Women of the Bible Part 12

Bathsheba.

HER NAME MEANS.

"The Seventh Daughter" or "The Daughter of an Oath"

Her Character: Her beauty made her victim to a king's desire. Though it is difficult to discern her true character, she seems to have found the courage to endure tragedy, winning the king's confidence and eventually securing the kingdom for her son Solomon.

Her Sorrow: To have been molested by a supposedly G.o.dly man, who then murdered her husband. To have suffered the loss of one of her sons.

Her Joy: To have given birth to five sons, one of whom became king of Israel after David's death.

Key Scripture: 2 Samuel 11:1 - 12:25 Monday HER STORY.

Bathsheba squeezed the sponge, moving it rhythmically across her body as though to calm the restless cadence of her thoughts. Normally, she looked forward to the ritual bath marking the end of her monthly period, but tonight the water soothed her skin without refreshing her spirit.

She should be glad for the cool breeze. For flowers. For a lush harvest. But spring could also yield its crop of sorrows, as she well knew. Spring was the season for armies and battles. Once the rains had ceased and the harvest had been gathered, men marched off to war, leaving their women behind.

Bathsheba shivered as she stood up. Though her husband, Uriah, was a seasoned soldier, she still worried about him, wishing she could fall asleep in his arms. But he was camped with the rest of the king's army beneath the open skies of Rabbah, an Ammonite fortress some forty miles northeast of Jerusalem.

The king rose from his bed, unable to sleep. Pacing across the palace roof, he gazed at the city below. Jerusalem seemed calm, a city at peace with itself though at war with its neighbors. Soon his soldiers would gather a great harvest of Ammonite captives, laborers for his expanding kingdom. The casual observer might have thought David a man at peace with his growing power. Instead, the king could not quiet an increasing sense of discontent.

Then, in the half-light, David noticed the figure of a young woman bathing in the walled garden of a house below him. He leaned against the outer edge of the roof for a closer view. Wet hair curling languidly against skin soft as lamb's wool. b.r.e.a.s.t.s like rounded apples. He reached as though to steal a touch. Unaware of watching eyes, the woman toweled herself dry and stepped into the house. He waited and watched, but even the king could not see through walls.

Over the next few days, David made inquiries and discovered that the vision had a name: She was Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah the Hitt.i.te. He sent for her. She came to him and became pregnant with his child.

Fearing discovery, the king ordered Uriah home from battle. But the soldier surprised him by refusing to spend the night with his wife: "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, 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!"

So David convinced Uriah to spend another day in Jerusalem, managing to get him drunk. Surely the wine would overcome his scruples. But it didn't. So David played his last card, entrusting Bath-sheba's husband with a letter to Joab, commander of the army. It read: "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

So Uriah died by treachery, and David claimed Bathsheba as his wife, her child as his own.

One day, the prophet Nathan approached David, saying: "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup, and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

David was incensed: "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."

Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hitt.i.te with the sword and took his wife to be your own. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house.' "

David's l.u.s.t for Bathsheba marked the beginning of his long decline. Though G.o.d forgave him, he still suffered the consequences of his wrongdoing. His sin was a whirlpool that dragged others into its swirling path. And despite David's prayer and pleading, G.o.d allowed the son David had conceived with Bathsheba to die from an illness.

But why did Bathsheba have to suffer along with the man who molested her and murdered her husband? Though the story gives us little insight into her true character, it is hardly likely that Bathsheba was in a position to refuse the king. In Nathan's parable, in fact, she is depicted as an innocent lamb. Why, then, have so many people painted her as a seductress? Perhaps Bathsheba's innocence is too painful to face. That a good person can suffer such tragedies, especially at the hands of a G.o.dly person, appalls us. Worse yet, G.o.d punishes both David and Bathsheba by taking their son. If we can believe that Bathsheba had an affair with David, we could accept her suffering more easily; her guilt would make David's sin seem less grave and G.o.d's punishment less cruel.

