Summary: David was a charismatic leader, a brilliant strategist, an ambitious politician, and a man of enormous personal energy. He alone united Israel's various tribes, North and South, into one nation. From his childhood when he showed up to do battle with a sling, he was able to assess danger, recognize opportunity, and face fear. Stories of his military escapades dazzle the imagination, and though they may have grown in the telling, no one doubts his prowess. David was also human. Nowhere is his humanity revealed more tragically than here in this story about David and Bathsheba. Here, we realize that David's blessings were also his curse. His ambitious way of taking property extended to women, too. Let's take a closer look at this story to see what it is saying to us today. In the first place, the story of David and Bathsheba is about abuse of power, not an act of passion. David was promenading on the upper balcony of his palace one day when he spied Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her home. He was used to getting whatever he wanted; if he couldn't get it easily, he took it. So, David sent for Bathsheba and forced himself upon her. In time, she discovered she was pregnant and sent word to the king. Now Bathsheba was married, and her husband was a good man, a loyal officer in David's own army, but it didn't matter to David who Bathsheba was married to. It didn't matter how much his rape hurt her or her husband. This is not about passion; it was always about prerogative and power.
