Sexual misconduct is not only all over the news in the 21st century, it was recorded for all eternity in the biblical stories of the kings of Israel. How is it that human nature can’t evolve past this horrible misuse of the bodies God gave us? One answer: we’re still humans with insatiable desires and choose to yield to temptations.

Yet, our God can even work through the most heinous of sinful acts to bring redemption, hope, and renewal to all those in the aftermath of those acts. How do I know? Because the story of Bathsheba is just one of many examples which illustrates God’s power to overcome evil.

Bathsheba was a victim of King David’s lack of self-control. She was very beautiful and King David chose to misuse his royal power in life-altering ways just to fulfill his craving for her beauty. She lived near the palace and may have been a member of the royal court, considering her husband was a high-ranking military official in Kind David’s army. Her home and courtyard were obviously visible from the palace rooftop, yet that did not give King David the right to to deny her privacy.

When King David sent for her, Bathsheba, as a royal subject, would have had no choice but to go to the king. How the rape happened, the Bible doesn’t say. What we do know is that she became pregnant as a result and reported it to the king. Then David committed the second unthinkable act: he sent for her husband, Uriah, expecting him to go home to visit his wife and then they could claim the baby was his. Yet, when Uriah’s devotion to his king prevented him from desiring a conjugal visit, David then ordered Uriah’s superior officers to put him on the frontline of battle to increase his chances of being killed. Uriah’s death was a murder planned by David.

David then married Bathsheba. Their baby was born and then died shortly thereafter. That could be the very sad ending of this tragic story. However, God’s grace seems to have worked in some miraculous ways:

1. When the prophet Nathan confronted King David with his sin; the king repented and God forgave him. We have Psalm 51 as a reminder of a way to approach our loving God whenever we have sinned and need forgiveness. The words of Psalm 51 were written as David’s public confession of his sin against God and Bathsheba.
2. Bathsheba and David’s marriage must have been transformed into a caring, loving relationship. They had four more sons, one of which was Solomon who eventually became king after his father David.

Bathsheba must have been highly respected by both a dying David and her son Solomon. It was she who reminded King David that he had promised the crown to Solomon setting in motion the process to make his kingship a reality. She also apparently had great influence with King Solomon. Jewish tradition holds that King Lemuel in Proverbs 31 is another name for King Solomon, which would mean the traits of a desirable wife would have been taught to him by Bathsheba. Also, when Adonijah, her son’s royal rival, wanted to make a special request of King Solomon, he went first to Bathsheba and asked for her intercession on his behalf.

Fast forward about a thousand years and we see that the writer of the gospel of Matthew included the mention of five women in his genealogy, a very unusual practice in that day. The women listed were Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba’s name is not listed), and Mary. When the hearers and readers of Matthew’s gospel would’ve first encountered this list, they immediately would have been reminded of the flaws of their human kings and their other ancestors. They knew these stories. They had been preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures for all time. Matthew’s inclusion of these names would also bring up memories of God’s ability to work through any circumstance to bring about a purpose far beyond anyone’s imagination.

And that’s exactly what Matthew’s list of names does for us still today! No matter what happens in our lifetime, good or bad, we are all part of God’s perfect plan that started happening long before we were born and will continue long after we’re gone. The list of Jesus’ ancestors in Matthew 1 is a testimony to God’s Great Design to bring a Savior to us. The life you choose to live is a testimony to God’s continuing desire to work through an ordinary person to bring about extraordinary results. What’s your part in the Story?

Painting by Maître des Heures de Jean Charpentier XVe siècle – Bibliothèque municipale d’Angers ms. 2048, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35452602