Episode 11.3: Wives of David, Bathsheba - Women of the Bible Series

Welcome to Episode 11 - PART 3 Bathsheba!  
We are talking about the WIVES OF DAVID!

BACKGROUND
What is the Davidic Covenant? ( found in 2 Samuel 7)

Who were David's wives?  (1 Chronicles 3, 2 Samuel; 3:2-5, 5:13-15)

In this 3-part series, we will be talking about: 

Part 1: Michal 

Part 2: Abigail

Part 3: Bathsheba - this episode!

-------------------------------------
>>> BATHSHEBA <<<

Scripture Text: 2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Kings 1:11-27, 2:13-22

We will discover that Bathsheba:
1. was caught in a sinful story with painful consequences
2. was redeemed (and her story)
3.  had significant influence
She is one of us.  Who God is to her, he is to you and me.

Her story prompts conversations about having your choice taken from you, doing the right thing but  being brought into someone's wrong thing,  mourning loss of loved ones in your life, continue living in what you never envisioned your life to be, standing for the truth and faithfulness when it is difficult.

I had a lot of assumptions about Bathsheba based on what I knew of her in David's story. But when seeing her for who she was as a women in those times, I am so sad for the loss that she experienced because of someone else's desire. But she kept on walking, kept on living, and God brought the Messiah through her.  It blows me away how he redeems the stories that totally derail. His plans will not be uprooted!

We hope it encourages you!
Much love,
Amy and Jamy


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Episode 11 (Part 1, 2, 3) ~ Wives of David, all 3!
*See episode description in the show notes and biblical texts for these stories.

1. What did you learn for the first time about these women? What surprised you about their stories with God?

2. Read Deuteronomy 17:14-20. What instructions does God give to kings? Discuss how David not following this affects his wives and children.

3. In Michal’s story we talked about how her bitterness blocked God’s blessing. How do you see that in her story? How have you learned to battle bitterness?

4. Abigail’s story has such amazing leadership lessons. What did you learn about being a humble, calm leader from her?

5. What does it mean to you to cast vision? Share a time that someone has done that for you and how it encouraged you.

6. Bathsheba’s story is so rich and messy (just like our lives). What does it mean to you that God chose her to be the wife who is the mother in the line of the Messiah? What does that tell you about God?

7. In Bathsheba’s episode, Amy mentions that each wife AND David have a “fork in the road” to either follow God or not. Where do you see that choice in their stories? What about your own life today?

8. Here are the three descriptions of David’s wives from the podcast; discuss which one resonates the most with you:

Michal: (1 Samuel 18:20-29, 19:11-17, 25:44, 2 Samuel 3:13-16, 6:16-23)

· Loved
· Was a pawn
· Despised

Abigail: (1 Samuel 25)

· Aware and acted quickly
· Wise in conflict
· Stayed Calm

Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Kings 1:11-27, 2:13-22)

· Caught in a painful story with painful consequences
· Was redeemed
· Had significant influence

9. “David’s wives are us. Who God is to her, He is to me.”  Who was God to Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba? What does that mean to you in your life today?

Transcript

Amy: 0:08

Hey everyone, welcome to Cart Chat Podcast. I'm Amy, I'm Jamy and each month we chat in my car about one woman of the Bible, and this is part three of our three part series talking about the wives of David. So if this is your first dive in to the wives of David, go back and listen to part one, where we really kind of gave a summary understanding of what the wives of David meant.

Jamy: 0:34

Yeah, because Bathsheba is the best known, but you don't want to miss Michal and Abigail Exactly.

Amy: 0:39

We talked about Michal in part one. We just talked about Abigail in part two and part three. We are talking about Bathsheba. Yes, Just in that name. I wonder if a flood of presumptions come into you.

Jamy: 0:56

Here come all the things, all the things, yes, all the things.

Amy: 0:59

So we're going to dive into her life and peel back parts of her story and see two things that she is a lot like me, yes. And who got it? We don't really want that one. We don't want that one. Sorry, I have her up to the top. I know. No, that's good. And who got?

