Bathsheba - who was her father and grandfather?

[Lou Newton]

Glen sent me this email today:

Bathsheba - who was her father and grandfather?

1. Bathsheba’s grandfather was King David’s esteemed counselor Ahithophel.
This may be ascertained using 2 Samuel 11:3 (Bathsheba is the daughter of Eliam) and 2 Samuel 23:34 (Eliam is the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite).

2 Samuel 16:23
Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.

2 Samuel 15:12
And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.

2 Samuel 15:31
And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

2 Samuel 16:15
[ Absalom Enters Jerusalem ] Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

2 Samuel 16:20-21
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?”
Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”

2. Bathsheba’s father was one of King David’s mighty men and son of the kings esteemed counselorAhithophel.

Among the list of King David’s Mighty Men is Ahithophel’s son Eliam.
2 Samuel 23:34
. . . Eliam the son of Ahithophel of Gilo,

3. AND Eliam’s son-in-law is UriYah the Hitti whom King David had killed.

2 Samuel 23:39 The last name to be mentioned in the list of David’s mighty men is that of UriYah the Hitti, the man whose demise David orchestrated in order to hide the adultery with his wife Bathsheba.

Both Eliam and UriYah the Hitti were part of the thirty-seven mighty men unit of soldiers in King David’s army. 2 Samuel 23:18-39

2 Samuel 11:3
And David sent, and he enquired of the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, the wife of UriYah the Hitti?” . . . and therefore, son-in-law of Eliam and granddaughter of Ahithophel.

Now reread 2 Samuel 11- 18
See the example set by King David for his son Amnon, of King David’s son Absalom’s ordering the murder of Amnon, King David’s leniency for Absalom, Absalom’s rebellion, the motivation for the duplicity of Ahithophel, Shimei’s curse of King David, the suicide of Ahithophel, and the death of Absalom. By the time of the death of Absalom all of Israel must have known the story of Ahithophel’s granddaughter and the results of adultery between her and King David – or might you think all of this would have happened anyway, even if King David did not watch?

2 Samuel 11:2 “Late one afternoon about dusk, David got up from his couch and was walking around on the roof of the royal palace. From there he watched a woman taking a bath, and she was very beautiful to look at.”

Very interesting Glen. Thanks for sending this.

We might also wonder if the main reason Ahithophel betrayed David was because he lost respect for David because of his sexual encounter with Ahithophel's granddaughter and his murder of Ahithophel's grandson-in law.

Ahithophel may have loved both of them very much and may not have forgiven David for this. Further, he may have concluded that David was no longer God's choice to be King. Humanly, we can see he had reason to back Absalom instead of David.

Certainly David's decision to watch Bathsheba take her bath was very costly to him and all of Israel. It not only cost David three sons and his wisest counselor, it cost those same men and many others their very life.

The wages of sin is death. We seem to think this does not apply to us, but to everyone but us.

David was chosen and loved by God, but the wages of his sin was death.

Lou Newton

[Lou Newton]

We can see that Satan led David down a flight of steps into terrible sin.

1st David stayed in the palace while his army fought the enemy. If David had stayed with his men he would have avoided all of this terrible mess. It seemed a small thing for him to stay home while his army fought.

2nd - David seen Bathsheba bathing on her roof. He could have and should have looked away and went back inside. Instead he looked at her while she bathed. This also seems small. After all he was not the one doing the tempting, she was probably tempting him.

3rd - The David sent for Bathsheba to come to his palace. They had sex. Now this sure makes it look like she was tempting him in the first place. Certainly she could have refused him, but she did not. Certainly this was very serious sin on both of their parts.

4th - Bathsheba got pregnant and informed David. David deceived her husband and asked him to come to the palace to talk with him. Then David told him to go home to his wife for the night. Obviously David cared more about being caught in sin, than Bathsheba being with another man. To David's regret, Uriah said he would not enjoy his wife while the other soldiers were sacrificing and being away from home. So Uriah did not go to his house. Uriah was a far better man than David in this. David had already chose to stay home and enjoy his family while his soldiers sacrificed. Far worse, while Uriah sacrificed and risked his life for David, David enjoyed Uriah's wife.

5th - David then had Uriah murdered to cover up his own sin. On top of that David did not even acknowledge his sin to God.

6th - Then God sent Nathan to bring David to repentance. Nathan told David of a man who was rich and had many lambs that stole the only lamb from another man who had only one. That man loved that lamb as his self. David declared that the man who stole the lamb should die. Nathan told David that he was the man who stole the lamb.

7th - David repented and wrote psalms about his sin. God forgave him, but often men do not forgive like God does.

8th - Absalom rebels and tries to be King.

9th - Ahithophel joins the rebellion of Absalom. It appears he thought David did not deserve to be King after he had "raped" his grand daughter and murdered his grandson-in law.

David lost three sons and thousands died because of his sin.

The wages of sin is death. Even the ones closest to God are not immune from this law of God.

God did not bring any of this on David. Instead of following the Holy Spirit, David chose to go his own way. When he did, he put himself in the hands of sinful men.

David knew he was doing wrong. He proves this by hiding his sin.

This all may have been caused by David staying in Jerusalem instead of fighting with his men.

[Baruch]

Thanks, Glen and Lou. I have wondered what made Ahithophel join with Absalom. There is plenty to ponder. The king's secret transgressions cascaded into an astonishing and public tragedy.

[Lou Newton]

Thanks, Glen and Lou. I have wondered what made Ahithophel join with Absalom. There is plenty to ponder. The king's secret transgressions cascaded into an astonishing and public tragedy.

Thanks for the reply Barry. I have wondered why Ahithophel joined with Absalom every time I read the story. David considered him so wise and David was close to The Lord. Why would such a wise man join such an arrogant man like Absalom. Now the reason seems to be very clear.