Though Bathsheba may not have understood the reasons for her suffering, G.o.d gave her favor with King David, making her both a powerful queen and the mother of David's successor, Solomon, who became famous for his great wisdom.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

RITUAL BATHING.

A warm tub of water with a fragrance of flowers, soaking, eyes closed. That's the sort of image conjured up in most of our minds when it comes to bathing. But in Bathsheba's day, most bathing took place not for the purpose of physical cleanliness-people of that time had little knowledge of the spread of disease and germs through uncleanness. Most bathing took place in order to become ritually clean after a period of being unclean.

Bathsheba had just completed her monthly period. The flow of blood was finished; the seven days prescribed in Leviticus 15:19 were past, and she now needed to cleanse herself. She probably stood in or near a basin of water, using a sponge or cloth to clean herself, then either squeezing water over herself as a rinse or pouring water from a pitcher over her body.

Scripture mentions cleansing with water hundreds of times, most of them referring to ritual rather than physical cleansing. Cleansing took place after many kinds of skin diseases were healed (Leviticus 14:8), and after men and women had unusual discharges (Leviticus 15:13). Men and women both had to wash themselves after s.e.xual intercourse in order to be ceremonially clean (Leviticus 15:18). Priests cleansed themselves before offering sacrifices (Exodus 29:4; Leviticus 8:6), and the sacrifices themselves were washed before being offered to G.o.d (Leviticus 1:9).

Physical cleansing more often took the form of washing one's hands before eating or washing one's feet when entering a house. Dirty, dusty roads and open sandals made foot washing something that needed to be done frequently. Since foot washing was commonly the job of the lowest member or servant of a household, Jesus modeled a splendid humility when he bathed his disciples' feet in the upper room (John 13:5).

The Bible sometimes describes the righteous as those with "clean hands" (Job 17:9; Psalm 24:4). Cleanliness is also used in Scripture as a metaphor for being forgiven: "I am clean and free from guilt" (Job 33:9). "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7). In the end times, the bride of Christ will be dressed in "fine linen, bright and clean" (Revelation 19:8).

We live in a culture that glorifies outward cleanliness with our soaps and lotions and toothpastes and disinfectants, our bathing and brushing, our washing and wiping. But how concerned are we with inner cleanliness? Do we have clean hands but spirits filthy with hate? Do we have soft, clean-shaven legs but hearts hardened to the hurts of others? Do we have clean, blemish-free faces that seldom smile? Outward cleanliness is admirable-but only if an inward cleanliness accompanies it.

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read 2 Samuel 11:1 - 12:25.

1. What part do you think Bathsheba played in the events of 2 Samuel 11:2 - 4? Totally innocent? Artful seductress? Something in between? Explain why you think so.

2. How do you think Bathsheba felt when she realized she was pregnant with David's child? Why did she immediately tell him?

3. G.o.d called David a "man after my own heart" (Acts 13:22; cf. 1 Samuel 13:14). How could G.o.d say this, given the awful things he did to Bathsheba and Uriah?

4. What do you think Bathsheba was doing and feeling while her son got sick and died? Why do you think the Bible focuses on David's response rather than hers?

5. Solomon's name from the Lord was actually Jedidiah (2 Samuel 12:24-25), which means "loved by the Lord." What sense of G.o.d's restoration for Bathsheba and David does this name give you?

6. What does this story say to you about your own experience as a sinner and/or a victim of others' sin?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

The story of David and Bathsheba outlines in graphic detail the horror of sin and where it leads. David's first step toward sin leads to adultery, lying, deceit, murder, and, finally, the death of a son. The link between sin and restoration comes when David admits his sin and Nathan says the Lord has taken it away (2 Samuel 12:13). How much guilt is Bathsheba's isn't clear; however, when G.o.d tells them through the prophet Nathan that he loves their son Solomon and wants him to be called Jedidiah, the restoration is Bathsheba's as well as David's. If G.o.d could forgive this terrible sin of David, don't you think he could forgive your sin, whatever it may be?

