Bathsheba — The Woman Who Was Betrayed

And David sent and inquired after this woman and one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? (II Sam. 11: 3).

   The meaning of "betrayal" is customarily associated with the betrayal of a woman by a man through falseness, but this is not the only means of betrayal. One, however, would naturally associate such with the title of this chapter. Evidently there was much of this falseness of man to woman in the lawless times represented by certain sections of the Bible. As the human race degenerated, more and more women were treated lightly and as a plaything of man, to be violated when he pleased. These heathen practices sometimes affected Israel and seeped into the national life of the people of God. Under the advice of Balaam in the matter of Beth Peor, the Israelites were led into great sin through this practice (Num. 25; 31:16), but the Hebrew laws expressly forbade it, and they correctly divided responsibility between the man and the woman so that through the respective punishments this practice should be utterly wiped out from the commonwealth of the people of God. Such sin was called "folly in Israel."

   There were, however, numerous examples of this folly. Once Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, went to visit the daughters of the land in Schechem, where the Israelites were sojourning in their wanderings. There she was found by a prince of the land, the son of Hamor, and was betrayed by him. The wrong

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was so keenly felt by the sons of Jacob that they, in turn, through trickery, were enabled to avenge themselves upon the whole of the city and, unreasonably, they slew all the males in the city, an act strongly condemned by Jacob himself (Gen. 34). Another incident is that of Amnon and Tamar (II Sam. 13). Tamar was the beautiful sister of Absalom, the favorite son of David. Her half-brother, Amnon, loved her and, through the advice of a child of Belial, was able to betray her. Again it was called "folly of Israel," and this time it was punished with death. Absalom invited his brother Amnon and the other brothers of the kingly family to a feast and during the feast Amnon was slain; everyone knew that it was because he had wronged Absalom's sister. Yet as we read the history of the people of Israel over a period of sixteen hundred years, we are amazed that there are so remarkably few incidents of this is the narrative. Wherever they appear, it is with strong condemnation from the Hebrew law.

   The last great case was that of David and Bath-sheba. It becomes the outstanding example in the Bible, one filled with many lessons for those who will study it. God certainly did not put this in the Bible in order that it might be suppressed in our thinking and teaching. However, had it not appeared in the Bible, no minister would ever presume to select it out of any other type of literature in order to make it a topic of a sermon, for it contains dreadful sins. Alexander Whyte says that it is in the Bible in order that we might realize that even the heroes of the faith are men of like passions as we are, to show us that the saints were not so far above us but we, in turn, can rise to their level.

Not in their brightness, but their earthly stains,

Are the true scenes vouchsafed to earthly eyes

And saints are lowered that the world may rise.

   Under the word "betrayal" there is also the thought that immediately comes to one of the betrayal of one's country or of one's friends. Especially is this so at the Passion season of Christ, when we are thinking of the great drama centered around His person and the betrayal that concerned Him.

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Certainly the act of Judas of selling his Lord and Master to the Jews in order that they might accuse Him and turn Him over to the Romans to be put to death is the acme of faithlessness we consider under the word "betrayal." Truly Jesus "was wounded in the house of His friends." He even called Judas "friend" in the Garden when he kissed Him in order to designate Him as the one whom the soldiers were to apprehend (Matt. 26:49, 50). Many men through history have taken their places with Judas in our estimation. There is, for one, Benedict Arnold, who for a miserable sum and a promise of station in British life, sold the secrets of his country to an enemy. Though the early exploits of Arnold were of great heroism and patriotism, nevertheless this stain upon his character forever brands him as an outcast in the thinking of true Americans. Following him, there was Aaron Burr, who was accused of conceiving  a means of treason by which a large section of the United States would fall to a foreign country over which he, in turn, ultimately might preside. These were acts of betrayal large enough to be noted by all men; but there are many acts of betrayal that are accomplished daily and of denials both to Christ and to our friends that should brand many men as traitors and as faithless. These do not become generally known.

