The violence in this text and much of the bible is symptomatic of the barbarity of the times. God met folk where they were and they were in the Iron Age. Three thousand years later we haven’t learned that power to hurt and kill is not strength; it does not last and does not bring happiness. In this city plagued with murderous violence and sexual assault God is still trying to show the Davids of the world that they cannot do whatever they want just because they have power. There is seemingly no end to those who use their power against others. I wonder how many Nathans there are, willing to stand up and say that what you have done is wrong; you can’t do whatever you want to people.
“She was a stranger in a strange land, her husband was away fighting the king’s war and the king took her, used her, raped her and tried to discard her.”
Excuse me. Just where in the text does it say that David raped Bathsheba? David schemes, plots and covers up. He plays the part of an Oriental monarch with plenty of wives, but all that is fairly set out in the text. But I don’t see rape and force and the text does not record Bathsheba’s protests. If one is going to argue from silence then a fair inference is that Bathsheba was complicit in the affair. She didn’t tell Uriah what David had done to her and she appears to have gone willingly to David after the death of Uriah.
That being said I think that this episode captures the reality of power politics both then and now.
Very good point #1.
I’d be interested in Rep. Akin’s take on the affair.