[Baruch]

Thanks for the reply Barry. I have wondered why Ahithophel joined with Absalom every time I read the story. David considered him so wise and David was close to The Lord. Why would such a wise man join such an arrogant man like Absalom. Now the reason seems to be very clear.

Yes, I appreciate Glen's excellent explanation which makes it so clear.

I also appreciate your tying it back to the dreadful cost of sin. It seems bad enough when we look at this example in King David.

It occurred to me that David tried to hide his sin from men, but God used Uriah uprightness to expose him. We see today that many people seem successful in covering their sin, especially popular fiction has taught us this, so we may be persuaded to look at David as the antihero and think "if only he had [whatever]...he could have gotten away with it". That is stinking thinking, of course.

God sees all, we cannot hide our iniquity from Him. And God showed us at the cross of Calvary how He views sin, by the punishment that Jesus took for us (and King David) in order to pay the wages for our sin.

We may be tempted to look at King David's example and surmise that he was severely punished for it: but he was not truly punished in God's anger. Jesus was punished in the fullness of God's anger--bless His name forever. David's sin did take its destructive course (leading others to sin, as well), but he was chastised in God's judgement as a son.

David's son Solomon later aptly wrote, "One sinner destroys much good".

[Lou Newton]

Yes, I appreciate Glen's excellent explanation which makes it so clear.

I also appreciate your tying it back to the dreadful cost of sin. It seems bad enough when we look at this example in King David.

It occurred to me that David tried to hide his sin from men, but God used Uriah uprightness to expose him. We see today that many people seem successful in covering their sin, especially popular fiction has taught us this, so we may be persuaded to look at David as the antihero and think "if only he had [whatever]...he could have gotten away with it". That is stinking thinking, of course.

God sees all, we cannot hide our iniquity from Him. And God showed us at the cross of Calvary how He views sin, by the punishment that Jesus took for us (and King David) in order to pay the wages for our sin.

We may be tempted to look at King David's example and surmise that he was severely punished for it: but he was not truly punished in God's anger. Jesus was punished in the fullness of God's anger--bless His name forever. David's sin did take its destructive course (leading others to sin, as well), but he was chastised in God's judgement as a son.

David's son Solomon later aptly wrote, "One sinner destroys much good".

Act 2
Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 " 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25 David said about him: " 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.
30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.
31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '
36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

We see that David was a prophet as The Holy Spirit spoke through Peter.

We also see that David knew that Jesus was BOTH Lord and Christ.

Jesus was LORD - or God Almighty

Jesus was The Christ - or the only begotten Son of God, or a Man born of a woman conceived by The Holy Spirit

David knew of this 1000 years before it took place. David was filled with The Holy Spirit. For how else could he write the things that he wrote:

Psalm 22
For the director of music. To [the tune of] "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him-- may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him-- those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.
31They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn-- for he has done it.

David describes the cross of Christ in this Psalm. He lists many details that are also listed in the gospels. David was indeed a prophet.

Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save mefrom bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.


We can see from this Psalm that David had The Holy Spirit. For he asked The Lord to not take The Holy Spirit from him. How else could David write the things he wrote but by The Holy Spirit.

David was sinful from birth as we all are. When he walked in the flesh he was a filthy sinner.

When he walked in The Holy Spirit he slew giants and wrote about the cross of our dear Lord.

Lou Newton

[Lou Newton]

Nathan Rebukes David

11:1; 12:29-31pp -- 1Ch 20:1-3

1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.
2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,
3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.
9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'
11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylightbefore all Israel.' "
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

Knowing that The Lord has a reason for everything that He says, I wondered about the traveler. Who was this traveler and why was he mentioned in this story ?

There did not seem to be another person involved in the story of Bathsheba, Uriah, and David. Obviously David is the rich man who has many sheep and cattle, Uriah is the poor man who only has the one ewe lamb, and Bathsheba is that lamb.

Who is the traveler and why is he mentioned ?

The traveler is the demon of lust who roams through the earth looking for someone to tempt. David was tempted with lust and had many lambs ( wives) to sacrifice (have sex with) to feed this traveler.

But instead David stole Uriah's only lamb and fed this traveler instead of feeding him with one of his own lambs.

Mankind is sinful indeed when we walk in the flesh. Of course we will all have our flesh until we die a natural death. Truly we fight a battle with our flesh as long as we live. Our only hope is to confess our sin daily to our Savior and ask Him to save us from our sinful flesh.

When we give our lives to The Lord Jesus He is able to cause us to walk in His Holy Spirit. It is only then that men can kill giants and write Psalms of the Lord.

Lou Newton

[Lou Newton]

I received this email from Glen tonight:

Wonderful comments on the forum. I am so pleased that fleshing out the relationships helps understand the motivation of the characters. Within King David’s sins and his relationship with YHWH comes the answer to the question Charles Wesley raised for all who are convicted of their guilt.
Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?
If King David is allowed mercy, then I too might find mercy! Divine Redemption, symbolized in the shed blood of Messiah, is able to be the propitiation for the wrath of the Holy. Divine Redemption, the single act on Mount Calvary, triumphs the combined guilt of all (1John 2:2; 4:10; Romans 3:25).
However, there is the rest of the story. Sin is worse than King David can imagine. Forgiven by YHWH – yet YHWH does not allow King David to construct the Dwelling Place – Temple - because of violence. Moses experiences a similar restriction to entering the Promised Land. Forgiven sin limits our usefulness to YHWH. The story of King David is the story of forgiveness, but it is also the horrific story about our actions having a life of their own – a life which extends beyond our own – both in time and person (consequences). If we had the eyes of angels, we might shudder just at the thought of what our sin will destroy.