   One of the commonest acts of betrayal in life is that of a woman by a woman. Well did Paul say that the younger women should marry and bear children and guide the house and give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully (I Tim. 5:14), for he said he had learned that some of them wandered about from house to house and were not only idle but tattlers also, and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. He went even farther and said that no man should ever be elected a deacon whose wife was given to slander. Some of the most terrible wounds that are ever given to men and women are given in the house of their friends through the use of the tongue. Why women in particular are subject to petty ambitions, jealousies, and envies of life is hard to know, but experience has certainly vindicated the truth of

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the teaching of the apostle Paul. Sometimes even professing Christians will allow these petty things to assume mountainous size, though they act as friends to the faces of their women acquaintances, they do the most dastardly lying through innuendo, gossip, and slander behind their backs. This seems to be one of the devil's favorite pastimes, but all women who are tempted to engage in such sin or who have already engaged in it should be warned that justice will avenge them as surely as it avenged the action of Judas or of Benedict Arnold or of David or of anyone else guilty of betrayal. The reaping begins immediately with the act in lowering the character of the gossiper or the slanderer. The law, "whatsoever you sow you will also reap" (Gal. 6:7), immediately comes into operation.

I. THE WOMAN WHO WAS BETRAYED

   It has been the habit when thinking of Bath-sheba to think of the sinfulness of David in betraying her, and no one would ever excuse David for his actions in this case. His soul must have been as dark as night and his action as culpable as anything that Satan ever did, but in spite of it, David was not the only one who sinned. It is this fact that has often been overlooked. We learn sufficient about Bath-sheba from the story to justify us in passing a judgment upon her conduct, for certainly she was an accomplice of David in this sin.

   Bath-sheba's responsibility lay in three things. First, she was immodest, or David would never have been led to the sin. Second, she submitted to David's desire without any protest. Third, she concealed the event from her own husband, Uriah. Whenever a woman is deliberately immodest, she brings upon herself the judgment of salacious recklessness. In order to understand this in the case of Bath-sheba, one must know a bit about the construction of houses in Jerusalem in that ancient day. There the roofs were all flat and were commonly used as a place for refreshment in the cool evening air for the inhabitants of the city. Since the houses were closely joined one to another, any commanding eminence could overlook the roofs of other houses. Evidently David's palace was near by the

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home of Uriah and overlooked its roof. Certainly all this was known to Bath-sheba, and yet she mounted to the roof of her house at eventide and, with a possibility that she would be seen by someone from the roof of an adjoining house, she publicly exposed herself. Granting that this was mere immodesty and not a deliberate act upon her part, we still hold that Bathsheba was responsible for a definite part in the sin of David, for it was at that moment that David was walking upon the roof of the place and he beheld her and had awakened in him the temptation to which he succumbed.

   Next we read that when David sent messengers to bring Bath-sheba to the palace, she came. Moreover, we have recorded no conversation, no remonstrance, merely a rapid passing over of the events that became the cause of his later crime. Yet when we turn to a heathen queen such a Vashti, in the time of Ahasuerus, we are told that when she was commanded to be immodest and to present herself before the banquet of the king, she refused, even at the cost of her throne (Esther 1:10-12). Ahasuerus was of a greater power as an Oriental monarch than even David, for David was compelled to act according to law. Having heard no outcry, having no record of any resistance or any remonstrance on the part of Bathsheba, we may assume that she submitted voluntarily to the act and thus she could not be without guilt.

   Third, when Bath-sheba's husband, Uriah, was called home from the battle front by David and slept by the door of David's house, Bath-sheba sent him no word nor did she even communicate with him personally to tell him what had happened, to denounce the king, and to confess with tearful eyes and with a grieved soul of the shame that had been wrought upon her. It seems that she even condescended to the plan of David of disposing of her husband in order that she might be added to the harem of the king. A careful reading of this narrative, which in part lays the great blame upon David, and rightly so, will leave one with the impression that Bath-sheba certainly was not without her sin as an accomplice in this act.

   For this reason, Bath-sheba was not without her suffering.

