We've talked about Tamar who got pregnant by her Father-in-law when she tricked him into thinking she was a prostitute. We talked about Rahab, the for-real prostitute who lied to hide the Israelite spies when Joshua was getting ready to "Fit the Battle of Jericho". We talked about Ruth the Moabite, who by the fact that she was a Moabite, should have disqualified everyone else for ten generations from being able to take part in the Jewish Temple worship. That would include King David at the third generation who re instituted worship, and provided much of the supplies to rebuild the temple. As well as David's son, Solomon who actually did rebuild the Jewish temple. Per the law of scripture, these men should have been disqualified.
Speaking of David and Solomon, this brings us to our fourth and final woman mentioned in the deceptively sleepy First Chapter of Matthew. We pick up in the very next verse after we left off last time...
Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). - Mat 1:6 NLT
And there we have our fourth woman listed in this Genealogy. Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah.
If you didn't know the story, that would almost sound honorable. Bathsheba, a poor lonely widow finds love again and is honored to be included in the lineage that will eventually produce the Christ child. How poetic. The real story is much darker. In order to find it, let's turn back into the Old Testament, and start in the Eleventh Chapter of the Second Book of Samuel. And, it goes a little something like this...
In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. - 2Sa 11:1 NLT
Let me digress here for just a second. Gentlemen, Fathers, Husbands, Patriarchs... when it's your time to fight... when it's your time to stand up for what is right... when it's your time to expand your territories... don't leave the dirty work for somebody else to do, it's just going to cause trouble. Don't stay behind in Jerusalem. But, let's get back into the story.
In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. - 2Sa 11:1-2 NLT
*Ahem* Now, in all honesty, there's not a guy among us who can't identify with David at this point. Yes, we are all pigs.
He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, "She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." - 2Sa 11:3 NLT
Hit the brakes here... I thought Bathsheba was a widow. David finds out here that she's the WIFE of Uriah the Hittite. Okay, I guess I get it so far. She's hot. She's naked. She's taking a bath, and King David is watching her get all soapy. Sounds like any teenage boy's fantasy. Since no matter how old we get, we all are just teenage boys, he sends someone to find out who she is, because, back in the day, the King could have LOTS of wives. So, they come back, and tell him that she's married. All right, David. Time to turn your lustful stare somewhere else. Surely THE King David will do the honorable thing, right? Let's continue...
Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. - 2Sa 11:4 NLT
Any guys is too stupid to understand what Samuel is telling us here. But, any woman knows the timing of this like the back of her hand. So, let me explain. During a Jewish women's menstrual cycle, she was considered Niddah, or 'unclean'. Her Niddah status would begin as soon as she noticed any evidence of Menstrual blood flow. She would continue to be 'unclean' for a minimum of the Jewish-approved seven day cycle. At the end of the seven 'unclean' days, she would begin seven 'clean days'. Near the completion of those seven 'clean days', and before she would be allowed to have sexual relations with her husband, she must immerse herself in a mikvah of living water.
So, ladies, again, the timing of this is obvious to you, but we Gentlemen are a little stupid. I had to wake my wife up to discuss this to make sure I understood it correctly. So, Bathsheba has just had her period, and even the guys among us know that means she is not currently pregnant. She goes through her seven Niddah days, then her additional seven 'clean days', and ceremonially washes herself. Okay, guys. Seven plus seven equals what? Fourteen. It has now been Fourteen days since the start of her period. Which means, that Bathsheba is... ovulating. Guys, that means that Bathsheba is FERTILE. Let's read that verse again, and then continue...
Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, "I'm pregnant." Then David sent word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent him to David. - 2Sa 11:4-6 NLT
Okay, David knew that she was married. But, he sends for her anyways. They do the "Married Dance" as my 14 year old daughter calls it. Now, David finds out that she is pregnant. So, it looks like David is going to do the right thing by Bathsheba. He sends a message to Joab who is laying siege to the city of Rabbah (where David should have been), asking Him to send Uriah the Hittite home to meet David. Obviously, David's got some explaining to do. Let's see how our honorable King David handles this awkward moment as we pick up in verse seven. Come on David! Do the right thing...
When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah, "Go on home and relax. " David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn't go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king's palace guard. When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, "What's the matter? Why didn't you go home last night after being away for so long?" Uriah replied, "The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master's men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing." "Well, stay here today," David told him, "and tomorrow you may return to the army." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn't get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king's palace guard. So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. - 2Sa 11:7-14 NLT
Bad show, David! Come ON!!??!!?? Instead of coming up honestly, and telling Uriah the truth. David figures, "I'll just bring him home, he'll realize how hot his wife is, and they'll do the Married Dance. Then I'm off easy." Sleazy.
Uriah, though shows much more honor than the King. He knows his wife is hot. So, as he swore to stay focused in battle, he sleeps in the guard shack, rather than laying beside his hot tempting wife.
David decides to get him drunk, and send him again to his wife's embrace. But, Uriah is a man of his word.
Defeated, David sends Uriah back to the siege with a letter to Joab. Can't wait to read that one...
The letter instructed Joab, "Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed." - 2Sa 11:15 NLT
This literally makes me physically ill to think about. I swear that if I was God, I would've left this stuff out of the story. This should never have happened.
So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy's strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. Then Joab sent a battle report to David. - 2Sa 11:16-18 NLT
There it is. Murder. A planned assassination. Nice job, David. Absolutely disgusting. In all honestly, I'd love to close my computer and walk away at this point. I hate to continue, but there's more for us to look at, as ugly as it is.
Let me throw a aside in here. Joab is probably the most painful character in scripture for me personally. Joab is no fool. He knows exactly what David is doing. More than that, Joab is going to point this fact out to David. I have always identified with Joab. Fully aware of what is going on, willing to confront his leadership, but still completely complicit in all of it. Very tough for me. I'm really not enjoying this story.
Let's see how our honorable King receives the news...
So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. "The enemy came out against us in the open fields," he said. "And as we chased them back to the city gate, the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king's men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite." "Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged," David said. "The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!" When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the LORD was displeased with what David had done. - 2Sa 11:22-27 NLT
"The LORD was displeased with what David had done." You think?
At this point, I'm going to close for today. I can't take much more right now. We'll pick up again in Part 8 for what will hopefully be the conclusion of this wandering narrative.
Thanks for letting me be real with you...
Then Joab sent a battle report to David. He told his messenger, "Report all the news of the battle to the king. But he might get angry and ask, 'Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn't they know there would be shooting from the walls? Wasn't Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?' Then tell him, 'Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.'" - 2Sa 11:18-21 NLT
