BATHSHEBA - meaning “Daughter of the Oath” When it comes to the story of Bathsheba and David, we normally think about what David did and went through, and Bathsheba is put on the back burner. When we focus on her character, there are some extremely interestingly insights we can gain concerning her . Her story starts in 2 Samuel 11. She was married to Uriah, one of David’s mighty warriors. One evening, she was having her ritual cleansing bath when David saw her when walking on the roof. In verse 4, we read that David sent his messengers and they took her from her home and brought her to him while her husband was busy fighting in the war. That night he slept with her, knowing she was a married women. She was not invited over or summonsed to go over to the king’s house, but was ‘taken’ there. According to the Strong’s Concordance, this word means to be ‘taken captive’. This implies that either she was taken by force and did not have a choice, or felt pressured, after all David was the King of Israel. Later on she found out that she was pregnant and sent a messenger over to David to inform him. One can just imagine how scared she must have been at this time. David called her husband, Uriah back from the war under false pretences. He hoped that Uriah would sleep with Bathsheba and then be convinced that she was pregnant with his child. Unfortunately, Uriah did not go to his house in the time he was back in Jerusalem. David then conceived another plan and sent Uriah to the front lines of the war to be killed. Bathsheba was heartbroken when she heard her husband died and went through a mourning period. After her mourning period, David took her as his wife and she had a son. Nathan came to see David and told him the story of a rich man who killed the only sheep of a poor man. David was upset and told Nathan that the rich man must restore this loss four times over. Nathan told David that the story was about him, and only then did David realize his sin. Seven days later, Bathsheba’s son died. David subsequently also lost 3 of his other sons. David’s own words were fulfilled as he lost 4 sons in total. Bathsheba later had another son, Solomon who went on to become king. Imagine all Bathsheba went through, she was married, then taken by another man who made her pregnant. Then her husband was killed, she had to marry the man who was responsible for her husband’s death and later on, her son died. We cannot hide secret sin from God and sin will always have consequences, even when we are forgiven. God took Bathsheba’s situation and turned it into good – she had another son who became king and he gave her honor and respect. This is evident when Solomon bowed to her and let her sit at his right hand, (1 Kings 2:19). We learn from Bathsheba’s story that God can convert any bad situation to good!