Bathsheba
Matthew 1; 2 Samuel 11
Matthew 1:1-6, ESV
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah…
Understanding the Story of Bathsheba
1. Life Before the King
2. Life with the King
3. Life Beyond the King
I. Life Before the King
Status
Family
Future
2 Samuel 11:3-4, ESV
And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her.
2 Samuel 11:26, ESV
When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.
“A prayer of pain that leads to trust.” - Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy
Lament is the wailing of the heart before a God who hears, who listens, and who responds to our cries.
An Impossible Decision, An Impossible Situation
2 Samuel 11:27, ESV
And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.
II. Life with the King
Nacham = To comfort, to console.
•Ruth 2:13
•Psalm 23:4
1 Kings 1:11-13, ESV
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it? Now therefore come, let me give you some advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.”
Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?” Why then is Adonijah king?
Bathsheba Helps David to be Kingly
1 Kings 1:20, ESV
And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
III. Life Beyond the King
1 Kings 2:19, ESV
… and the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.
III. Life Beyond the King
The shadow has lifted.
The prison has become a palace.
The voiceless has finally been given a voice.
Philippians 2:6-11, ESV
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Read 2 Samuel 11:1-5 aloud in your group. Bathsheba says almost nothing (“I am pregnant”) yet plays a major role in this story. Is she a temptress? A victim? How did this sermon help you to see this familiar woman in Jesus’ genealogy in a new and different light?
2. Bathsheba lost her warrior husband, her way of life, and then her first-born son. This abrupt season of darkness has echoes of Job. Have you ever endured a season of profound loss? Were you able to sense God in the midst?
3. A lament is a prayer expressing sorrow, pain, or confusion; it should be the chief way Christians process grief in God’s presence (facing God). Given her profound losses, Bathsheba had as good a reason to lament as anyone. Lament is a 2-step process:
1) Openly and honestly share the fullness of emotion and loss, and
2) Blame God for the loss. This may sound weird.
•Do you lament when God’s dark providence hits? Why or why not?
4. Later in her life, Bathsheba spoke up and influenced the transition of power between her husband (King David) and her son (Prince Solomon) for the Kingdom of Israel. Whereas she had been previously helpless, she was now influencing policy and power on a national scale. How might Bathsheba’s story encourage you in a season of helplessness or hopelessness?
5. Though she lost everything…even her firstborn son…the Lord used her brokenness to advance His story of redemption…even seeing her second son (Solomon) on the throne. Many of us will never have a “happy ending” (in this life) like Bathsheba’s redemptive resolution. How can faith in Christ sustain you even if our circumstances never get better (in this life)?
6. Pray for one another to remain strong in faith in Christ despite a messy life.