“…and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,” Matt 1:6 (NIV)
In the first chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, four women are named in the genealogy of Christ: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Mary. Uniquely, there is a fifth woman listed in the genealogy of Christ, but she is unnamed. She is simply identified as Uriah’s wife. We know her name because we were introduced to her by name in II Samuel chapter eleven.
“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?'” 2 Sam 11:2-3 (NIV).
Bathsheba’s name means “daughter of abundance.” She is blessed with a wonderful name, yet her name is not mentioned in chapter one of Matthew. We will find that she is abundantly blessed with God’s grace.
She is a warrior’s wife and her husband has gone off to war. While Uriah is away, Bathsheba is home alone. One evening while she is bathing, King David notices her and wants to know more about her. He asks about her and then discovers that she is Uriah’s wife. That doesn’t slow King David down any. He proceeds to have her brought to his palace and then ends up taking the relationship too far. As a result, Bathsheba gets pregnant.
Has life ever taken you to a place you never thought you would face? Take a few moments to reflect over your life and try to recall some of those experiences that caught you by surprise. Think about some of the consequences you have faced due to poor decisions you have made. We have all been there. The question is: What will God teach us about ourselves and about Himself during those times?
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care