Promises in Scripture The Lord, the Lord, the compa.s.sionate and gracious G.o.d, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

-Exodus 34:6 - 7 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

-2 Chronicles 7:14 For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

-Psalm 25:11 For I [G.o.d] will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

- Hebrews 8:12 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

This is what the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel says: "I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.... And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?

You struck down Uriah the Hitt.i.te with the sword and took his wife to be your own."

-2 Samuel 12:7 - 9 Reflect On: 2 Samuel 12:1-25.

Praise G.o.d: That he is quick to note our suffering.

Offer Thanks: That G.o.d calls the powerful to abide by the same moral standards as the weak.

Confess: Any unforgiveness you may have toward another.

Ask G.o.d: To restore your confidence and to free you from any tendency to take on the mind-set of a victim.

Lift Your Heart If you have suffered abuse-whether s.e.xual, physical, or emotional - don't bury your feelings, absorbing the shame and guilt that belong to the abuser. Instead, share your pain with at least one other person - a trusted friend or counselor. Find other women who have endured similar abuse and gone on to lead fruitful and significant lives. Determine that you will not let someone else's sin ruin your life. Learn the skills of a survivor. Even if you've never been abused, you probably know someone who has - a daughter, a friend, or an acquaintance. Do whatever you can to help that person and pray that G.o.d will restore her hope.

Father, forgiveness is so hard sometimes. I want justice, not mercy. Please help me to begin the process of forgiveness by letting go of my desire for revenge. Every time I start wishing something negative on those who've hurt me, help me to pray a blessing on their behalf instead. Only you can give me the desire to forgive. Only you can help me do the impossible.

Tamar Daughter of King David HER NAME MEANS.

"Date Tree" or "Palm Tree"

Her Character: Tamar shared her father's, David's, good looks. Young and innocent, she was naive to the danger that threatened from her own family.

Her Sorrow: That her half brother saw her only as an object for his l.u.s.t, destroying her future as a result, and that her father, the king, did nothing to protect her.

Key Scripture: 2 Samuel 13:1 - 22 Monday HER STORY.

David's daughter Tamar was a knockout. No doubt she was destined for a marriage that would strengthen the king's political alliances. Though not under lock and key, she probably lived a rather protected life. But all the precautions in the world couldn't save her from the danger that threatened from David's inner circle.

Amnon was David's heir. As the king's eldest son, he was used to getting his way. But lately he'd grown despondent. Something was bothering him, chasing away his sleep, gnawing at his heart.

One day, Jonadab, Amnon's cousin, asked him: "Why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't you tell me?"

Amnon confided in his friend, saying, "I'm in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."

"Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab shrewdly advised. "When your father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.' "

So David, concerned for his son, unwittingly sent his daughter into a trap that would ruin her life.

After Tamar had prepared a meal for Amnon, he asked her to enter his bedroom and feed him. But as soon as Tamar did, he grabbed her, begging, "Come to bed with me, my sister."

"Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." But despite her pleas, Amnon forced himself on her.

As soon as the storm of his pa.s.sion died down, Amnon's infatuation turned to hatred. He threw Tamar out of his house, bolting the door against her, as though she, not he, were the guilty one. Desolate, the young girl tore her robes, throwing ashes on her head and weeping loudly as she wandered the streets. When her brother Absalom found her, he hushed her, saying, "Be quiet now, my sister, he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." But Absalom himself took it to heart, hating his half brother Amnon for what he had done.

Though David was furious when he heard the news, he did nothing to punish Amnon. Did he favor his son over his daughter, thinking her hurt a small matter? Or had his moral authority been so compromised by his l.u.s.t for Bathsheba that he simply could not bring himself to confront his eldest son? Whatever the case, Absalom did not share his father's hesitation. Instead, he bided his time, waiting for an opportunity for vengeance. Two years later he murdered Amnon.

