(Cont’d)
Still wondering how Ahithophel got to know that he committed adultery with Bathsheba, David summoned some of his servants the next morning.
He began, “I have heard that some of you are talking about me and Bathsheba, saying that I slept with her and forcefully made her my wife.”
As he spoke, he looked at them. “I did not force her to be my wife!” He decided to hold on to that one point.
Looking at Jachin, Ethan and Ziv where they stood on a side, he asked them, “Is that not so?”
“It is so, my lord.” Ziv said and the other two nodded their agreement.
“Why then should some people be saying that I forced her to be my wife?”
No one talked.
“All of you know what happened to Uriah. He died in battle, and I decided to bring Bathsheba to the palace, to take care of her, more so when I heard she was pregnant. Why should anyone have a problem with that? Whoever is responsible for the rumours should stop or else will be in trouble! Leave Bathsheba out of it! She has gone through a lot of things already.”
**********
In the afternoon, Bathsheba went out briefly. When she returned to the palace, she found two of David’s wives sitting and talking. One of them looked up and saw her. Then she whispered to the second one, who looked up at Bathsheba, said something to the first one and they laughed.
When she got to where they were, she greeted them but they didn’t answer. She greeted them again but they ignored her still. Feeling embarrassed, she went past them to her chamber.
She guessed they had heard about her matter.
In the evening, one of her maids came in and told her that she heard some of the wives talking about Bathsheba and how she had committed adultery with the king.
“It’s not so.” Bathsheba said. But she couldn’t be discussing such a matter with her maid. She told her, “Let it not bother you, go and do your work. If they need to know something, they should come and ask me.”
The maid left, but Bathsheba was troubled. This was a mess.
Shortly after, David came to her.
“I have handled the rumours. You shouldn’t hear anything about it again, but if someone says something to you, don’t hesitate to let me know.” He kissed her on her forehead.
She thanked him.
“Or has someone said something to you?”
What would be the point of telling him about the two wives attitude and what her maid said she heard? David wanted to protect her, but he couldn’t be with her all the time. She would have to remain calm and trust that it would die down.
“Everything will be fine, my lord.” She said.
“All I want is to make you happy.”
**********
David began to see some changes in his advisor, Ahithophel. The spark and warmth he possessed seemed lacking even though he went about his duty normally.
Well, he should probably confront the issue, David thought. He would call Ahithophel for a discussion.
When he asked the elderly man what the problem was, Ahithophel denied being upset and told him that everything was alright.
David shrugged. If he said everything was alright, he would leave it at that. With time, he would get over the matter.
**********
Some months after, Bathsheba fell into labour. The midwives were called immediately. Surrounded by those women, her maids and some female relatives, she gave birth to a boy. The baby was washed and wrapped in a fine cloth after the umbilical cord had been cut.
David was very happy. He had one more son. This was what he would have missed if Uriah had slept with her and claimed the boy as his. He was happy he was able to pull the whole thing through successfully.
To be continued.
You will need to read our novels and other books, they will do you a world of good.
Feel free to comment and share this post with your loved ones.
And don’t forget to subscribe to our blog posts, you will find the subscription link as you scroll down. It is free. Simply enter your e-mail address in the space provided and you will begin to receive notifications by e-mail whenever a new article is published.
Leave a Reply