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After Uriah was dead and she had been married to the king and the child who had been conceived in sin was born, God struck the child and it was very sick. David was so moved by the suffering of Bath-sheba and by his own love for the child that he fasted and wept and prayed and lay upon the earth seven days without eating or drinking in order to gain the mercy of God for the child (II Sam. 12:15-17). If this is a description of what David did, what must have been happening in the case of Bath-sheba? Undoubtedly in this experience she recognized the hand of God chastening her for her part in the sin. We may well imagine the grief of her soul, the tears that flowed, the prayers she uttered, the contrition she manifested, and then the sorrow in the death of the child. The Lord was to punish David still farther, but the primary punishment of the beautiful woman, Bath-sheba, came to her in connection with the loss of this little one, who had already entwined his fingers around her heart.

   Many years later an event occurred in the life of David — just before his death — that tells us David made compensation and restitution to Bath-sheba for the wrong he had done. He may have done it in the days of her suffering because of the loss of the child. David was now an old man and Adonijah, his son, had declared that he was king. Then Nathan sent Bath-sheba to converse with the king about Solomon, her son, and she said, "My lord, thou swearest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne" (I Kings 1:17). Then the king answered Bath-sheba with an oath, saying, "As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day." Sometime in this early relationship, when under contrition, sorrow, remorse, and even repentance this couple suffered, David with an oath swore unto God that he would make this compensation to Bath-sheba. It had been so long past that he had almost forgotten it, but undoubtedly it was

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done in order to lessen her suffering. However we look upon Bath-sheba, whether as one who was innocent or guilty, she suffered severely from this wrong.

II. THE MAN WHO BETRAYED HER

   The Betrayed is exceedingly candid in revealing the sins of the heroes of the faith. In any other book but the Bible, where the biography of this man was being presented, this would have been suppressed, but the Bible tells this incident in its greatest detail. Here was a man, called a man after God's own heart, yet one who fell terribly and sinned grievously in the sight of God. Surely this, instead of being an evidence against the Bible as the Word of God, is an example of its inspiration, for by means of this event the divine mercy and judgment were revealed and demonstrated in behalf of man. The fact that God knows everything and suppresses nothing and has said that everything will be made known, even that which is hidden here on earth, ought to bring stark fear to the hearts of some people for taking comfort in covering the sins in which they have indulged. There is only one way to be safe after you have sinned, and this is to confess that sin and openly acknowledge it in the sight of God and of those whom you have wronged in order that it may forever be out away from you.

   There were definite steps in David's fall which may be of value to us in warning and teaching. His temptation came to him at a time when kings went forth to battle. The Bible implies that David should have been at the head of his armies in the siege of Rabbah instead of languishing at ease in his palace in Jerusalem. A long process of inner corruption must have already taken place in David to weaken him and make him ready for such a fall, and that process is shown by the fact that he was taking his ease when Israel dwelt in tents. Uriah emphasized this when David urged him to go to his home and sent a mess of meat after him that he might enjoy himself. Said he, "The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to

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drink... as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing" (II Sam. 11:1). Uriah had the attitude David should have had. Next, when David saw the object of temptation, instead of immediately putting it from his mind, he toyed with it as a thought until he was consumed with desire and driven to action. However, he then excused himself; he had a right as an absolute monarch to do this thing; since he had lived so close to God during his whole life he could now afford one indulgence. He, nevertheless, knew that it was contrary to the will of God who had established him upon his throne, and he deliberately sinned. Just one such sin is able to spoil the entire life of a saint of God and bring him low. In one instant, one can undo the work of a lifetime. By one fall, the influence we exercised over many may be completely ruined.

   The resulting sin was of so shocking a character that we cannot dwell upon it. It is horrible and repulsive and it ought not even to be associated with the name of a man after God's own heart. It was an act of ignominious adultery of the plainest kind. Secondly, it included the act of intoxicating his friend in an effort to conceal his own guilt (II Sam. 11:13). Third, when this artifice failed, it included the deliberate murder of an innocent and faithful officer of his army. It was the concealing of his sin even more than the sin itself which, according to the Scripture, displeased the Lord.

