Bible History Unmasked: Pt 4: Bathsheba: From Scandal to Queen Mother

0:10 Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and this is Faith on the Go, where you take the word with you on your drive to work, while you're getting ready in the morning, or even in those quiet moments before prayer. Real life, real word, and real growth, all while you are on the go. Before we get into today's word, let's take a moment to center ourselves with a familiar prayer. The prayer of Jabez, oh, that you will bless me indeed and enlarge my territory. Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

0:55 Father God, we come before you this day asking that you will indeed bless us, not just with what we have, but in who we are becoming. Enlarge our territory, Lord. Expand our capacity, our mindset, and our ability to receive what you have for us. Let your hand be upon us, guiding us, covering us, and leading us in every decision we make. And Father, keep us from harm, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, that we may walk in peace and not in pain. And Lord, just as you heard Jabez when he cried out to you, hear us now.

1:35 Your word says that you granted his request, and we believe that you are the same God today. So we come boldly before you, knowing that you hear us, knowing that you see us, and knowing that you respond to the prayers of your people. Have your way in this moment as we sit, listen, and receive your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Hello and welcome back to Bible History Unmasked. And today we're going to close out the Bathsheba story.

2:20 Not in scandal, not in shame, but in power. Bathsheba became a powerful woman. She became what we call the Queen Mother. So today's title is Bathsheba, the Queen Mother and the Fall of Anonijah. We had to add him in there because he was a threat to the throne. And as a mom, I want to show you how she responded, how Bathsheba responded, you know? And so today we understand that they gave her an identity in scripture, Bathsheba. And I can't pronounce the name, but it's Nagisha. And it means the mother, the queen mother of Israel.

3:00 And at the moment, Andonijah, David's ambitious son from another mother, makes one final move to seize the throne. But he loses his life because of it. We heard that in the last episode that Solomon said, if you're going to behave, behave. If you're not, you're going to die. So Solomon kept his word that he wasn't going to play no more games with him. He gave him grace. He gave him mercy. But at the end of the day, it was like, okay, you're playing too many games and I have to protect my throne. So at this time in the history, Bathsheba is alive. Solomon is alive. Adonijah is alive. David is now passed on. Solomon is sitting on the throne, but the kingdom is still fragile. Why?

3:44 Because Adonijah, David's older brother, had already tried to take the throne. We read that in 1 Kings 1, verse 5 to 10. And Solomon spared him saying this. He says, if he proves himself worthy, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground. That's in 1 Kings 1, 52. But Anijah ambition did not die. He just waited. Think about some of the the characteristics of his dad. They show up in his sons, both good and both bad. Let's take it back a step to find out how Anijah and Bishon didn't die. He was still plotting to take the throne. Go to 1 Kings 1.

4:28 Let's read verses 1 through 4. We read it before, but I want to tell you a little bit more about it. So it says, Now King David was old and stricken in years, and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let thou be sought for my lord the king, a young virgin, and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, and thy lord the king may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel and found a bishop, a bishop, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair and cherished the king and ministered to him, but the king knew her not. So we know this is a time that, David just needed the body. He wasn't looking for any type of other relationship.

5:18 But part of being an Ashaq, Ashaq was just not a random girl. She was treated as part of David's harem. King David had a harem and she was also treated as a royal concubine. So she was pretty much the property of David. And so that makes, you know, the scripture makes it clear that when you take a former king's concubine, you are actually claiming the throne. And so let's talk about this pattern that we see in the Bible. I'm not going to go to those scriptures, but maybe we should. This one's found in 2 Samuel 3, 7. Just examples of what happened when you try to take the throne. It's Ishabith that accuses Abner of trying to take Saul's throne by taking his concubines. That's one fact.

6:05 The next one we see, and this is from Solomon's other brother, from Haggath, that other mother, 2 Samuel 16, 20-22, it says Absalom sleeps with David's concubine to claim queenship. And so messing with the king's concubine is instead trying to take over the kingdom because that was a boundary. That's not what you touch. So when Ananias asked for a bishop, he is not asking for romance. He is asking for royal legitimacy. He is asking for the throne. So let's go here and find out what happened to Adonijah. First Kings chapter 2, and we're going to start in verse 13 to 18.

6:49 And it reads, And Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, and she said, Come and thou peacefully. And he said, Peacefully? He said, And moreover, I have something to say unto thee. And she said, say on. Because now he's coming and saying, I got something to say to you. And she said, come to me peacefully. And he's like, what? What you want, because that right there starts to think, because, you know, mother's intuition, we start to say that, what? You just try to take the throne. You want me to come to you peacefully when you were already not peacefully in the beginning? And so let's go to verse 14. He said, Moreover, I have someone to say to thee. And she said, Say on.