Jamy: 1:14

it. That is true, he is to me and to you.

Amy: 1:17

And we are a community of broken yet redeemed women, and I know, I know that personally I am so broken and I forget the fact that I'm redeemed. But hopefully, as we see the broken parts of these women's stories, that we will be reaffirmed in the redemption that God brings when we have the choice to live in it and it's a core of Bathsheba.

Jamy: 1:43

It is, it's a core of her story and there's so much of God's redemption that he does, regardless of choices that were made for her, to her or by her.

Amy: 1:54

And so we are not alone in our faith and our struggle or in our growth, even though we feel like no one's around and forgive me with my voice. This is a sick season. I'm coming off as some sickness and so I'm a little horsy, but it is we are going to. We're so excited to talk about Bathsheba, so let's talk about her. Her story is rooted in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. So it's really within those two chapters of 2 Samuel, and she is the eighth wife, the last wife right Of David.

Jamy: 2:32

Well, I don't know. There were a few that I think all the wives are listed, but there's a whole lot of others. He also has concubines. And then there's other kids that go with these wives that we don't always know exactly Gosh David.

Amy: 2:47

Yeah, I was telling Jamie earlier that after the first episode of that, after really looking at Michal and Abigail and David in the story of all these things, but really as the women as a center point, I didn't necessarily heroize if that's a word David like I used to.

Jamy: 3:06

That's right, we see the parts of him that show more weakness, but we also see especially in Bathsheba's story we see repentance like nowhere else in his life and that's very important.

Amy: 3:18

Gosh, I'm telling you, if you don't think that you are worth God's redemption, hold on to this story, because this is insane.

Amy: 3:30

So let's give a little snapshot. You may already know a lot about Bathsheba, or think you know a lot about her, but let's just give a snapshot, as far as context goes, to what we're going to be diving into today. So this is 2 Samuel, 11 and 12, and here's the snapshot. Bathsheba was a daughter at Ilium and was probably of noble birth and a beautiful woman the scripture says beautiful. While her husband Uriah was away fighting in David's war and he was one in command David saw her bathing while he was on the rooftop and brought her to him Right, had sex with her and she became pregnant. David then ordered that her husband Uriah be moved to the front line of battle where he was killed.

Jamy: 4:17

Yeah, well, first he tried to get him to come home and maybe that's a whole thing. Yeah, we're going to talk about those different things because he really tried to cover that. He murders him.

Amy: 4:26

He murders him and so then he marries. He murders Uriah and then marries the widow, bathsheba, and had their first child. But because of the punishment for David's adultery and the murder of Uriah, that child dies. So then David repented of his sins and Bathsheba later gave birth to Solomon. And when David was dying, bathsheba successfully conspired with the prophet Nathan to block Adonijah. I always get that name funny. I think it's at an IJIT, but I like that At an IJIT succession to the throne and then to win the throne for Solomon. She had a really significant influence.

Jamy: 5:02

Yes, and you know that's interesting to me because that's one of the seeing her. The length of their marriage is interesting to see them still interacting when David is just about to die. She's still active and influential. I think that says a lot about the length and the totality of their marriage, even though it has a very, of course, rocky start.

Amy: 5:23

Yes, that is. I've never seen that, that end part. I don't know if I've ever studied that about her, and so I'm really excited to dive into that.

Jamy: 5:32

Even then, it's mixed reviews.

Amy: 5:33

Yeah, it is she gets one part right and one part wrong, exactly. She really occupied an influential position as the queen mother.

Jamy: 5:40

Yes, she. If you had to choose one, that was the predominant, and partly it's because she's the mother of Solomon who became king, but she had other sons too. They had there's longevity and loving commitment in this marriage, isn't that crazy.

