Commentary on 2 Samuel 11:1-5, 26-27; 12:1-9; Psalm 51:1-9

Until this point in his story, David’s star has been on the rise. We have encountered him so far in the book of Samuel as the ruddy-cheeked shepherd boy, the brave and faithful warrior, the charismatic politician who consolidates a kingdom around one place of worship and one seat of power. After this it will be different: David’s family will find itself embroiled in civil war, his kingdom almost lost. 

It happens one evening when David’s troops are out to war. In the ancient Near East, as the story reminds us (verse 1), kings were supposed to lead their armies in battle. David, however, is at home, taking a stroll on the rooftop of his palace—perhaps a clue that something is already wrong. From his vantage point on the roof, he sees a beautiful woman bathing and is determined to have her. The whole affair is reported matter-of-factly in a terse sequence of verbs: David sends for her, she comes, he lies with her, and she returns.

The story presents a cautionary tale about the dangers of power. David, securely ensconced in his palace and confident of his absolute authority, sees something he wants and makes it his. The prophet Samuel had warned of this when the Israelite elders first came to him asking for a king: A king, he said, will take your sons for his army and your daughters as his servants; he will take your fields and your vineyards and your cattle and your sheep (1 Samuel 8:5–18). Now Samuel’s warning appears to be coming true. 

While at one time biblical interpreters may have cast Bathsheba as a sultry temptress, it is clear who really holds the power in the situation: David has both wealth and armies at his disposal, and Bathsheba is his subject. The reader is not privy to Bathsheba’s inner desires or intentions, but it is unlikely she could have said no to David. It has thus become more common in recent decades to read the story not as one of David’s “adultery,” but as one of assault. 

Bathsheba is given no voice of her own in the story at all, except to speak just two words to David through a messenger: “I’m pregnant.” Given the highly unequal power dynamic between the two, we may wonder what Bathsheba expects to happen. David will no doubt do what other powerful men have done in similar situations: deny the allegations, tell the victim that no one will believe her, blame her, smear her reputation. 

Surprisingly, David does none of those things. Instead, the supposedly all-powerful king receives the news and is scared. This becomes clear from the elaborate and desperate cover-up attempt that David orchestrates next: David calls Bathsheba’s husband Uriah back from the front lines of the war, tells him to go spend the night with his wife to remove any questions around the baby’s paternity, and when all else fails, he quietly arranges to have Uriah killed in battle. 

David’s desperate cover-up attempt should not be mistaken for repentance; rather, every move he makes is a move to morally lower ground. His panic is more practical. The popular support that David spent so long winning for himself will not necessarily hold up for a king who, as Samuel warned, just takes and takes.

It is only once the matter is taken care of logistically and David breathes easier that we learn that God has an opinion on the matter as well. Enter the prophet Nathan. David may be almost all-powerful, but Nathan, as God’s messenger, has some power of his own. Despite the many conflicts the Bible depicts between prophets and monarchs, in both the Bible and the surrounding ancient Near East prophets were taken seriously, and kings wanted to know what they had to say, even when their messages were unfavorable. 

Still, it was probably risky for Nathan to deliver his message of judgment on the king. That is probably why he does so in a parable, telling the story of a poor man whose one beloved ewe lamb is taken and slaughtered for dinner by a rich man with many flocks and herds. The story elicits righteous indignation from the king until Nathan delivers the punchline: “You are the man!”

Nathan uses his prophetic power to speak up on behalf of the wronged parties. In contemporary terms, he is not a perfect ally to Bathsheba. He seems much more concerned about the wrong done to Uriah—who, according to the parable, has had something precious taken from him—than any wrong done to Bathsheba. But he does not need to be perfect for his voice to make a difference. David understands and repents. The Bible’s editors imagined that he did so in the words of Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.” 

Of course, David has not sinned against God and God alone (Psalm 51:4); his actions have hurt others, irrevocably. Nathan tells him he is forgiven. But the consequences of David’s actions will haunt both David and his family for generations to come: Not only will the child Bathsheba bears die, but “the sword will never depart from [David’s] house” (12:10). 

Preachers cannot escape struggling with the tension between forgiveness and justice in this story. This is no simple story of sin and reconciliation. Divine justice for David also does not mean restitution for Bathsheba, who has lost her husband, been forced to marry her assaulter, and now will lose her child as well. 

But Bathsheba should not be read as a mere little ewe lamb in her own story. She, like Nathan, made the risky choice to speak. She, like Nathan, had power of her own. It was her two simple words, “I’m pregnant,” that forged cracks in the façade of David’s seemingly absolute rule. Nathan announced divine judgment on David’s actions, but only after a pregnant Bathsheba—out of desperation or principle or both—refused to quietly disappear.

The text invites wrestling with sin, forgiveness, and accountability, and how those things may be justly held in balance. But it also invites appreciation for those who used their own voices to hold the powerful to account, and reflection on how we might do the same. 

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of forgiveness, you showed your servant David the error of his ways, and forgave him for his sins. Forgive us, and help us to see how we might live differently to honor you. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

HYMNS

For by grace you have been saved, ELW 598
Change my heart, O God ELW 801
Great God, your love has called us ELW 358
God, when human bonds are broken ELW 603

CHORAL

Create in me, Carl Mueller/Various