And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”—2 Samuel 11:2

David deliberated his actions after laying eyes on Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. Knowingly, he pursued her in a manner that seems more like abuse of authority than seduction. Despite her husband’s fierce loyalty and excellence as friend and warrior, David saw, desired, and took. Later, after Bathsheba sent a message saying she was pregnant, David made a clumsy, failed attempt to cover his actions. And when he was unable to execute a coverup, he simply executed Uriah. Problem solved!

But God saw and was not pleased.

Through David’s actions, Bathsheba was exposed to grief piled upon grief—the loss of a husband, a way of life, the child she carried as a result of David’s scheming—and, for a while, things didn’t seem to be getting better for her.

But God remembered Bathsheba, and He inspired Matthew to shine a light on these Grandmothers of Christmas. God’s grace gave her a child through David. And this child would be an ancestor of Jesus Christ. The promised One—a warrior, a new way of life, a baby—would come through Bathsheba’s lineage and redeem what was lost to her.

Meditation: Whether ours or someone else’s, sin causes a downward spiral that can make us feel without hope. But a relationship with Jesus leans down and rescues, washes, redeems, restores what was damaged. Jesus’ righteousness is so big and powerful that nothing done against you, no matter how ugly, how painful, how heavy… Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being a loving Redeemer who humbly came to us as a helpless baby. Thank You for descending through broken people so You could die for broken people and make them whole again. Thank You for the gift of Your righteousness, by faith, through grace.