Did David Rape Bathsheba?

You know the story of David and Bathsheba, right?

David took a walk on his roof one afternoon, and saw Bathsheba bathing. So he had her brought to him and spent the night with her. Bathsheba sent word to David that she was pregnant. So to cover the affair, David had her husband Uriah killed in battle and quickly married Bathsheba.

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (2 Samuel 11:2-4)

David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. He wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”

And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. (2 Samuel 11:14-17)

Now, there’s been a growing interest in saying David raped Bathsheba. Some have gone as far as insisting we must interpret the story this way, or else victims of abuse will feel betrayed by the church. That sounds less like a right understanding is being drawn from the text, and more like social concerns are being imposed onto the text.

Setting aside varying definitions of rape, the Bible doesn’t say David raped Bathsheba. In fact, 1 Kings 15:5 says that David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (1 Kings 15:5)

Besides, you could make as much of a case that Bathsheba seduced David—bathing in the afternoon where she knew the king would be taking his constitutional?

You might say, “But the Bible doesn’t say that!”

Exactly.

Here’s what the Bible does say. David was a shepherd turned King of Israel. He was entrusted to shepherd the people of God, and he took another man’s wife and had that man killed. From the line of David would come the greater Shepherd King, Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for the sheep.

In mourning over his sin, David prayed, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God of my salvation,” and the Lord was merciful to him.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

         And renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence,

         And take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

         And uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

         And sinners will return to you.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,

         O God of my salvation,

         And my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. (Psalm 51:9-14)

No matter the sin—whether it’s adultery, rape, theft, or murder—forgiveness is found in Christ

…when we understand the text.

(This video is by WWUTT. Discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central.)