I do believe she found forgiveness in the Lord, and that gave her the strength to deal with all those who never would forgive her, including her mother. Bathsheba lived under the shadow of that sin her entire life. She predicted the name Bathsheba would become a byword for adultery, and she was right. Wise to counsel her daughter to be happy being the only wife of Uriah. She sought God's favor and brought her four sons up to love and trust in God.īathsheba's mother was both wise and cruel. After the death of her firstborn, Bathsheba turned her life around. One thing this book made clear is that actions have consequences. Rivers included a fair amount of gossip and why so many tried to take David's throne from him.

With all the turmoil surrounding David's reign in his latter years, I can certainly see why Ms. Both David and Bathsheba suffer through grief, pain, and regret, bringing them to a place of repentance.

But though they could not go against David, the people did turn from him and it weakened his reign. If Bathsheba had not been the wife of the king, she would have been stoned. David, too, was despised by his men for what he did. It was then that Bathsheba finally realized it is much better to be the adored wife of one man, than one of many in the king's harem. It was even worse when David brought Bathsheba into the palace as his wife. When Bathsheba went to the gate to try to bring Uriah home, and he knew what she did, it was heartbreaking to read. I couldn't believe how much this book affected me. We see how the thoughts of David and Bathsheba turn to lust. Rivers breaks down the events bit by bit. With the exception of Bathsheba pining for David when she was eight years old, I found it believable. But I do like Francine River's take on it. As most of their story is told through the eyes of David, I always wondered what was going through Bathsheba's mind as the sordid story played out. I've read the biblical account of David and Bathsheba many times.

Unspoken by Francine Rivers