Lessons from Bathsheba

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Philippa Douglas
6 years ago
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1 Lessons from Bathsheba One mom was out walking with her 4-year-old daughter when her girl picked up something from the ground and started to put it in her mouth. The mother tells what happens in her own words: "I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that." My daughter quickly asked, "Why?" "Because it's been lying outside, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty and probably has germs," I replied. At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Wow! How do you know all this stuff?" I thought quickly and said, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy." We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, as she pondered this new information. "Oh...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the daddy?" I smiled and replied, "Exactly." Mother s Day is a great holiday because they are so worthy of admiration. There is nothing like the love and protection of a mother. But as great as mothers are there is not one perfect mother that has ever walked the earth. Contrary to what some people teach, even Mary the mother of Jesus wasn t perfect. She certainly was a very godly woman though. When we think of godly mothers in the Bible she is certainly one of the first ones that come to mind. But no mother has ever been perfect. But how would you like to be remembered for the one big mistake you made. Every time someone thinks of you is all they thing about is that one mistake. I think the same thing is true about the mother we are going to take a look at this morning. When people hear the name of Bathsheba what they remember is that she is the one that committed adultery with David. If she hadn t have been bathing naked on the roof David wouldn t have seen her and this wouldn t have happened. But people certainly forget that David was the aggressor in the situation. But be honest with yourselves, when you hear the name Bathsheba, do you think of the mother of King Solomon or do you think that is the woman that had an adulterous relationship with King David? There is a lot more to Bathsheba then that one big mistake that she is known for. I don t know about you, but I am so glad that when people say my name that my mistakes are not all that come to mind. There was more to Bathsheba s life than that one big mistake. We can certainly learn some lessons from this mother Bathsheba when we look at her life.

2 II Samuel 11 gives us the story of what happened between David and Bathsheba. When David saw Bathsheba bathing he inquired about her. II Samuel 11:3 gives his response but also gives us some detail about Bathsheba s background. It says, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, Isn t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam who is also called Ammiel. Both names mean relatively the same. It means, God is my kinsman. You have to remember that names had a tremendous value in those times. Your name was used to describe your character. For instance Jacob means schemer or deceiver and I would say that was a pretty accurate description. If we look at II Samuel 23 we also know that her father was one of David s mighty warriors. In that day and time it was the father who selected the marriage partners of their daughters. He chose Uriah the Hittite. That he would choose a Hittite for his daughter was amazing. Most likely Uriah was a Jewish proselyte, other words a Jewish convert. He as well was one of David s mighty warriors. For Eliam to give his daughter to a Hittite he must have seen a real man of God and a man of noble character. If you have read the full story of David and Bathsheba you know that Uriah showed more character than David. Not only that, Eliam gave his daughter the name Bathsheba which means daughter of an oath. It is thought by many that the oath is the promise that was made to Abraham. If not that, that it was some type of oath between Eliam and God. I ve told you all of this to say that Bathsheba wasn t some heathen who grew up in a heathen situation. She grew up in a godly home. She had a godly heritage. But that heritage also didn t stop her from making a terrible mistake. You can have a godly heritage and still make a terrible mistake. She had the advantages of a godly family. But growing up in a godly family is not a guarantee that you will live right and make the right decisions. I can say that from personal experience. I have a godly father and mother that set an example for me to follow in so many ways. I never heard a foul word from them. I saw dad in the scriptures and on his knees on a daily basis in the morning. My mom was always in the Word and praying as well she seemed to do it more at night. Yet I made some terrible decisions. I broke my parent s heart with some of the decisions I made. Don t get me wrong though, a godly heritage is a wonderful thing to have. Because when I strayed and made stupid decisions, because of what I had observed and learned in a godly heritage I knew that God wasn t through with me and that He would forgive me. A godly heritage sets a strong foundation that is so valuable. However, the godly foundation that I had doesn t make me a Christian and it doesn t stop me from making mistakes if I

3 don t personally walk in right relationship with God. Throughout the Scriptures you see people who had a godly heritage, an awesome foundation that made big mistakes! David and Bathsheba both had a godly heritage, yet when you let the lust of the flesh get to you, don t be surprised when you fall. Some of you are here this morning that have an awesome godly heritage. You can go on for hours about your mom or dad or maybe about your grandparents or maybe even both, about how they were at the church every time the doors were open. You can tell how their life was full of holiness. But unless you are walking in a daily relationship with Jesus and letting yourself be led by the Spirit you are vulnerable. Don t depend upon your godly heritage! Depend on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Bathsheba was a lady who had that godly heritage. It didn t stop her from making a big mistake. But Bathsheba wasn t defined by that one mistake, and praise the Lord neither was I. If your here this morning and you have made a pretty big mistake don t let your life be defined by it. Now most of you probably remember how the story went with David and Bathsheba s adulterous affair. Bathsheba had become pregnant through that night. David used power and deception to have Uriah killed in the battle when he couldn t get him to sleep with his wife when he was brought back from the battle. Uriah was a loyal soldier and would not go home and sleep with his wife when the rest of his fellow soldiers were out in the battlefield putting their life on the line. He was hoping that Uriah would think that the child was his. When that plan didn t work he had Uriah put on the front lines where the battle was the fiercest and then they were told to withdraw from him so he would be struck down and die. It was later that the Lord sent Nathan to David to help him understand the gravity of what he had done. Nathan told David in his own creative way of the evil he had done. David was suddenly aware of just how much he had sinned against the Lord. Nathan told David that the son in Bathsheba that was theirs would die. Sure enough he did. David and Bathsheba mourned the loss of him. But even though they made this terrible mistake and paid a heavy price for their sin, they went on to enjoy the blessings of God in their life. David took Bathsheba as a wife. We see one of those blessings in II Samuel 12:24. It says, Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon... We know that Solomon was one of the wisest men and kings to ever live. Nathan had given them a special name from the Lord for him, Jedidiah. The named meant beloved of God. What a blessing Solomon was to their lives. Bathsheba also experienced a tremendous blessing as well. She is literally mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. It was a

