Skip to main content

God Chose Bathsheba’s Boy

                 David, Israel’s second king, ruled from 1010-970 BC.  Near the end, he gathered the people and declared, “The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel... [and now] of all my sons—and the Lord has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel (I Chronicles 28:4-5). 
That would have been a shocking statement to those in attendance.  Why?  Solomon’s mother was Bathsheba and the story of how she became one of David’s wives is not a good one.  Long story short, she was married to a soldier named Uriah.  Ignoring this fact, David sends for her and sleeps with her.  When Bathsheba sends word that she is going to have his baby, David tries to cover up the entire affair by having her husband recalled from his military duty.  When that plan backfires, David arranges to have Uriah sent back to the war and put on the front line.  After he is killed in battle, David takes Bathsheba as his wife (You can read about these events in 2 Samuel 11).
The important fact to remember is that David had “many sons” (verse 5) from which to choose a successor and that is certainly true.  Nineteen of them are listed by name, two more are mentioned in passing and it is implied that there are others as well.  God could have chosen anyone, but chose the son with the worst background and the most skeletons in his family closet.
The simple point:  God is more willing to forgive than we than we imagine.  David had to endure some very serious consequences from his sin (see 2 Samuel 12), but once he confessed and turned back to God, it was over.  God did not punish Solomon for the sins of his father and Solomon’s past did not have to be his future.  
While many people to like to keep track of their own failures and point out where others slip and fall, God seems to be more than willing to tear up the lists and start over.  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). 
             God could have chosen anyone, but he chose Bathsheba’s boy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more