Amy: 5:56

Okay, we're going to dive into this. The thing that I want to end with this snapshot is that Jesus Christ came through obviously David, but she was the wife. Out of all those women, she's the one. She's the one that the one of the Savior came through, which is so fascinating. Okay, an interesting fact her son, solomon, most likely, wrote Proverbs 31 about the virtuous woman.

Jamy: 6:21

Yeah, some think that it could have been about her.

Amy: 6:24

I don't think we can say that with exact, definitive, but I think that's an interesting thought, that maybe this could have been a description of a son to his mother and describing Bathsheba.

Jamy: 6:35

Yeah, we like that idea, especially because it personalizes a song, I mean a proverb that we have kind of hard time with, sometimes in a way that adding an actual person with personality and story.

Amy: 6:48

but we need to remember that about that, yeah and we're actually going to be covering the Proverbs 31 woman as a car chat in the future. The other thing that's interesting, I think, is that Psalm 51 is David's confession and that is not there's no uncertainty about that. That is definitely so write that down, psalm 51, and you will. It goes with this story. This story, yes, and it will just explode. The words of Psalm 51 in understanding the context that this is what he's responding to.

Jamy: 7:22

Yeah, because even if we don't have stories that are as graphic and horrible some do, but even if we don't have them, you know, even if we're not murdering our lovers, spouses. Still there, we have places where, when we come face to face with the ugliness of our sin and what it costs us and how it hurts God Psalm 51 is right there as a guide for us to pray through that, and I think so good.

Amy: 7:50

Put a star by that Psalm 51. Okay, three ways to describe Bathsheba. The first way she was caught in a sinful story with painful consequences. Yeah, and let's just go back through this and briefly talk about the different elements of her story. That was so sinful and really reaped some loss and grief. She is seen in verse two is very beautiful, and I never had noticed this until I was studying this this morning. She wasn't on the roof bathing, it was David who was on the roof looking. So here we go in verse.

Jamy: 8:27

Let's see how many times have you heard this story? And it's always that she's out there bathing naked.

Amy: 8:31

Shame on her On the rooftop. Okay, so listen to this in verse two One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. We learn a little bit later that she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanliness. This was a ceremonial washing ritual. It is still observed by Orthodox Jews today. She was living according to the law of Moses, which required her to wash herself monthly after her period or in the state of uncleanliness to return to a state as spiritual readiness to create life.

Jamy: 9:15

She was doing right being good.

Amy: 9:19

Y'all. She was doing what she should have done according to the law. And David sees her from the rooftop and wants her and gets her. And he's not supposed to be there. Exactly where is he supposed to be? He's supposed to be at war with his, with his army, and he stays behind. And so then we see that he tells he sent someone to find out who she was. And then he says bring her to me and slept with her. And then she sends word. And it's interesting, in verse 5, the woman conceived and sent word to David saying I am pregnant. I wonder if it was just a note. I wonder if it was just a note.

Jamy: 9:55

I mean she doesn't say we don't hear her voice in any of this, so we don't really know. And this whole situation. I know this can be some kind of triggering for some listening, but and this isn't the entirety of the point but she was quite helpless. I don't know that she would have really had much power in the decision on whether or not to sleep with David. We know from what we know about him that I don't see him as being violent or abusive toward her, but this is a very messy situation and I think some of us can understand this. You know what it's like to be maybe carried along with someone else's bad decision and not really feel like you have the right to step up there or to say no or to change the course. I think this does resonate with us and she ends up having to pay a high price for his actions.

Amy: 10:52

Ah, so messy. So that was the affair. And then there's the cover up in verses 6 through 9. We see the first time he tries to cover up, david gets Uriah, wants to get Uriah to go home so that he can sleep with his wife, so that it would cover up the fact that she's pregnant by David Such thoughtful, strategic.

Jamy: 11:13

Continuing to cover it up yes, yes, so that was the first time Exactly.

Amy: 11:17

And then Uriah does right and says I'm not going to go home and have sex with my wife.

