Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Reflection - King David, Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite - Coveting and Sin

Source Website:
http://em-mim-serenamente-2.blogspot.sg/2013/06/jean-leon-gerome-betsaba.html
Posted by Me Quietly, painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Bathsheba
PHOTO: Bathsheba, Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)
Bethsabee : Jean-Leon Gerome painting. Jean-Leon Gerome was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre (work of a painter) included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.
Posted by Me Quietly, painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4fvo4wOPz9jpH2Gsd0MXL5DLg272ff67wzPqdfVN30u1KxaVGPPFA47tZ_AxFGBYDRmu-HB7g161MGb0z4rOipifO9MGlq0k2UmhL9aUk6-LAYIcgCBrJlu-cfBoLj1A0oyw9K0RUwY/s1600/bethsabee-809-2.jpg
http://www.deshow.net/d/file/cartoon/2009-12/bethsabee-809-2.jpg
http://www.deshow.net/cartoon/bethsabee-809.html
http://em-mim-serenamente-2.blogspot.sg/2013/06/jean-leon-gerome-betsaba.html


King David, anointed of the Lord, the Jewish hero who killed the giant Goliath, subjugated (overcome) the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites and Arameans, but his heart was overwhelmed by Bathsheba.

It was told in the Old Testament that King David, after taking a nap, saw from his palace a "very beautiful" woman  who showered. She was Bathsheba. King David asked that she be brought to the palace, and soon after they met - in the purest human sense, Bathsheba became pregnant.


Bathsheba at Her Bath
PHOTO: Bathsheba at Her Bath
Painting by Francesco Hayez (1791-1882), Oil on canvas, 1834
Picture from HANDGEMALT24.DE
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHSgCHAkqP2PQwzW9SSCyfWzvqOHBoUoaspvKO6apzD-zTZXoS-_mSgJBg-bQ-GU-v1Qf7tW8-MANNtThANlVZk14N3Mc19SCMM451TtTssv2bQ5Y0HrRPYkDWeyGDKThxGUrd38BjDw/s1600/Bathseba-an-ihrem-Bad-von-Francesco-Hayez-33737.jpg
http://www.handgemalt24.de/media/images/product/popup/Bathseba-an-ihrem-Bad-von-Francesco-Hayez-33737.jpg
http://www.handgemalt24.de/Bathseba-an-ihrem-Bad-von-Francesco-Hayez-33737


That would be no problem, but Bathsheba was already married to another man, Uriah. After Bathsheba told David that she had conceived, the king tried to remedy the situation. He sent for his good friend Uriah and tried to convince him to go home. There, Bathsheba and Uriah would went to bed and everything would be solved. Uriah would then supposedly be the father of Bathsheba's child.

Only Uriah refused. Not once but twice. For a soldier as honoured as him, he was unwilling to enjoy sexual charms of a woman while his companions were at war.


Bathsheba bathing, 1727 Fine Arts Museum of Angers
PHOTO: Bathsheba bathing, 1727 Fine Arts Museum of Angers
Painting by Jean François de Troy (1679 - 1752), French Rococo painter
Posted by SylvainP on 28 February 2012, Painting of France
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Zm7Q5UlgwRcviKDHXVP606vRslWlVP-zNFhejD35aogzEwFrMaxKf8MR3x5hkcH0zYe5E-lStbTEf01vdgjk_ggqQCqHg4j10YRN26VV5LcFmlZuaakYRgzruSLjA9wLdFFAQr-UEa0/s1600/bethsabee-au-bain-1727-jean-francois-de-troy.jpg
https://blognuart.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/bethsabee-au-bain-1727-jean-francois-de-troy.jpg
https://blognuart.wordpress.com/tag/france/page/8/


So David asked Joab the commander of his army, to put Uriah in the place where the war against the Ammonites were the most violent. The following were the words of David "Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." (2 Samuel 11:15)

And that was what had happened. Bathsheba was then free but not alone. After the fight, she became, officially, David's wife. Men like David could have several wives. Bathsheba was the eighth. She also had another son with David, whose name was Solomon.


