12 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Samuel%2012&version=NIV

I Samuel 8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Samuel%208&version=NIV

I Samuel 13 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Samuel%2013&version=NIV