4 tremendous blessing for a woman. Typically only men were mentioned in genealogies. She was one of four women I believe that were mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord and Savior. Matthew 1:6 records it this way: and Jesse the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah s wife. A woman who had made such a terrible mistake is a part of the lineage of the Messiah. Isn t that awesome that it doesn t matter if we have made a terrible mistake in our life or not, we can still be a part of the family of God. If you re a mother here today and you have made a terrible mistake in your life you can still experience the blessings of God in your life. We only need to look to David and Bathsheba as proof. Do you want to know why God s blessing was upon them when this relationship had its beginnings in sin? Because when they realized what they had done there was true repentance. When we read Psalm 51we read of David s repentance and desire for God to give him a clean heart. But one of the most interesting things that I believe shows their repentance is found in I Chronicles 3:4, 5. It says, These six were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years, and these were the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. These four were by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel. Did you catch the name of one of their children there? They named one of their children Nathan, after the very man who confronted David about their sin. Usually when something like that happens there might be resentment for a period of time. But not here, how about appreciating a man so much that you name one of your children after them. That means that they appreciated greatly him showing them their sin and opening their eyes. If that isn t the mark of true repentance I don t know what is. Even though Bathsheba and David had made a tremendous mistake, they still enjoyed many blessings of God. Did they experience consequences of their sin? Of course they experienced consequences of their sin. If you re a mom here today and you have made some big mistakes, or maybe you re not a mom yet but you have made some terrible mistakes you can still enjoy the blessings of God in your life, repentance is the key to that. When you truly repent you can still enjoy the blessings of God. That is true for no matter who you are. There is nothing you can t be forgiven for, it doesn t mean you won t have consequences, but there is nothing you can t be forgiven for. The key to it is found in true repentance. When you truly repent you can experience the blessings of God in your life again. One of the greatest gifts of motherhood is the ability to lead and guide your children and feel their respect. Now there are certain times of life with your children that you may feel like you don t have their respect and they don t listen

5 to you. Usually that phase passes. Bathsheba I believe was a mother who guided her children and had their respect. Now when we come to Mother s Day one of the most well-known scriptures with it is Proverbs 31. That chapter opens up with instruction for this King Lemuel from his mother on being a king and women in his life. It moves to the section we know as the wife of noble character. Now not everyone agrees on this, but tradition has it that it was Bathsheba who composed Proverbs 31, as an admonition to Solomon on his marriage to Pharaoh s daughter. If this is true, we can understand all the warnings against the flatteries of strange women with which Proverbs abounds. According to tradition King Lemuel was another name she had for Solomon. Look at Proverbs 31:2, 3. O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. You can certainly see her as a mother giving this advice to Solomon. Then in verses 10, 11 we see the beginnings of the wife of noble character. A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. He husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. It goes on to give a beautiful picture of what a wonderful wife is like. If tradition is correct you can certainly see Bathsheba giving this motherly advice to Solomon. We also get a picture of the respect that he showed for his mother in the book of I Kings. She went to speak to Solomon for one of her sons. I Kings 2:19 says, When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king s mother, and she sat down at his right hand. He showed the honor that he had for her. He was a king and yet he bowed down to her. But not only that, he sat her at his right which was considered a place of honor. There is no doubt that Bathsheba had the respect of her son. Yes, at one point in her life Bathsheba had made a terrible mistake. But through the grace of God she was able to go on and live a productive life and be a godly mother to her children. No matter what mistake you have made in your life mothers, if you have shown true repentance, you can still be a mother who guides her children and has their respect. Don t let the mistakes of your past define you. I think that is one of the best lessons that we can learn from Bathsheba. You can still live a productive life and be a valuable guide to your children no matter what you may have done in your past. Mothers, this morning maybe you can identify with Bathsheba. You have been raised with a godly heritage. You have been shown a godly example in your home and in your family, yet you made a big mistake. You walked off the path. It doesn t matter what you have done, when you truly repent God will restore you

6 and bring new blessings to your life. You don t have to let your mistake or mistakes of the past define you. You can be a mother who learns and guides her children and has their respect by the way she lives before them. Whatever your needs are this morning we just want you to know that our altars are open. Whether you want to ask God to give you wisdom to be the kind of mom or parent you should be, or maybe it s to thank Him for His grace and love. No matter what your needs are, bring it to God. Let s pray.

Unspoken. Francine Rivers

Unspoken. Francine Rivers Seek and Find DEAR READER, You have just read the story of Bathsheba as perceived by one author. Is this the whole truth about the story of David and Bathsheba? Jesus said to seek and you will find the