DAVID AND BATHSHEBA 1770
PHOTO: DAVID AND BATHSHEBA 1770
LOUIS-JEAN-FRANÇOIS LAGRENÉE PARIS 1724 - 1805
Posted by Old Master Paintings
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXEPvjfQFN3KslwePfHtxC7-f_-GQ50fTdw7xBYbZGnm1OmJjbMmxYDIyjMJRXEmb1eihc_dOFU1TQBdQ6xNRqXlqB1Y4i4qgqeCN5jzr1rMRiJVp364G6kK2i5afahdO9rcuQ1mKqA4/s1600/114N09161_7G362.jpg
http://www.sothebys.com/content/dam/stb/lots/N09/N09161/114N09161_7G362.jpg
http://www.sothebys.com/it/auctions/2014/old-master-paintings-n09161.html


But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

The prophet Nathan confronted David, saying: "Why have you despised the word of God, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten (strike with a firm blow) Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife." Nathan conveys three consequences of David's actions from God: First, that the "sword shall never depart from your house" (2 Samuel 12:10); second, that "Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight", and finally, that "the son born to you will die" (2 Samuel 12:14).


Bathsheba
PHOTO: Bathsheba
Bronze (shown in clay), 1/3 life size, 2013.
Picture posted by Benjamin Victor, Bronze (shown in clay), 1/3 life size, 2013.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7f6yNgrxPdm7SxzL5LxyluRoMvfU65ho4AHhUQ0tFn9jBYHPFi34QloJnByoncYQhIWI-45nM-_fWU-6acaBM5v1cqspmRp2swNHasDVX0rQp-0dWi8c0IsGtMTXtZ0fi_wdQSoiyIs/s1600/2_cont-web.jpg
http://benvictor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2_cont-web.jpg
http://benvictor.com/2013/01/gallery/bathsheba/


David humbles himself, but the child dies. David then leaves his lamentations, dresses himself, goes to the House of the Lord and worships, and finally returns home to eat. His servants ask why he wept when the baby was alive, but ended his mourning when the child died. David replies: "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:22–23)


Bathsheba
PHOTO: Bathsheba
Bronze (shown in clay), 1/3 life size, 2013.
Picture posted by Benjamin Victor, Bronze (shown in clay), 1/3 life size, 2013.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLJuXrUkFkqcK7MNEAynK2mHmASeP0THNJto_YcdsRClYtgHfOsWOHhAVJWE8sfBbo_DZ0fP9vffU30zbuWgli_zkTjaqxjcpVxIXyKUaZXknOiR3dBAUKbbyo9QmidtQNImqwW9aglE/s1600/3_cont-web.jpg
http://benvictor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/3_cont-web.jpg
http://benvictor.com/2013/01/gallery/bathsheba/


Bathsheba
PHOTO:  Bathsheba
Bathsheba - out of the bath - 2004
Posted by Jacques BRISSOT
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimmtfOkPvPYQYDSkJKJguj4-B71bbqcJGFRTbLoywB-0jTvSqtQarnKG08_NvUlqWwptD-YX1yG5sKUv6Mzj0JxHd15ckfEXj-G1fuDTkTj-VonF8Krqpkis8dVJgeqWEg_QfsMPWcmrY/s1600/12b.jpg
http://jacques-brissot.com/IMG/jpg/12b.jpg
http://jacques-brissot.com/d-apres-les-gothiques 

 
Coveting and Sin [1]
While coveting does not always lead to sin, sin most often begins with coveting. If God is the greatest good and of infinite value, then we men should covet having fellowship with Him, and make whatever sacrifice is required to attain and enjoy it. If we once agree that God is the greatest good, then He must be man’s highest goal. Whatever sacrifices a man must make to know God and have fellowship with Him is worth the price.

To covet anything more than God, is to place that thing we covet above God, which is idolatry. Coveting anything above God is making that thing our god. It is assigning to that thing ultimate value and worth. That which has ultimate value and worth in our eyes is our god, it is our idol. Thus, covetousness (which assigns highest value to things, rather than to God) is idolatry.

Matthew 6:19-24 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

We should practice sacrificial giving. By thus “laying up our treasures in heaven” we will begin to experience that our hearts will follow our treasure, and begin to focus on heaven and not earth, on Christ and not things. [1]


Bathsheba, Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)
PHOTO: While coveting does not always lead to sin, sin most often begins with coveting. If God is the greatest good and of infinite value, then we men should covet having fellowship with Him, and make whatever sacrifice is required to attain and enjoy it. If we once agree that God is the greatest good, then He must be man’s highest goal. Whatever sacrifices a man must make to know God and have fellowship with Him is worth the price.

