The Four
Tricia Robinson Art, Used with her written permission
With our deepest gratitude!
Bathsheba Grandmother #4
The final grandmother is one with whom you may be well acquainted. Poems, songs, and theater have all tried to tell her story. Funny, I wonder if anyone asked her for her side of the story? It is time to hear from Uriah’s wife.
The Wife of Uriah
Biblical references: II Samuel 11:1-12 through II Samuel 12:1-25; I Samuel 18:27; I Samuel 25:36-42; Genesis 10:6-20; Isaiah 57:1-2
“I am humbled to be able to share my story. Generations later, I am still harshly judged for my actions by those who have no right to throw stones. The joy of my story is this: my circumstances were not the end of my usefulness to the LORD God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.
Matthew, the Jewish Tax Collector, would not even call me by my given name and I AM a covenant daughter. He made sure to remind everyone I was once Uriah’s wife. I am not even seen as a person worthy of being named. Uriah was an officer in King David’s army and he was loyal to both the king and his men. Has Matthew forgotten where He came from? Just asking……
Who Is Uriah’s Wife
I have a name. It is Bathsheba. It means, “daughter of an oath.” I am the daughter of Eli’am whose Hebrew name means God of the people, and yes, I was married to Uriah the Hittite. The Hittites were descendants of Noah’s son Ham. They lived in the land the Hebrews call the Promised Land and today they still reside in southern Palestine and around Jerusalem. So much for them being eradicated from the Promised Land as God had instructed. These Hittites were mercenaries for Israel, paid to fight the Syrians. Almost sounds like the nightly news in the 21st century. A Jewish girl married a Hittite which is considered abominable.
Circumstances
In the early spring, after the snow and frost have passed, battling nations would resume war activities. It was also the time of year when it was perfect weather to bathe on the roof once the world had gone to sleep. Families spent evenings on the roof sharing a meal, having conversations, watching the stars of the night sky, and enjoying the cool, fresh spring air.
My husband was deployed by the king. Washing in the cool night air, the water on my skin felt so good. I languished long despite the importance of this ritual cleansing of women. Thinking I was alone on my rooftop, I did not realize someone’s eyes were on me. I went in and slept like a newborn baby. It would be the last night for a long time I would sleep in peace.
King’s View Uninvited
Unknown or unimportant to me until later, the King was not with the troops. He had remained in Jerusalem. How can leaders do that? Send off our husbands, sons, and uncles to be in harm’s way while they remain in safety and luxury? I guess, the King’s conscience was bothering him and he could not sleep. He decided to take a stroll on his roof and got a bird’s eye view of me!
The next day, a group of ‘ambassadors’ appeared at my door saying the king requested the “honor of my presence.” FOR WHAT, I wondered? I accompanied these men to the palace where I was given an audience with the KING OF ISRAEL! He made his intentions crystal clear. What was I supposed to say to the king? “No,” was not an option at the time. The king had his way with me and I returned home, and my soap opera life began.
Consequences
My husband was gone for many months. I realize I am with child and the whole world will know soon! It could only be one person’s baby and it was not Uriah. What was I going to do? This is a capital offense in Israel: adultery. The King could just deny my story. The only witnesses served the king.
I sent word to the king to see what could be done. He is the king of all Israel, surely he could do something to help me. Well, this “warrior king” was a COMPLETE coward. He sent for Uriah and told him to go home for some R & R! Uriah flat refused! He said if his men were not on leave then he would not be either! Next, the king tried getting him drunk thinking he would go home to me. He did NOT! He slept with the servants. Finally, the king sent him back to the front lines with orders for his commander to send him to the very front where he would likely be killed and he was. Did the king really think I would not care? He was very wrong. I mourned deeply for my husband, Uriah, and for myself.
Married to the King
The only reason I am alive today is that the king sent for me at the end of my mourning period. He had me become his third wife. Kings can do what ordinary people cannot. No one was fooled. A full-term baby boy emerged and we had only been married a few months. What happened next proved God’s great displeasure and my grief had only just begun.
My husband-king was many things, but he was a “man after God’s heart.” Nathan the prophet came telling him a tale of a rich man taking advantage of a poor man and Nathan asked what should be done. David became indignant and wanted the rich man hauled into his court for justice. Nathan looked the king straight in the eye and told David, “you are the rich man.” Nathan then laid out the consequences of my now second husband’s actions. The consequences devastated and haunted us for the rest of our lives.
The Word of The Lord
These were Nathan’s chilling words: “Because you have despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight, ….now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house; Behold I will raise up evil against you out of your own house and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them unto your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. For you, David did it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”
Then, Nathan tore my heart from my chest. He said our baby would die in seven days! He said David’s actions had given those we were fighting against as a nation a cause to speak ill of our God. Nathan also said God had put away these sins and David would not die because David said he had “sinned against God.” I would rather be dead if my child was going to die! How was this fair??
God did not change His mind
David fasted, prayed, and stayed by our son’s bed day and night. It did not change the mind of God. David believed he would see our son again. I wasn’t so sure then, but I came to trust the Lord because of David and how the LORD blessed our next child. He was named Solomon. He was wise, wealthy, wrote words, and worshiped the LORD GOD of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. I marveled at how good God was to me after all that we did.
Generations Blessed
Solomon was given a Hebrew name by the LORD Himself through the prophet Nathan. The same prophet who pronounced judgment on our family, also blessed us with this name for our son: Jedidiah, it means “beloved of Jehovah.” God loved our son! Actually, he loved both of our sons. I know this for it is written by Isaiah the prophet: “The righteous perish, and no one gives them a thought: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He lived well and with dignity and now is at peace.” Death was protection for our firstborn.
Instructions For My Son
I have been told I am beautiful. External beauty brought me pain and deep heartache. But I took that pain and I taught my son what to look for in a woman. He taught it to his sons and daughters even though he failed to follow my instructions. Those lessons were written and today you have them and if you desire you too can be a Proverbs 31 woman. She is indeed beautiful.
Who would have thought Yahweh would use a woman caught in circumstances beyond her control in His Grand Scheme of Redemption? I became the mother of the wisest king Israel has ever known and a great-grandmother to the Savior of the world who often quoted the words He inspired David and Solomon to write. I wonder, how will He use you? You see it is not what you have done or what’s been done to you. It is not who you know. What matters is WHO knows you! God is always working for your good and His glory. Please, please, don’t forget this!!”
All Is Well, by Michael W Smith and Carrie Underwood
Yvonne Jones
