Rewarded (STUDY)

Rewarded is the continuing study of Solomon & Bathsheba Queen Mother. Her story carries on into her later years where we will discover the aged King David attended by a lovely, young Shunammite virgin named Abishag. As Bathsheba approached the king in his room, Abishag tended him. What must Bathsheba have felt as she took in the sight of her beloved David yielded to the hands of such a fresh and beautiful damsel? As we observe her in our imaginations, the end of her story will lead us to consider a woman who rose to a position of high honor in spite of the incredible injustices she had suffered. In her youthful days, she had been power raped and found she was faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Soon thereafter, she was violently widowed, wed to the murderer of her beloved, and then added to an ever-growing harem. Eventually, the birth of her son brought little comfort as the child lived only a short time. Somehow, somewhere along the way Bathsheba learned to forgive and move forward with her life. She refused to wallow in pain and bitterness. She refused to live her remaining days a victim. She rose from victim to victor and held a place of great authority in the kingdom. She became the first queen mother to sit on a throne at the right hand of her son and king, the wisest king that ever lived, King Solomon. King Solomon, the product of her union with King David after the death of her first child, whose throne was challenged by an elder heir who assumed he would rule after their shared father, King David. This very same King David had perpetrated all of the atrocities she had been forced to experience. King Solomon prevailed and ruled the kingdom with great wisdom. How did he do it, being a younger child with many older brothers who likely thought they would be the next royal heir? All the while Bathsheba faced triumphs and tragedies, and she prevailed. How did she do it? Where did she find a healing balm to soothe and restore her soul? And more importantly, where might we find the same as we experience life's trials? Let us examine the story of her later days and understand how she came to be ... Rewarded.