(contd.)
It occurred to him to discuss the issue of Bathsheba’s pregnancy with Abigael who was curled up in his arms. She was wise and might have an advice for him, but he quickly dismissed the idea. How could he tell her that he slept with another man’s wife? She would think him a fool. He probably was.
**********
When Bathsheba saw Uriah, she was both surprised and troubled.
“You are back!” Why had he come? Had he heard of what happened?
Uriah noticed a difference in her. She seemed a little troubled. She was more welcoming than this. “Is everything alright?” He asked.
“Y-yes.” She answered.
“But,” he looked at her closely. Yes, she seemed uneasy and … pale. “You look pale and upset.”
“I’m not. I’m just surprised to see you back.” She said.
“The king asked me to come urgently.”
“The k-king?” David sent for him?
“Yes.” He answered.
“Why?” She asked carefully
“I don’t know why he asked for me specifically, but I guess he wanted to know how Joab and the soldiers are fairing.”
Bathsheba listened. What did David want to achieve by that?
He went on, “He asked me to come to my house and spend some time with you, but I can’t do that when the other men are still in battle.”
Then understanding dawned on her. David wanted him to sleep with her, to make it appear that he was the father of the child in her womb. She took a deep breath.
Then she said, “It’s a good thing you are here. You can rest a little before you return to the others. You need it.”
But after eating, Uriah got up.
She looked up. “Where are you going?”
“To the palace.”
She stood up too. “I – I thought you said the king asked you to go home.”
“Yes but I can’t sleep here – with you.”
She looked confused. “Why not?”
“It’s not alright.” He said and got ready to leave.
“Why is it not alright?”
She tried to persuade him to stay with her, but he refused and left.
Still standing in the center of the room, she wondered – how could the man she had not seen for some time come home and say it was not alright to sleep with her, his wife? Didn’t he realise that she had feelings? Sometimes, Uriah treated her more like his sister than wife.
Angry and upset, but unable to do anything about the situation, she walked over to the couch and flung herself on it. David sent Uriah down but he refused to sleep with her. What would she do now? And why should this happen to her?
King David brought this mess upon her; he would have to think of another way to save her life. God knew she was not a loose woman, she would continue to trust Him, she decided, fighting the fear that suddenly gripped her. She would have loved to talk to someone, but with the way things were, she must not.
(To be continued)
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