To covet anything more than God, is to place that thing we covet above God, which is idolatry. Coveting anything above God is making that thing our god. It is assigning to that thing ultimate value and worth. That which has ultimate value and worth in our eyes is our god, it is our idol. Thus, covetousness (which assigns highest value to things, rather than to God) is idolatry.
Painting by Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904) - Bathsheba 
Jean-Leon Gerome was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre (work of a painter) included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.
Posted by Me Quietly, painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxsL1qWLYONeLkjaTM6h3CBrLJhsR5X59mmVxyks597WaHHC8BJnv9_ITmPrdjGzck4dujAg-IySY907fnh8DxJlKP4V2S_-dK7YSUbB7j1z9ko1VKwzLhdeWJUQWfaB2TjIeHpunHLA/s1600/bethsabee-809-2-1.jpg
http://www.deshow.net/d/file/cartoon/2009-12/bethsabee-809-2.jpg
http://www.deshow.net/cartoon/bethsabee-809.html
http://em-mim-serenamente-2.blogspot.sg/2013/06/jean-leon-gerome-betsaba.html


Paintings from painters with artistic climax

Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 - 10 January 1904), French painter
PHOTO: Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 - 10 January 1904), French painter
Biography: He is considered one of the most important painters from this Academic period, and in addition to being a painter, he was also a teacher with a long list of students.
Posted by Marìa Cristina Faleroni on 11 May 2015
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXNYqwTno452Ny8_JNWPLysmbXr2ek7wazjCXkkt01gqIfaNCuCasd7c4WFRyYPEVrH-gn5Sd-fNHk0FcPsB9W7nbiRFmIBuExbi2lk-DuWOqOmKgHZkxQv5pJMOEoVeQ2EkRcs6PTWg/s1600/1GEROME-6.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQLYhVyY3qwZ0nlh97m8nlTMPpDlQMOKZ8-d7U0cFo3vIxa75aqFqro0ZciluECotmkDiPp-MHZoliseu0i_MbzNPxfKnK6-SsW5hz0tsPaKUOIlrmxVbu4MjyAe-LLY24ee83ADHJ5yn/s1600/1GEROME-6.jpg
http://cristinafaleroni.blogspot.sg/2015/05/jean-leon-gerome-french-painter.html


Pierre Hubert Subleyras (1699-1749), The Pack Saddle, 1732
PHOTO: Pierre Hubert Subleyras (1699-1749), The Pack Saddle, 1732
"An Artist Painting a Seal of Chastity on His Wife"
Story: Fontaine is an artist who painted an ass (animal) on his wife as a test of her fidelity, reasoning that any extramarital activity would smudge or erase the painting.  The man who cuckolded him, however, repainted the ass, adding a pack-saddle on the animal.
Posted by Minnesotastan (Tai-wiki-widbee") on 01 March 2012
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQGct5tfdHQ5Dg7_73WQpxEngfoY21BHmLy0ztiFoNVrnLpWuW-wx9osQNqjQEgjTFtTdUFrLl5dfGcj64SPZh5_ofBb29w0RuDPw1NEOPOlOw863g-kwdYZ5tmR27kOE-T1qLOIH5Dw/s1600/seal+of+chastity+painting.png
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgb1VdGE5dSa72WWk30kmkRqFByiAxL8cKGbvuKRnTm6o6z5FjOwX-O7w2Ge4390rjBXsv0XBDzEnIr9GOHaHa6fqEYGVyC7oI1byHkR-wMUDXgwinY-6CTxPagKNHBPz-O6XLAqA0z-F/s1600/seal+of+chastity+painting.png
http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.sg/2012/03/artist-painting-seal-of-chastity-on-his.html
 


Reference
[1] Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Coveting -- and a Whole Lot More! (Exodus 20:17), posted by Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh on 13 May 2004 (Bible.org), https://bible.org/seriespage/23-everything-you-ever-wanted-know-about-coveting-and-whole-lot-more-exodus-2017
 
NIV, New International Version, Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

2 Samuel 11:15 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Samuel+11%3A15&version=NIV

2 Samuel 12:10 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Samuel+12%3A10&version=NIV

2 Samuel 12:14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Samuel+12%3A14&version=NIV

2 Samuel 12:22–23 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Samuel+12%3A22-23&version=NIV

Exodus 20:17 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A17&version=NIV

Matthew 6:19-24 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A19-24&version=NIV
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