Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 36:4 (Autumn 2022)
Article: Vindicating Bathsheba
Author: Amanda Pence

PP 36:4 (Autumn 2022) p. 3

Vindicating Bathsheba

Amanda Pence

Amanda Pence is pursuing an MA in Bible exposition from Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. She has volunteered at her church in various capacities, including children’s minstry, small group teaching and administration, missions, and service on the deacon board and business committee. As a student paper competition winner, Amanda read her article at CBE’s 2022 International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.

1 Samuel 2:31

The evangelical church is in an “age of reckoning.”2 Russell Moore described the recently revealed sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention as an “apocalypse.”3

How did we get here? In recent years, some sources have explored powerful celebrity pastors who have abused and controlled others for their own fame and fortune.4 In hindsight, we can often see a lack of character in certain aspects of their lives.5 However, in light of the revelation of sexual abuse by leaders who, seemingly, acted as though they were truly devoted to the Lord, we must grapple with the reality that no one is immune from sin.6 The Bible tells us about a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14, cf. Acts 13:22) who committed these same abuses of power: David.

¹Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.

²Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. ³So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. ⁵The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “I am pregnant.” (