Jamy: 11:22

And even who he is. He's one of David's, like this is like I mean here. It is almost like a cliche thing, you know, having an affair with your, with your wife's best friend, or whatever. I don't know how that, you know that's that's what this is.

Amy: 11:35

It was not an, he was not just an acquaintance, no, he was a 30-mine.

Jamy: 11:39

He's one of the 30 mighty men. It was the core warriors who were devoted to David and to his kingdom.

Amy: 11:46

Who. It just escalates this situation. So Uriah was faithful to God and the king and so he didn't go home. So then the second chance that David tried to cover up was in verse 13. He tries to get him drunk, and he does get him drunk and he says now go home to wife. But Uriah doesn't do that either. He sleeps on the porch. He sleeps on the porch. So then David's last resort to cover up his own sin is in verses 14 through 17, in which he moves Uriah to the front lines to have him killed. And he was killed. He does so. The consequences are now Bathsheba husband is dead and she's mourned him, so it makes me think that she loved him. I know I wonder because it's not explicitly stated.

Jamy: 12:33

I wondered that too. And just David's, his tarnishing of his reputation here and his leadership that he forfeits, because it's not just Bathsheba that he's leading poorly, it's his leaders, because to have Uriah killed he has to tell the other guys to leave him, to pull back, and that's true.

Amy: 12:51

He's others, his other mighty man this is.

Jamy: 12:55

This just shows that kind of ripple effect of our sinful. I mean he should have and he does, he does repent. Should have right at the start. That is a lesson.

Amy: 13:06

Yeah, the more you try to cover up, the worse it gets. So the consequences for Bathsheba is that she's mourning, in verse 26, her husband Uriah. She has left a widow and she's pregnant. And I wonder, within the in between of these verses and these words, what she was wondering, what David would do, yeah, and how is he going to? How is what's he going to do now? Well, david marries her and brings her into the palace and she has a son. Well, as far as the next part of this is where Nathan confronts right, nathan confronts and and what's kind of the summarization of that with David, I think it's because Nathan tells him this whole story.

Jamy: 13:50

He knows him so well and this is chapter 12. Yeah, he tells him a whole story, kind of using the whole shepherd idea as a story, and David's response is one of such defensiveness for the one that was wrong that he just says you were the man you did that, so he was called out on this.

Jamy: 14:07

Nathan calls him out. But David, I mean, he could have just had him killed right there. Whatever you know, same as always, just kept on. This is how God David's heart is soft enough to hear God's correction and to repent, and he does. And his continued actions and his care and his comfort of Bathsheba, I think, shows the change of heart and shows the foundation that their marriage grew into in a way that I'm sure God was going.

Amy: 14:33

So crazy? Because in verse 13 of chapter 12, and we're in second Samuel then David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord. And then Nathan says the Lord is taking your sin away, you're not going to die, but because of doing this there is consequences. You have shown utter content for the Lord and the Son born to you will die. That's where Psalm 51 is inserted, of his confession and acknowledgement and the heartbreakingness of his sinning against the Lord, but it didn't shield him from the consequence of it or the collateral damage of the people that were also part of it.

Amy: 15:17

Gosh. So then here's Bathsheba, who has had a husband die, who now is in the palace with David and has had a son. I wonder if she thought, okay, things are going to be looking up for me, yeah, maybe okay, but then her son dies. And how tragic is that? Of really no choosing of her own. She was a victim to these choices and she is left, like you said, with such collateral damage of pain and of loss. Consequences are steep.

Amy: 15:50

It is a very sinful story with very painful consequences, and I think the takeaway I get from this is that our sin choices are never without consequences, whether we see them as grand as this or as not even really being aware of how they trickle in, but just know that our sins have consequences. And I wonder if you're caught up in a sinful story that has had painful consequences and if you are, our hearts are so soft for you.

Amy: 16:29

Absolutely, and compassion, yes, and so, as you see this in Bathsheba in Scripture, I pray that you will know that God sees you, right where you are, and even though pain continues to happen to you, god is at work in the midst of this, absolutely Redeeming things, probably not how you ever would have, maybe written for yourself no, we would never choose it but how God works it to continue to accomplish this plan that can never be thwarted.