First rape, then murder. David's household was devastated not by barbarians outside the gate but by those inside his own family. After Amnon's death, David must have been haunted by Nathan's earlier prophecy after David's own adultery with Bathsheba: "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house. . . . Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you" (2 Samuel 12:10 - 11). The father's l.u.s.t was mirrored by the son's; the father's violence, by one son's murder of the other.

Tamar, unprotected by her father, betrayed by her own brother, lived in Absalom's house, a desolate woman, without the possibility of marriage or children because she was no longer a virgin. Thus a chain of sin wove its way through David's family, enslaving the innocent along with the guilty.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

RAPE.

Tamar's half brother, Amnon, raped her. The stark words don't begin to communicate the humiliation and despair that rape brings to those who experience it. This account in 2 Samuel 13 movingly describes Tamar's pleas to her brother not to do this to her, pleas that echo through hundreds of years of women who have been forced into the s.e.xual act against their will. "Since he was stronger," Amnon could force himself on her, and Tamar had no effective means of resistance.

G.o.d's reaction to s.e.xual sin is evident throughout the Bible. He doesn't turn away from the victim, and he doesn't allow the rapist to go unpunished. Deuteronomy 22:25 says that "the man who has done this shall die." Leviticus 18:29 reminds the Israelites that "everyone who does any of these detestable things-such persons must be cut off from their people." In the New Testament, Paul repeatedly reminds believers to pursue s.e.xual purity: "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in s.e.xual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:13 - 14). "Flee from s.e.xual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18). "Among you there must not be even a hint of s.e.xual immorality" (Ephesians 5:3).

Amnon went unpunished by his father but died when his half brother Absalom took his revenge-he didn't go unpunished forever. And what about Tamar, the beautiful virgin princess in her rich royal robes? She felt too degraded to go back to her own home in David's palace. How could she face her other virgin sisters? Instead, she went to live as "a desolate woman," with her brother Absalom. The effects of rape on its victims is the same today: desolation, grief, misery.

The Bible doesn't gloss over the fact that G.o.d's people have partic.i.p.ated in these dreadful acts; it describes many instances of rape, incest, h.o.m.os.e.xuality, and adultery. Why would a holy G.o.d think it necessary to include such sordid stories in Scripture? Perhaps because he knows our thoughts and actions, even if the world is blind to them. Through these stories G.o.d reminds us that he never forsakes his own, whether victim or criminal. Just as he offers help and comfort to the victims, never forsaking them in their trouble, he also offers healing and forgiveness to the evildoer.

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read 2 Samuel 13:1 - 22.

1. Do you think Amnon truly loved Tamar? Why or why not?

2. Describe your feelings as a woman when you read Tamar's pleas in 2 Samuel 13:9 - 14.

3. Why did Tamar say that sending her away was "a greater wrong" than rape (13:16)? What did she want?

4. What should David have done to Amnon? What could he have done for Tamar?

5. Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted? If so, how has it affected your life? Where is G.o.d in your story?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

The horrifying facts of Tamar's experience-not only the rape itself but the effect it had on her future and her emotional well-being-are not too far from the experiences of many women today. Statistics reveal a staggering number of women who have been violated by family members when they were very young. The effects of those experiences can haunt a woman's existence, influencing her relationships with her husband, with male and female friends, and with her children. Help is available to those who seek it, but the ultimate hope and help can only be found in the love and acceptance G.o.d so willingly offers. His forgiving spirit can help recovery begin. His comforting spirit can bring a soothing balm to the hurt of the past. His constant presence can bring healing for the loneliness and detachment many feel.

Promises in Scripture For the Lord your G.o.d is a merciful G.o.d; he will not abandon or destroy you.

-Deuteronomy 4:31 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your G.o.d goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

-Deuteronomy 31:6 Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"

Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me, O G.o.d my Savior.

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

-Psalm 27:7 - 10 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

Though [G.o.d] slay me, yet will I hope in him.

-Job 13:15 Reflect On: 2 Samuel 13:1 - 31.