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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.

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