7:30 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign, albeit the kingdom is turned about and became my brothers, for it was his from the Lord. And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, say on. Verse 17, and he says, speak, I pray thee unto Solomon the king, for he will not say thee nay. And he give me. Ashabashah, the Shunammite to wipe. So he's asking Bathsheba to go before the king to ask that you give the concubine to him.

8:12 See, he's still slithering around doing stuff, but this is Bible. It's like a soap opera almost. And Bathsheba said, well, I will speak for thee unto the king. Think about this. You got a brother already from another mother and he's still slithering around the throne trying to figure a way to get the throne. And he's thinking that Bathsheba doesn't know the plan. He's like, okay, say on, say on. And you already know Bathsheba, if she's a patriot, she was a matriarch. She already know what this was about. But she played as cool. So Adonai approached Bathsheba and said, please ask King Solomon.

8:52 He will not refuse you to give me Abishah, the Shunammai, as my wife. Why Bathsheba? Because Bathsheba is the queen mother. She has royal access, political influence, the king's ear, and the authority of the throne behind her. Adonai knows Solomon will listen to her. This is a political move, not a personal one. But Sheba responds with diplomacy. Very well, I will speak to the king for you. She does not see the danger, but Solomon will. And I thought she saw it, but apparently it looks like she didn't, but I think she did. She knew something was up. She didn't say yes right away. She went and spoke to Solomon.

9:34 Let's go to verse 19. But she therefore went into King Solomon to speak unto him for Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her, bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother. And she sat on his right hand. And then she said, I desire one petition of thee, I pray thee, say not nay. And the king said unto her. Ask on my mother, for I will not say thee nay. And she said, Let Abishah the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, thy brother to wife. And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishah the Shunammite for Adonijah?

10:20 Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is mine elder brother, even for him and for Abtah the priest and for Joab the son of Zerah. Then King Solomon sweared by the Lord saying, go do so to me and more also. If Ananias have not spoken this word against his own life. She went in there and she asked. And then Solomon says, are you serious, mom? How did you, why do you want to do this? And he said, he has spoken against his own life. We see here in 1 Kings 2.19 that the king rose to meet her mom. Bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne.

11:01 And he had a seat brought for a king's mother, so she sat on his right hand. This is the highest honor any woman receives in the Israel monarchy. Think about that. Her story started out as being sent for, but it ends being the mother of the king. See what happens when we don't quit, when we don't give up. You never know what God has in store for us. We see here in Jeremiah 38, we got these descriptions. Say to the king and the queen mother, queen mother travels with royal authority. Queen mother can remove for idolatry. Queen mother can hold official power. So we're looking for Bathsheba, who now is not that person that David snatched up and caused her to have a child within her marriage.

11:52 She's now what you call a royal matriarch. She is now seated at the right hand of the king. And so Bathsheba tells Solomon, Adonijah has asked for Abishah the Shunammite. Solomon faced changes. He sees what Bathsheba did not. And this is Solomon's response in verse 22. And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishah the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also. Are you giving him that? You want him to have the kingdom too? For he is my elder brother, even for him and for Athar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruah. He has not forgotten.

12:36 It was like, you're going to ask for him for the king also? I mean, are you giving him the legal authority to just ask you any old thing, mom? Ananias was requesting behind Solomon's back that he would claim the throne. In verse 24, I love this. It says, And therefore, as the Lord liveth, which has established me and set me on the throne of David, my father, who has. Made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah should be put to death this day. Wow. The Lord has established me and set me on the throne of David, my father. And Ananias' request is his second rebellion.

13:19 It was a challenge to God's covenant, and it was a threat to nation's stability. So Solomon must act. Let's see what happens in verse 225. And King Solomon sent by the hand of Ananias, the son of Jehoiah, and he fell upon him. And he died. Ananias died because he violated Solomon's mercy. He attempted a second coup. He used Bathsheba's influence to seize power, and he tried to claim the throne through Abishai. He challenged God's chosen king. See why we love Solomon? Solomon didn't play around anymore. He gave him mercy, and then he said, no, you got to go. This is political treason, of theological rebellion.

14:06 And Bathsheba's request, spoken in innocence, revealed her power. Her voice carried world authority. Her presence commanded the honor of the king, and her influence shaped the destiny of Israel. So what happened here, we see that Abinijah thought that Bathsheba didn't know, or wasn't understanding, and we see a little bit that she didn't know, but Solomon understood when he was placing that in that position. Remember, if you go back to Chronicles, God gave him wisdom. There was an incident where Solomon had to choose money or wisdom and he chose wisdom. And so that wisdom is showing up here, right here, right now in front of our eyes.

