The Peace Child

“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ: …David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” Matthew 1:1&6

Go ahead and pin on the scarlet letter. Known best for her fling with the king, Bathsheba’s name is almost always associated with adultery.  Her infamous rooftop bath inspired a royal summons and an immoral rendezvous, and when Bathsheba turned up pregnant, David turned on the cover-up.  After the “come home from battle and be with your wife!” didn’t work on her soldier-husband, Uriah, David resorted to a war-zone murder and a shotgun wedding with the grieving widow. 

Soon after their son was born, David was confronted with his sin, and though his honest confession was followed by gracious forgiveness, the consequences were severe.  The baby died, and Bathsheba was devastated.  The sin of adultery, the shame of the pregnancy, sadness for her husband, and sorrow for her son shattered her soul with regret and remorse. Bathsheba desperately wanted to turn back time, but she could not. 

But what Bathsheba couldn’t relive, God could redeem, and He did. He blessed her with another baby and sent the child a special name, Jedidiah, which means “loved by the Lord.”  Though David had several other wives and many other sons, God chose this little one to become the next king of Israel and be part of His holy heritage. We know the baby by his nickname, Solomon, which comes from the Hebrew word for peace—shalom. This screaming, squirming infant was the peace child who stilled his parents’ troubled souls. His birth was the comforting confirmation that God’s current grace does not depend on our previous performance.  What used to be doesn’t determine what has to be.  Our faults and failures, before and beyond, crash into love at the manger and grace at the cross, and we are given peace—The Prince of Peace.

Bathsheba “had been Uriah’s wife.”  David had been God’s special monarch.  Together they made a royal mess, but God took their history and made it His story. He gave them a baby who brought peace to their past and hope for their future, and through that child, He gave us One too.