   During the period that followed, David's condition was anything but pleasant. It lasted approximately twelve months — from the time of his sin until the time of the revelation of that sin. This has been called by Bishop Butler a time of self-deceit in the life of David. It cannot be overlooked that it was after a year of deceit, internal hypocrisy, and self-forgiving silence on David's part that Nathan was sent to David with the message of divine indignation. "How a man like David could have lived all that time soaked to the eyes in adultery and murder and not go mad is simply inconceivable." Bishop Butler goes on to show how that this self-deception is the heart of the sin of each of us. We condone ourselves when we judge others.

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This may be the reason that David was so intensely and unusually cruel in his treatment of the people of Rabbah when they were conquered by the armies of Israel. However we interpret the verse that describes this, it still is a cruel treatment (II Sam. 12:31). While we condone our own sins, we are often severe judges of others. Moreover, when Nathan came to David with his parable of an unjust, wealthy man who stole the lamb from the poor man, David's wrath flashed in righteous indignation. He was hypocritically showing himself to be a righteous judge of others while completely excusing himself.

   The Scripture says that this sin of David gave occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (II Sam. 12:14). There are many things in the narrative concerning Joab that would lead us to believe that he was a true believer. On the other hand, there are many things that lead us to believe that he was not. David commanded his son Solomon that after his death Joab should be judged for his sins he had done of murder of innocent men, and Joab was put to death (I Kings 2:5, 6). I suppose that when Joab learned of this particular sin of David, he then was able the more readily to excuse himself for the wrongs that he had done. Then there was Shimei, who cursed David and who was wicked in heart (II. Sam. 16:5-4). There was Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, who had done wrong (II Sam. 16:1-4; 19:25-30), and I suppose the kingdom was full of evil-doers who now took comfort for the things that they had done that were wrong because the king had set them the standard and had excused himself for at least a year. This is something of an example of what sins of believers do in the church and to the world. Whenever someone who professes to be a leader in the church is guilty of a wicked violation of God's law and covers it up, though the world knows about it, he sets the example for others and helps them along the road to hell. Better is it by far that we should judge ourselves and cleanse ourselves from all iniquity than to set a stumbling-block in the way of someone else.

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III. THE BETRAYER IN THE HANDS OF GOD

   After it was evident that David was to excuse, to forgive, and to condone himself for the things that he had done by one argument or another, and that he would not be led to confession and repentance through his own self-judgment, God sent a messenger to him, the prophet Nathan. To be pointed at and to be told to his face that he was unclean and cruel and cowardly and guilty of blood was David's salvation. "To have someone injured enough and angry enough, or friendly and honest enough and kind enough to call you to your face false, or cruel, or envious, or malicious, or hard-hearted, or ignorant and narrow-minded and full of prejudice and party spirit, or meek to the great and harsh to the poor, or all that together, might be the beginning of your salvation." Such a person, instead of being your enemy, would be your greatest friend. The Scripture says, "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head" (Ps. 141:5). Thus it was that Nathan came with his story saying, "There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but he took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him" (II Sam, 12:1-4). To this picture of domestic happiness and beauty there came tragedy — stark, cruel, awful tragedy — and it struck David's sense of pity and of justice. In wrath David cried, "As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." Little did David know that the sword of God's justice and judgment was hanging within but a hairbreadth of his own head. But now it began

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to cut his conscience. Said Nathan, "Thou art the man. You were the king of Israel and possessed riches and comforts, palaces, servants, wives, slaves and concubines, and if that had been too little, I would have given thee such and such things. Wherefore, then, hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in His sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and taken his wife to be thy wife, and thou hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon." How much better it would have been for David had he allowed his own conscience to smite him first, to play the part of God and the part of Nathan the prophet! How much better for him had he confessed these things privately, before they were revealed publicly and he was made an object lesson for the Lord! Even so, it is better for us today to take our sins out and confess them openly and make restitution before that which is hidden is revealed in the justice of an infinite God. The wisdom and delicacy of Nathan in preaching his sermon to David is very beautiful. Often we thunder and we blunder and we fail to lead men to repentance, but before David even knew it, the sword of the Word of God lodged itself in his heart and rather than turn against his friend Nathan for preaching against him, he turned against himself and condemned himself in the eyes of God. Surely when Nathan made that speech to David, he was but a step from death, for an Oriental monarch could have confined him easily to the dungeon or commanded his death, but instead, David said, "I have sinned against the Lord" (II Sam. 12:13).