14:49 We don't know a lot about what happened after Bathsheba because we know her story gave birth to Solomon and most of the stories about Solomon. We talked a lot about Bathsheba and I wanted to do that. But let's keep going. After this moment, Bathsheba, he's not, she disappears from scripture. But her legacy is unmistakable. She secured Solomon's throne in 1 Kings 1. She was honored by Solomon in 1 Kings 2.19. She sat at the king's right hand and that's 1 King of Solomon. Moved over, verse King, yep, 19, and she became a matriarch to the Davidic line. And then scripture gives us one more detail, one that reaches all the way into the New Testament. That's still in Matthew 1, 6. Don't you love a good story?

15:33 She came to him and asked him for a question, and he got a little mad at his mother, but at the end of the day, he said, okay, he's dying right now. He's playing games. And we see here, and remember we talked about the genealogy, how important those And it says, And Jesse begat David the king, and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah. So Bathsheba is named in the genealogy of Jesus. Her story begins in pain, but ends in power, honor, and redemption. She becomes part of the lineage of the Messiah himself. An Ethiopian tradition remembers her as Nagesha, mother of the Solomonic dynasty.

16:15 The royal line that traces its heritage back to Solomon and forward into Ethiopian history. Bathsheba's last appearance in scripture is not a whisper, it is a coronation. She rises from ashes of scandal to sit at the right hand of the king, the queen's mother of Israel, the woman whose voice could shake the kingdom, and the matriarch through whom God builds a dynasty that would change the world. That she was a queen mother. Hallelujah. She did her thing. And I wanted to give her honor for doing that. Because once you read her story, it would have been too much to put in one episode and not enough to put in two.

16:59 And so let's talk about her story. About the way they whitewash her when you read about her. She is often blamed for sexualized while David abuses power and softened. So we know that she was, when we read her story, if we stop at her story and what happened in 2 Samuel, we never get to see her full power, her full strength, and her full restoration. We understand that the world blames women, but the Bible exposes kings. And we now know that, I say it twice because I want you to get it in your heart, that she is a direct line. Solomon came through Bathsheba. And Bathsheba is a David and then Jesus, right? So she's in that lineage because she gave birth to Solomon.

17:46 How powerful is that? And that about wraps it up for Bathsheba. I hope you enjoyed it. Our next person we're going to cover is going to be Uriah. Why not cover him? He is part of the storyline. And we're going to learn a lot about who he was and his heart and why his name is mentioned and how God won't ever let his name just die. Just because David married Bathsheba, she was the wife of Uriah. That doesn't go away. And so I'm your host, Connie Morris. And this has been the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'll see you on the next episode where we study, Uriah. Before we close today, I don't want to take for granted that everyone listening knows Jesus personally.

18:32 If you have listened to this episode or any other episodes and felt something stirring in your heart, maybe you know about God, but you're not sure you truly know Him. Maybe you grew up in church, walked away, got hurt, became tired, and never fully surrendered your life to Jesus. I want you to know this. God loves you. He has not forgotten you. He is not waiting to shame you. He is calling you home. The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, if you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Salvation is not about being perfect.

19:14 It's about surrendering to the one who is perfect. Jesus died for your sins, rose again, and made a way for you to be forgiven, restored, and made new. So right where you are, you can pray this prayer with me. Lord Jesus, I come to you today with an open heart. I believe you are the son of God. I believe you died on the cross for my sins. And I believe that God raised you from the dead today. I confess that I need you. I repent of my sins. I ask you to forgive me, cleanse me, and make me brand new. Jesus, come into my heart. Be my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my King.

19:56 I surrender my life to you. I give you my past, my present, and my future. Teach me how to walk with you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Lead me in truth, healing, obedience, and love. From this day forward, I belong to you. In Jesus' name, amen. If you pray that prayer from your heart, I want you to know that heaven has heard you. This is not the end. This is only the beginning of your walk with Jesus. Find a Bible-believing church, begin reading the word of God, pray daily, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow. God is not looking for perfection from you. He is inviting you into relationship, transformation, and eternal life.

20:39 Through Jesus Christ. And remember, you are loved, you are not forgotten, and God still has a purpose for your life. Thank you for listening to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. Until next time, keep walking in truth, faith, and freedom. Family, thank you for spending time with me today. To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked, or pushed aside, hear me clearly. God has not forgotten you, and neither have I.

21:20 Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God. Because someone out there needs this reminder today. Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity.

22:00 Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us. You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts. When we feel overlooked, remind us you still see us. When we feel forgotten, remind us you still have a plan. And when we feel hidden, remind us you are still working. Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now. Hear us. Strengthen us. Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart, not halfway, not sometimes, but fully.

22:45 And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place. Even the hidden mind. Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken, and remind us that nothing in our lives is wasted in your hand. Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen. This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I'll see you on the next episode.