Burning with passion, David, the second king of Israel left the rooftop of his palace and walked briskly, descending the steps that led inside. It was late in the afternoon and the weather was cool which was why he went for a walk on the rooftop in the first place. He had been in his bedchamber, resting. When he eventually got up, he considered either walking in the large garden or on the rooftop as the weather was too nice for him to remain indoors; he chose the latter, where he had just seen a beautiful woman bathing.
Who was she? David wondered. The middle-aged king was handsome, well-muscled and of an average height.
It was spring, the time when kings went to war but he had decided to stay back in Jerusalem, and had sent his cousin, Joab and other soldiers, instead. And with the beautiful woman he had just seen, he was glad he stayed back, and that he had chosen to walk on the rooftop where he could see the surroundings of the palace, rather than walk in the garden.
Three of his servants, Ethan, Ziv and Jachin, sat on a bench in the vast room, chatting in low tones as they patiently waited for him. When they saw him, they stopped talking and rose up immediately.
Standing in the middle of the room, David told them, “I saw a woman just now.” And pointing in the direction he was coming from, he added, “I want her. Go and bring her.”
The servants smiled knowingly. Another woman? The king already had ten wives besides concubines, and yet he wanted another woman. He obviously had a weakness for beautiful women.
If the king could have his way with this woman as well, very soon they would be preparing a chamber in the palace for her, Ethan thought.
“Which woman? And where did you see her, my lord?” Jachin asked, looking at him.
“In one of the houses over there.” David said.
The woman would have finished bathing and gone inside her house by now, so it would be safe to take them to the rooftop and show them where he had seen her, David thought.
“Come. I’ll show you.” He told the three men.
The servants followed him back to the rooftop. As David had thought, the woman was no longer there.
“She was there.” He pointed at the place. “She’s of an average height, slender and beautiful. Who is she?”
“We are not sure.” Ziv said.
“Let one of you go and find out about her immediately.” David ordered.
“Yes, my lord.” Jachin said. “I will go and inquire about her.”
He left while David and the other two servants returned inside.
Soon, Jachin came back.
David looked at him expectantly from where he sat. “Who is she?”
“She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” He said.
“She’s the wife of Uriah?” David asked with a frown. “She’s married?”
“Yes, my lord.” Jachin answered.
David sighed with disappointment, and ran a hand through his hair impatiently.
The servants waited.
David stood up and walked a little toward the open tall window, deep in thought. I want her. I won’t feel alright if I don’t have her. I will be restless. I must have her. The fact that she’s married doesn’t matter. I am the king, her husband is under me, and he’s one of my soldiers. I will make sure no one knows about it. I will instruct my servants not to tell anyone. Besides, her husband is not around, he’s gone off to war with Joab and the Israelite’s army, she must be lonely. If I am careful, her husband will never know about it.
He decided to send for the woman. He would be with her just this one time, send her back to her house and that would be the end of it. She was too beautiful for him to miss. No one need know about it, it would be as if nothing happened.
With his mind made up, he turned back abruptly and said, “Bring her to me!”
The servants looked a little surprised.
Jachin who had gone to inquire said, “Er … my lord, I said that she’s Uriah’s -”
“And I said bring her!”
“Yes, my lord.” Jachin answered immediately and turned to go.
David looked at Ethan. “Go with him and bring her … into my bedchamber.”
“Yes, my lord.” Ethan said and left with Jachin.
“Let no one know about this.” David told Ziv firmly. “I am the King.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Good. I will make it worth your while; the three of you will be well rewarded.” David promised. “Pass the message across to Jachin and Ethan.”
“Yes, my lord.” Ziv answered.
David trusted these three servants to some extent, and didn’t expect them to gossip about him; after all, what he did was none of their business.
to be continued.
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