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3. He sees a beautiful woman bathing. Is she setting herself up for the king? My girlfriend is often the toughest critic on other women; I was taught in the 1970s that women's motives were pure and right, and that they should be awarded a "preferential option" because they had a history of victimization. My girlfriend cuts through all that ideology and says, 'Women are looking for it, too. Men who are visible public figures need to be on their guard.' So, maybe Bathsheba is "looking" for something, too. Indeed, it is rare that something will happen if both aren't "willing," to a certain degree. There isn't evidence of "force" used here, though regnal accoutrements can be powerful. David indeed will bear the brunt of the judgment when the story unfolds, but we forget sometimes that Bathsheba loses her husband in the fighting. She will face uncertainties in the future.

4. David takes the next step by sending for her. Even though David had already "gone too far" by letting another rhythm into his life, he still could have drawn back from the precipice. But that drawing back is only, in my mind, a rather intellectual issue. In fact, once the train of lust has left the station, it wants to hurtle to its appointed destination. David could only draw back from the perspective of the reader of the story; he is already "gone" in his own mind. His neural circuits have become so busy and occluded that he can remember nothing of who he is, the responsibilities that are his, the way that things can get out of control, the possible consequences of his action. Lust is eating his heart and tenting his garments; he really must act on it. He is the king, and so he uses his power to make sure that a meeting happens. He has all the cards, and he knows perfectly how to play them. In brief and telling statements, he calls, she comes, they have sex together and she returns. The staccato-like descriptive verbs are only broken by an explanatory sentence--that she was in the time after her menstrual cycle. Ah, the author is already "warning" the reader that some trouble might be coming. But David presses on; he really has no choice.

5. After lust acts, it actually becomes a very dull and uninteresting feeling to examine. It just explodes, literally and figuratively, and then a dullness or lethargy sets in, after an initial period of satisfaction. While lust is 'ramping up,' there is little else that occupies the person's mind, but after the release of the lust, there is little of the old lust that remains. Lust shrinks away like fetid water that goes down the drain. Yet it leaves its stench and ring around the tub. Lust leaves but is replaced by congeries of emotions, ranging from disgust to the inklings of concern to the need to cover something up. The act has been done, and now something else results. The first thing, in fact, that results, is a feeling that one has "gotten away" with something. Look, there is no immediate judgment of God. Nothing has "changed" in the order of the universe. The late afternoon sun has turned to a brilliant orange sheen in the Western sky. The normal sights and sounds of Jerusalem at work fill the evening hours. The thought comes over the person committing the act that perhaps he will get away with it. There really is no way to hold him "accountable" for it; lust has to pay no one for travelling along its tollway. All of this probably is to be understood as the "story underneath" the brief words: "Then she returned to her house" (v. 4).

6. Then comes the bad news--a child will be born to you. It is interesting that lust's payment is the same as love's payment--the announcement of a child, but lust's reaction is diametrically opposite to love's. Love wants to publicize; indeed it is a struggle to "keep the news quiet." Lust, on the other hand, needs to hide. It cannot let it be known that it is responsible for something. It may eventually be smoked out, as it was with Governor Sanford of SC or Governor Spitzer of NY (Senator Ensign of NV at least showed us that lust doesn't just grip state officials), but at this stage of the game, lust has to keep quiet. Bathsheba sends a note to David that she is pregnant. Oops. Not what was anticipated. But, because David is king, he can "handle" this one.

One more essay completes my thoughts.

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