Jamy: 17:07

That's right. That's one of the things I love most about David's story, especially right here, is that the way God remembers David and talks about David and the fact that this big, big, big mistake and multiple mistakes in a row and tragic, overwhelming, just catastrophic sin, it doesn't change God's promise for him to him, over him. The only thing that changes is David's response. David can choose and to drag Bathsheba along with him to stay belligerent and sinful and bitter and against and dig his heels in and demand his own way. And he doesn't. He goes to God with a heart that is broken and contrite. Psalm 51 says just willing to be open and broken before the Lord, and God heals it gladly. And I think Bathsheba, she's carried along with David's sin but she's also a part, I think, of his redemption and the wholeness that comes with that. I mean, we're each responsible for repenting of our own individual sin, but I think in this story we can see the ripple effects in both ways.

Jamy: 18:22

His healing prompted her healing as well, because it didn't continue to perpetuate the broken parts of their marriage and their story and their lives are knitted together in this way and continue to be to the end, in a way that the other wives aren't Exactly.

Amy: 18:37

I wonder where Abigail was the midst of all this. Where was she to stop David from being stupid? But we see that Bathsheba was caught in the sinful story with painful consequences. We also, number two, see that her story was redeemed and I just love that she was loved by David, that she in verse 24, solomon was born and he would be the next king and it's through his lineage that Jesus came. It's just so beautiful and for me and I want to know how you draw a connection between her story being redeemed and real life, but for me it's life is not necessarily easy, pretty or pain-free because of our brokenness and the brokenness of others that God is always working and will always bring about his plan in the midst of the pain and the loss.

Jamy: 19:35

Yes, he doesn't expect us to be perfect, to behave perfectly. He knows we can't. I don't think that's really an expectation he has. I think he does hold up. The ideal of this is how my people should be. I know that you can't be, and so I am with you. I am giving you everything you need to keep listening, keep obeying me and then eventually, with Jesus, because of Jesus, we have new identity where we can be full of the Holy Spirit and walk in relationship with God because of the work of Jesus. And we see kind of the backward view of that, like the it's coming view, when we look at this and we have that beautiful sight to be able to look at this story and see the gospel. But it is right here and David is one of the people in scripture that illustrates it the most and this big fall that Bathsheba is a part of is just kind of the platform, some of the ground that those gospel seeds are grown in, gosh that's so good the ground that the gospel seeds are grown in.

Amy: 20:35

That is really good, and probably in the way that she mothers Solomon, who then generationally parents and leads his family and families and families and families do trickle down to that.

Jamy: 20:52

God's grace is sufficient through all of their mistakes.

Amy: 20:55

I mean it so is and it's so beautiful to know that really there's nothing beyond what God can redeem. And we see that so beautifully shown in the life of David and Bathsheba. And I think again, we saw in Michael the choice that she had the fork in the road. We saw Abigail the choice that she had the fork of the road and in this story I see, and maybe you can see it in Bathsheba, but I see that David, the choice he had when confronted with his sin. He had a choice and he chose to be broken and sorrowful and contrite and confess and turn away from that. And we all have that choice. Was there any choice that you saw, bathsheba? I guess someones that maybe not have been illuminated.

Jamy: 21:43

Yeah, I think we don't see, we don't hear her voice till later, we don't really see her choices, but I think, from the examples we've had before, I think there is an assumption of her cooperation in what happens with David and the way David continues on in his leadership and ministry and his reign. That I think, shows she stayed close to him, stayed close to God. Again, we don't see statement big statements of faith, necessarily, but we do see courage in her and both with what she's endured, what she's weathered, but also how she does stand up and advocate for her son in the future.

Amy: 22:21

Yeah, that's so good. So let's go on to the third one. She had significant influence. So, jamie, speak into what that looks like, as we kind of fast forward and jump into first Kings, yeah in first Kings we see much later and David is pretty much bedridden.

