Guest Blogger ... Dena Dyer

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Failures as Fodder--Bathsheba

Scripture: Abridged from 2 Samuel 12 (CEV)

And he sent Nathan the prophet to tell this story to David: “A rich man and a poor man lived in the same town. The rich man owned a lot of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap. The lamb was like one of his own children. One day someone came to visit the rich man, but the rich man didn't want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle and serve it to the visitor. So he stole the poor man's little lamb and served it instead.”
David was furious with the rich man and said to Nathan, "I swear by the living LORD that the man who did this deserves to die! And because he didn't have any pity on the poor man, he will have to pay four times what the lamb was worth."

Then Nathan told David: “You are that rich man! Now listen to what the LORD God of Israel says to you: "I chose you to be the king of Israel. I kept you safe from Saul and even gave you his house and his wives. I let you rule Israel and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much more. Why did you disobey me and do such a horrible thing? You murdered Uriah the Hittite by having the Ammonites kill him, so you could take his wife.”

"Because you wouldn't obey me and took Uriah's wife for yourself, your family will never live in peace. Someone from your own family will cause you a lot of trouble, and I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes. He will go to bed with them while everyone looks on. What you did was in secret, but I will do this in the open for everyone in Israel to see."

David said, "I have disobeyed the LORD."

"Yes, you have!" Nathan answered. "You showed you didn't care what the LORD wanted. He has forgiven you, and you won't die. But your newborn son will." Then Nathan went back home. The LORD made David's young son very sick.

So David went without eating to show his sorrow, and he begged God to make the boy well. David would not sleep on his bed, but spent each night lying on the floor. His officials stood beside him and tried to talk him into getting up. But he would not get up or eat with them.

After the child had been sick for seven days, he died… David comforted his wife Bathsheba and slept with her. Later on, she gave birth to another son and named him Solomon.

Devotional:

Bathsheba’s life could be considered a failure. After all, she slept with King David while her husband was at war, had a child from the illicit affair, and married David after he had her husband killed.

When their sins were exposed, Bathsheba and David repented, but their child became sick and died. The scriptures don’t tell us much about how Bathsheba felt, but as a mother, she had to be devastated.

But God wasn’t done with Bathsheba. She bore Solomon, whom David chose to succeed him. And Solomon went on to build the temple, fulfilling a promise God had given to David. In Proverbs, we see Bathsheba again, advising Solomon on the qualities of a virtuous wife. (She even advises him, speaking out of her own experience: “Don't waste your life chasing after women! This has ruined many kings.”)

Even more amazing, Solomon and the entire lineage of David were the ancestors of Jesus Christ, God’s own son. What the world saw as failure, God saw as fodder.

Bathsheba’s story proves that God redeems even the most heinous sin. He loves to restore and rebuild, and His word is the only final word in our lives. So don’t let your past hold you back. God is not done with you, either.
God can even use your failures as fodder in the parenting process. Jinny, a mom of two tweens, shares openly with them about the difficulties she experienced in childhood, and talks about how God used those hard things to form her character.

Jinny notes, “As parents, we can brush a nostalgic patina over our childhood stories, playing up our successes and omitting the struggles. When our kids do have a problem, they wonder why they are struggling when we never did.”

”What I have found is that when I vulnerably share with my children about a fear I had or how I dealt with a bully in the 4th grade, there is much more openness on their part to learn what God taught me through that challenge.”

She notes that children are constantly seeking the answer to the question, "How do I do life?" Jinny says, “When we would rather look good than be honest, we are feeding our kids a false formula--which they will eventually figure out and walk away from in frustration.”

”Part of being an ethical Christian parent is admitting that we need grace as much as our children do and we always have. We don't exact perfection from our children by telling them how perfect we were. That only serves to discourage them. They already have a heart to please us, and we have to take the utmost care in nurturing that heart toward the things of God. We are not perfect--but He is.”

Think it Over:

--What personal failures haunt you?

--Do you believe God can redeem them?

--How have you grown in character as a result of failing?

--In what ways can the story of Bathsheba encourage you?

See the former things have taken place, and new things I declare: before they spring into being I announce them to you.
Isaiah 42:9, NIV

Mothers of the Bible is a collection of a month's worth of devotionals based on the lives of 24 biblical moms like Mary, Rebekah and Rachel. Readers will find scripture and brief biographies, along with thought-provoking application questions and inspirational takeaways.

Dena says, "I learned so much while writing this book. I never realized that biblical moms struggled with the exact same issues facing moms today. Rachel, Hannah and Sarah dealt with infertility. Eunice was a single mom. Eve lost a child, and Naomi lost a spouse. Leah felt unloved, Hagar felt rejected, and Job's wife felt abandoned by God. I'm honored to share their stories. My goal with the book is to point mothers to the God who longs to meet them in the midst of their circumstances, just as He did for moms in the Bible."

Mothers of the Bible is priced low so churches and groups can purchase multiple copies for their members. It makes an excellent gift for Mother's Day or other special occasions. Go here to purchase!

And to find out more about Dena or to sign up for her monthly "Faith Lifts" devotional, visit http:www.denadyer.com.

posted by Margaret McSweeney @ 4:43 AM