January 18 — God Values Human Life

2 Samuel 11:1-5, 14-17; 12:5, 13; Psalm 139: 13-16

Jan 7, 2004
WILEY RICHARDS

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

One of the ways the Bible shows its uniqueness is in treating openly the moral flaws of its leaders. The Bible shines the light of holiness on people great and small as a testimony to the need for divine forgiveness in human lives. Everyone is accountable to Him, as King David learned.

What David considered a casual dalliance with Bathsheba, he demonstrated his contempt for the creation of life (11:1-5). The Bible hints at his coming moral lapse in noting that in the spring of the year when kings go forth to battle, David tarried in Jerusalem. Had he been where he should have been, his sexual sin probably would never have happened. While his armies fought Israel’s wars, the king relaxed on his rooftop patio. Observing a beautiful woman as she bathed, he sent a messenger to invite her to see him. She complied.

In the resulting sexual encounter, Bathsheba became pregnant. One can sympathize somewhat with Bathsheba. In those days, society not uncommonly ascribed all power to the king. Taking advantage of her, David desecrated what should have been a beautiful expression of love between a husband and wife and turned it into a tawdry expression of lust.

His actions following Bathsheba’s report showed his utter rejection of the sanctity of life (vv. 14-17). Instead of admitting his sin to Bathsheba’s husband, he attempted a royal cover-up. In the first effort, he summoned Bathsheba’s soldier—husband from the battle on the pretext of learning the status of the battle (v. 7). His real intention was the hope Uriah would go home, have sex with his wife, and thus conceal David’s sin. The dedicated soldier refused to go home while his fellow warriors were at war (v. 11).

David resorted to a desperate measure. In what is surely one of the grossest miscarriages of trust, David sent a letter by Uriah to General Joab with the instructions for a strategy to have Uriah die in combat. Joab agreed with the complicity and carried it out. Assuming all was well, David took Bathsheba to be his wife as soon as he received word of Uriah’s death (vv. 25- 27). He forgot that God knew about his sin.

David’s prayer for his desperately ill son magnified the importance of family life (12:5, 13). We sometimes humorously observe that major surgery is what I’m having. Minor surgery is what you are having. When it came to preserving the life of his child, David saw the value of life from a different perspective. God forced David to admit his sin through a story told by Nathan the prophet (vv. 1-6). David angrily passed judgment on the rich man who took a poor man’s favorite sheep. When the prophet said, "Thou art the man," David knew his sin was exposed.

Nathan delivered the sad impact. The child was going to die even though God had forgiven David’s sin (vv. 13-14). We need not draw the conclusion that God took the baby’s life. He could have died of natural causes. The death illustrates the unknown consequences of sin. Our sins affect others. Children may die because of parental faults, but we make a horrendous mistake if we try to trace every death of a baby to sins of the parents.

Finally, David’s prayer of praise exhibits God’s divine purpose for every life (Psa. 139:13-16). God, the creator of all life (John 1:4; 5:26), knows about the unborn (v. 13). Indeed, God perceives the baby in the womb and has plans for him or her (v. 16). David must have considered the unrealized potential of his baby by Bathsheba. Only eternity will reveal the tragic loss to the world brought about by the tragedy of aborting unwanted babies.

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