Jamy: 22:36

He's sick, older and sick, and so he still has some influence. But there's things that are happening, especially because he has all these crazy and ruly sons who've been trying to kill him for years Now. They're kind of jockeying for position and so one of them basically says I'm the king and he works it all out and has like his own coronation, and Bathsheba and Nathan helped to say to go to David to try to protect Solomon's reign, because David has already promised, it's already clear that it should come through Solomon and but they're about to lose that and I think there's a lot of risk here. She's taking a lot of risk because she and Nathan are both really strategic and wise and how they go to David to try to protect Solomon's reign or whatever his becoming king.

Amy: 23:29

You see that in first Kings 11 through 27. She respectfully reminds him of his word Don't forget, you told me. You said this she presents the facts and then she knows when to shut up. She closes with vulnerability and not weakness. And so if you read back through that, versus 11 through 27, you can see the influence that is really wise. In keeping David to his word, david had a lot of people and women keep him on track.

Jamy: 23:58

Yes, and I think what we see something we can think about with her the way she wisely handles him is that she knows him well and he knows her, and I think that speaks to probably what has happened throughout the years. But she says please don't forget, this is what you promised your son, this is what we have planned, this is what we're God has led us. Don't let this go to the side because you don't realize that this is happening. This is happening. That's good, and there's sometimes. We need to be able to say that, lovingly and respectfully. You are missing something. You were in charge of this, this is yours to lead and you're missing something. That's happening and it's gonna, you're gonna miss a chance to be obedient. I think that's what she's telling him, and we have that opportunity sometimes too. But if we haven't known well and been known well and been respectful and loving, we lose our credibility to be able to do that, and I think that's what we see her getting to do here that is so good.

Amy: 24:54

She had significant influence. But then we see, in First Kings two does she turn that a little bit in her influence.

Jamy: 25:02

Yes, it turns. This time it's to Solomon, it's not to David, it's to her son. And I think it's a big difference how she handles her husband. It differs from how she handles her son. I think she jumps into a situation with her son where she's been kind of it's inflated her ego that she's been asked to intervene on someone else's behalf and she goes to Solomon but she doesn't know the whole picture. And Solomon says Do you not see what you've asked me to do? Because in asking me of this and you guys can look and read the whole story in asking me of this, you're actually giving this other guy the upper hand and we've worked so hard to not let that guy have the upper hand. Remember when you went to our father and and advocated on my behalf? And now you're undoing that work because you're manipulating instead of following the right leadership.

Jamy: 25:48

That's so good I think that's in a chord. In a nutshell, yeah, and oh my goodness, that definitely happens to us at the time.

Amy: 25:52

I know the influence that we can have and how quickly we could take one situation and handle it really well and then turn around the next time and maybe even when it deals with our children, handle that kind of influence so much different, so differently.

Jamy: 26:07

And one of the things I learned from that is considering the outcome. Am I looking for my own way, what I want to happen? Am I looking for me to be elevated or at the end of this, will God be the one that's elevated? And sometimes, if we can trace that back, kind of imagine the outcome and then go back to our motives, that helps us know she should have stayed silent with Solomon.

Amy: 26:27

Or she should have stayed silent.

Jamy: 26:28

Or she should have just gone to him and said, hey, this guy asked me for this, but you need to know he's asking and I know we're not going to do it.

Amy: 26:33

Maybe something more. That's so good, that's something that we'll just let stay there and see how the Lord riddles that into your own heart. I'm going to be thinking about that one for a while. That one's pretty tricky Women have great influence, but if we're not teched up under Jesus it will be destructive.

Jamy: 26:50

I love that. That's something my mom says she always talks about having. I don't remember when she first taught me but that imagery of staying teched up under Jesus. I always think of her and her instruction to me. That's where we need to stay. Our thoughts, our motives, everything that our ambitions, they've got to stay teched up under Jesus, tight under that's an important thing for us to remember in our influence. I mean, you can think you have no influence. That's fine. If you think that you can think little of yourself, it's a lie, because we all have great influence and the way that we are exerting it really, really, really matters, and we learned that from Vashiba.

