Bathsheba: God’s Grace is Bigger than our Mistakes

By Claudia Cecchinato Quinn, with Brianna Larrabee and Rachel Buchholz

Milan, Italy

Scripture: 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Matthew 1:6

The name Bathsheba is first quoted in the Bible in 2 Samuel 11:3. As is widely known, she is the woman who captivated King David with her beauty as he spied on her while she bathed. This led him to summon her and sleep with her, despite the fact that he knew she was married to Uriah (one of his loyal soldiers). She was also the granddaughter of Ahitophel, a well-known and respected military and political counselor of David.

She essentially belonged to an elite family, well-known and well-respected, which should have served as a deterrent for David (1 Corinthians 10:13—“God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out...”).  But David chose to summon Bathsheba to the palace, and she went.

Did she go willingly? There’s no way to know for sure; but then again who could say no to the king? David lay with her and she became pregnant. Did she hide it? No, she informed the king, placing on him the expectation that he take responsibility for his actions. David instead formed a plan to avoid responsibility. At first he tried to pass the baby off as Uriah’s; but when that plan failed, David instead arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle.

Given this scandalous affair, Bathsheba is sometimes perceived as one of the women of bad reputation in the Bible. She probably wasn’t totally innocent (she could have said no even at the cost of her life, but she didn’t). However, she ended up playing an extremely important role in history.

 I have changed my opinion on Bathsheba so many times while reading her story. I typically didn’t think much about her (I was always focused on learning from David’s sins). What I did know is that she was beautiful and had seemingly enticed King David by bathing outdoors in a less-than-private place. Was it intended, though? How could she have known that David was restless and idle from not going to war and leading his men as he was supposed to? Did she bathe every night outdoors in the hope that, looking from the roof of his palace, the king would see her? Scripture says she was actually bathing because she was supposed to. She was keeping the law and was purifying herself after her monthly cycle had ended.

Could she have done it indoors? Indeed. But rather than seeing this as an intended decision by Bathsheba to provoke the king in the hope that he'd summon her so that she could betray her brave and faithful husband, I am reminded of my own life.  I think of all the occasions when I behaved in a less than wise and sensible way, but was spared of the consequences. Who am I to judge Bathsheba’s behavior? Before becoming a Christian, I fooled around with many men, risking unwanted pregnancies and diseases. Reading about Bathsheba’s story, I am reminded that I don’t thank God enough for sparing me from all of that.

A good friend of mine once told me she was grateful she was not very beautiful because beauty can be a great temptation to many women. I found this to be very wise. As women, we can be intoxicated with admiration from others. Instead, a woman’s beauty is as much a gift to be used by God as any other gift she has. The beauty of a spiritual woman is the Lord’s property. If every godly woman sees herself to be not her own, but bought with a price, she may glorify God in her body and her spirit, which are His.  Therefore, what was meant to be a gift won’t become a curse.

Overall, Bathsheba didn’t own her beauty the proper way and wasn’t pure and faithful in the whole situation. She, like the other three women mentioned in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus, had a shadow upon her character.  But her story reminds us that even when we do not faithfully keep our oaths, promises, and covenants (her name literally means “daughter of the oath”); God is still faithful.

Why would God place Rahab, Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba in that usually “men-only” genealogical record? These women were certainly not perfect, but:

• Their lives give hope to those of us who have failed and feel that it is impossible to ever go on and please God.
• Their lives give comfort to those of us who ache with pain from wounds, sorrows, and hurts that God has allowed to invade our lives.
• Their lives are an incredible source of strength to those of us who have a long struggle ahead, yet know that God helps us, sustains us, and keeps us going; which fosters confidence that no struggle will ever exceed His grace and power to uphold.

Each of these women was stained either by her own sin, the sins of another, or the scandalous plots of others. Bathsheba was saved by grace and allowed God to use her; and she eventually became a powerful and influential queen mother. She lost a husband due to her unfaithfulness, but she was given another one. She lost a son as a consequence of her sin, but she was blessed with another son: Solomon, no less. What can we learn from Bathsheba? No stain is too deep for God’s grace. Through her we see that it is never too late for God to forgive us, to use us even when we are less than perfect, and to bless us.

• 1. How has God shown His faithfulness to me, despite my mistakes?
• 2. Do I believe that God can still use me, even in my failures?