   David's repentance was immediate. As soon as he saw himself as God saw him, as a pitiless, selfish, and heartless monarch, as one who had everything and yet spared not another man's little, he cried out in self-loathing, aversion, and confession of his sin. This whole story is unlike the noble, blessed David of the Old Testament whom we know and love. Deep in his heart he was not this way and as soon as he saw himself as God now saw him, he was smitten in heart and repented. There were no excuses given by David now. There was no false repentance. There was no condoning of self.

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There was only a sense of transgression. Just as quickly as David repented, God forgave him, for Nathan said, "The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit..." Then he went on to tell of the punishment that would come upon David.

   Because David had given the enemies of the Lord occasion to blaspheme by his act, therefore, the enemies of the Lord must see that David should suffer at the hands of a righteous God for the things that he had done. The first punishment that should come upon him was that the sword would never depart from his house. What an awful prediction this was for a man whose throne God had promised to establish forever and ever! First, we see the sword as it flashes in the hands of Absalom, killing his brother Amnon for what he did to Tamar (II Sam. 13). Next we see the sword flashing in the hands of Joab as it pierced the heart of Absalom while he hung in the tree (II Sam. 18:14). Again we see the sword flashing as thousands rose in revolt against the old King David. Suffering, death, and destruction came into his family as a punishment of God. Second, the Lord said, "I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house." Never from this day until his death did David have a peaceful moment, without evil coming from one hand or another. While he was driven from the city of Jerusalem to take refuge in the wilderness from the revolt of his own son Absalom, he was cursed by Shimei, who went along throwing dust in the air and calling him a bloody man. When some of the host wanted to go up and slay Shimei, David said, "Let him alone. The Lord hath told him to curse me. Maybe the Lord will have mercy upon me." David knew that the evil had come to him by way of retribution. Third, God said, "I will take thy wives before thine eyes and give them unto thy neighbor, and it shall be done in the sight of this sun, for thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing before Israel." David had taken another man's wife and secretly violated her, and now the wives of his own household were violated in the eyes of the public by Absalom, his own son (II Sam. 16:32). The law of sowing and reaping was completely

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fulfilled in these characters, David and Bath-sheba. Thus anyone who sins against the Lord by the betrayal of the Lord or the betrayal of a friend or the betrayal of his ideals should tremble with the thought of what God will do to him. Punishment will inevitably come to him in the end. As truly as there is justice and goodness at the heart of the universe, all that is contrary to justice and goodness must either be forgiven through the cross or be punished by suffering.

    In a magnificent sermon upon this subject, Dr. C. E. Macartney describes how the heavenly host were filled with sorrow at the fall of David. The angels refused even the music of their harps during the time between David's fall and David's repentance. One angel said to the other, "Take thine harp and give me melody this day," but the angel answered, I cannot sing, for David, the man after God's own heart, the man who stole the music of heaven and set it to vibrating among the sons of men, is fallen." But when the tidings came that David had repented and that he had said, " Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me" (Ps. 51:4, 11), then there was joy in heaven again. Every harp was lifted and every tongue was loosed in praise of Him who turns the hearts of kings as waters of rivers are turned. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repenteth. What joy there must have been over the repentance of David.

   You who are women, ask yourself right now whether you have been guilty of sins that will affect others and lead them into temptation and evil. If you are a man, have you ever betrayed another man, or have you betrayed your Lord or the principles of your Lord? If any one of us has sinned in one way or another, have we waited until God should send us another to convict us of our sin? Why not take the Word as it is given to us tonight and apply it to our hearts, bow in His presence, confessing the evil we have done, and then make restitution thereof before the time of judgment comes? Forgiveness is with Him.

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