Amy: 27:31

We do. We learned that from Bathsheba. Who was she? She was caught in a sinful story with painful consequences. Her story was redeemed and she had significant influences, influence that she used in a variety of ways. Yes, and who God was to her. And I'm curious what do you say, Jamy, who God was to her?

Jamy: 27:52

God saw her through. I wish that we knew more. I think some of her silence is a little bit frustrating to me. I wish we knew more, but she was the way she entered the story and the longevity she has in the story to me shows that God was with her and gave her what she needed for a long lifetime of influence. I think some of these you know some of the parts of the story we just get like they're one big moment and that's it. But I think Vashiba had a longer influence and I just I always get so carried into gratitude when I consider this like go back to Matthew one and the women who were listed in Jesus, jesus heritage and the fact that Bathsheba is one of them.

Jamy: 28:39

I always think of the same way with Rahab and with Ruth and even Tamar and Leah. I mean the women that are part of that story and the way that God chose that so differently. He did not choose these women based on their great performance or their bloodlines or their faith even. He chose them in this beautiful way of redeeming and bringing outsiders in so that they could be a part of this story. That is all about him and it shows his greatness, but it also shows his tenderness toward all of us and the way that he.

Jamy: 29:17

You know, if it were up to me, you know, or up to the way the stories go, it should have been Rachel over Leah, right, yeah, you know that doesn't make sense. It shouldn't have been Rahab at all or Ruth. I mean there's, you know, when it comes to Rahab or Ruth, it just would have been some really nice, good Jewish girl back at the camp. You know, it wouldn't have been them if we had just defined it the way we do when we look at the outside and we look at the performance and we think these are the ones that are worthy of being in the mothers of the Messiah and Bathsheba is.

Jamy: 29:46

she's one of those. It should have been Abigail, right, right, if you're just going by good behavior and good, good background. What Bathsheba? What she lost in so much of her story, but also, I think, her endurance to stay faithful to David, is pretty profound and a part of such a sweetness that God chose her to be the one. Gosh her endurance.

Amy: 30:10

And I honestly have never extended her story into the first Kings, into how she handled the whole situation with the dying David and then with Solomon.

Jamy: 30:24

She had to have influence because he wouldn't have come to her and asked her if she did it because they had a whole plan to save, to save the, the, the. I mean this, and this is God's promise that this Davidic dynasty is coming. They know this and so much is at stake and she had the voice and the influence even then.

Amy: 30:44

That's crazy. That is something that we can rest in and trust that, regardless of how we start, as we lean in and stay tucked under Jesus, that he will see us through, yes, and that his plan will be accomplished, yes, and that will be our lives, but then overarkingly, in the glory of himself, absolutely, and if we can humble ourselves enough to acknowledge and accept that, ladies, we will be in such a good place.

Jamy: 31:20

Yeah, that's the right place. It's the right place to be and there's freedom because we're free from expectations of our performance, like like, like what we were just talking about, and trying to just always be the good girl. We can kind of let go of that and just be his and walk in the overflow of that.

Amy: 31:36

You know, when you said that, I think about what if we were all sitting at a table and we've done this before, as we thought back over 2022, I mean 2023, but what if we had the wives of David all at a table? And especially, there was what you talked about what if we had Michael sitting here and we had Abigail sitting here at Bathsheba? They're so different, yes, and they made different choices. Yeah, and I just wonder what that conversation would be like. But I hope that through these three parts that we've walked through together and the wives of David, that you get a better sense of who these women were and have been able to discover that they are one of us and who God is to her. He is to us Y'all. Thank you so much for listening and really, this concludes our special three part series on the wives of.

Amy: 32:29

David, and we will see you next month on Part Chat Podcast.