Bathsheba, A Mother To Model

Bathsheba, a Mother to Model

This Mother’s Day I have chosen someone very different to speak on. In fact, in my research I have not found anyone who has ever chosen to use Bathsheba as an example for Mother’s Day, for some reason we are able to grant David forgiveness and restoration, but Bathsheba remains forever emblazoned in our consciousness as an adulterer. Today, I hope to change your mind on that and give you, "the rest of the story."

For the most part we will skip the sordid details of adultery, and concentrate on the factors in her life that speak very well of her, and show how in reality she is simply a godly woman with a skeleton in her closet. For some strange reason most have ignored the fact she was a godly woman, and only remember the skeleton, why is that? Do we really believe in grace or not? Can you have a sordid past and become a hero of the faith or not? If God forgets our sins why can’t we?

Let’s begin by talking about her godly heritage, then we will briefly touch on the adultery with David, (if in fact it was adultery), and then her godly life after that incident, and we will close with an amazing insight into the Proverbs 31 woman, that will make your jaw drop.

1. Her Godly Heritage

She was born to a man named Eliam, (2 Sam 11:3) who is also called Ammiel in 1 Chron 3:5, both names mean essentially the same: God is my kinsman. We could just as easily say his name means, "I am a part of the family of God." Biblical names often were prophetic and descriptive of a person’s life. Jacob was a cheater, David was beloved, Moses means to draw out - an apt description of the Exodus. It seems that Eliam was an OT example of a true child of God.

In 2nd Samuel 23 is a listing of David’s mighty men of valor. Men who excelled in virtue, and fighting skills, they became his most trusted allies, and confidants. Eliam is a member of that group.

2Sa 23:34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

So Bathsheba’s father had a name that means God is my kinsman, and he was one of David’s most valiant and trusted soldiers. She was raised in a very good family, that doesn’t make her a saint, but all we are doing for now is painting a picture that includes the fact she came from a Godly family.

Two more important facts from her fathers life, the first is the man he chose for his daughter to marry. You of course know that he is called Uriah. More properly Uriah the Hittite. What you may not know about Uriah is that he also was one of David’s mighty men of valor.

2Sa 23:39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.

In all likelihood Uriah was a proselyte to the Jewish faith, perhaps inspired by the life of David to do so. Eliam’s as a devout Jew would have been very careful whom he would chose for his daughter to marry. (Marriages were arranged, and not through Christian mingle dot com) That he chose a Hittite speaks volumes to the character and nobility he saw in this man. The wisdom of that choice proves itself out as Uriah shows himself to be of more noble character than that of David himself, in the few brief glimpses we have of his life. Uriah is a Hebrew name that is translated, light or flame of Yahweh, or Yahweh is my light. One of the horrible ironies of the whole David and Uriah story is that David may have murdered a man he won to the Lord. Yet David is still known as the man after God’s own heart. Today what I want to suggest to all the ladies out there, is that you don’t have to have lived a perfect life to be very special in God’s eyes. It is not how you start out that matters, but how you end up. I believe very strongly that Bathsheba also was a very special woman in God’s eyes, not because she was perfect, but like David she was a woman after God’s own heart. Her family history tells us a little about the way she probably was raised.

The second fact I want to point out, about her father, is the name Eliam chose of his daughter. Bathsheba. Bathsheba means daughter of the oath. This is either a reference to the promise to Abraham, or some thanksgiving promise made to God by her father and mother. Either way it again shines a light on the genuine faith her father had. She was raised in a home that honored God, displayed bravery against the Lord’s enemies, and was a close confidant of one of the Old Testaments greatest heroes. Birds of a feather do flock together. Eliam, was a man of God.