²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba; he went to her and slept with her. She gave birth to a son and named him Solomon.  The Lord loved him, and he sent a message through the prophet Nathan, who named him Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

1) How did David offer comfort to Bathsheba?
Following a series of one poor choice after another (2 Samuel 11-12) David spent days fasting, weeping, and crying out to God, asking that He would spare the life of his son with Bathsheba.  However, God’s mind would not be changed and the child died as a consequence of the sins committed (2 Samuel 12:13-18).  David’s mourning likely looked very different from Bathsheba’s.  He had grieved over his son the week before, and once the baby was gone, David was resolute and matter of fact about moving forward (2 Samuel 12:20-23).  He could have expected Bathsheba to do the same. Instead, David went to her.  He offered her his presence.  They shared their pain with one another.  He did not ignore her or leave her to figure out her feelings on her own.  He could have…but instead, he held her and offered her comfort through the ministry of sex, one of the many beautiful purposes for which God intended it to serve within the marriage relationship.

2) What was the significance of Solomon’s name?
First, God used David to offer comfort to Bathsheba through his presence.  Then God extended even more comfort to her through His forgiveness and restoration.
Before he was born, God promised David that a son would be given to him as a man of rest, that the child would live in a time of peace, that he would follow David on the throne to rule Israel, and that this son would construct the house for the Lord that David longed to build.  God declared to David that the baby would be named Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:6-10).  His very name was a play on the Hebrew word “shalom” which means “peace.”  David then shared that news with Bathsheba.  David made a promise to her that their son would follow in his footsteps as king  (1 Kings 1:11-21), before David’s older sons and rightful heirs.  Sharing this news with Bathsheba would have served as a daily reminder that God’s forgiveness would not be taken away.  The woman who had lost a son as result of poor choices had been given another who would bring peace into her life.

3) What was the purpose of Solomon’s second name: Jedidiah?
Once Solomon was born, God sent Nathan to give the boy the second name Jedidiah, or “beloved of the Lord.”  In Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary he says that this gesture by the Lord serves to show “…that those who were by nature children of wrath and disobedience should, by the covenant of grace, not only be reconciled, but made favorites.”
And the boy who grew up knowing he was beloved by God extended that same love to his mother.  The interaction recorded between Solomon and Bathsheba just after the death of David in 1 Kings 2 is a beautiful snapshot of their relationship.  As Bathsheba goes to speak with her son, the newly crowned king, he responds with incredible respect.  “The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, sat down on his throne, and had a throne placed for [his] mother,”  (1 Kings 2:14).  Can you imagine?   A woman who faced such grief and pain was allowed to see her hurt come full circle in a legacy left in the hands of this incredible young man. God gave her the comfort of knowing that His promises were true.

1) How did David offer comfort to Bathsheba?
“He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God, “ (2 Corinthians 1:4).
God gave us the people and relationships in our lives as a source of comfort for the trials and difficulties that will inevitably come our way.  Our simple presence is one of the most powerful offerings we can give.  Simply being there to hold someone’s hand when they cry.  To sit in silence when words don’t come.  To watch a movie and laugh.  To talk over coffee when needed.  But we are wise to allow those in need of comfort to direct what form comfort takes.  Not everyone will respond the same, or need what we ourselves might choose.  And for those of you who are married, please, don’t miss in this story the powerful ministry of sex as a means of comfort to your spouse.  It’s an often overlooked need and purpose of the most intimate time in a relationship we will ever know.  We are given the opportunity to serve our spouses at a level that none other on this earth can.

2) What was the significance of Solomon’s name?
No matter the depth of our sin or the length of our despair, we have a Father in heaven who offers us the same forgiveness and restoration He gave to both David and Bathsheba.  When we are in need of forgiveness and willing to confess our sin, He is faithful (1 John 1:9).  No.  Matter.  What.  That is how God extends peace – shalom –  into our everyday lives.  He gave His son as a pathway to our peace (Romans 5:1).  And when we are brokenhearted and in despair, needing His restoration, He gives generously to His children.  He brings life to us through Christ.  The Messiah offers us beauty, peace, comfort, healing, freedom, favor, justice, provision and so much more (Isaiah 61:1-4).  Where are you today?  Where do you need to know God’s peace and forgiveness?  Where do you need restoration?  

3) What was the purpose of Solomon’s second name: Jedidiah?
“…I will call Not my People, my People, and she who is Unloved, Beloved…” (Romans 9:25).  Through God’s re-naming and legacy of Solomon, Bathsheba experienced the truth Paul references in Romans.  The literal comma between unloved and beloved  contains the uncontainable grace and mercy of God; it’s the transformation that Matthew Henry noted:  not only reconciled, but also favored.  For years, I knew that God loved me and that my eternity was secure through Christ.  But I also lived my everyday Christian life as a second-class citizen…believing His love for me only went so far because of the greatness of my sin.  In my mind I limited His love.  But God opened my eyes to the truth, and my subsequent beloved-ness.  His love isn’t limited like the love of humans or bound by my sin or defined by my lack of understanding.  He gives His love freely to even the worst of us.  Even me.  And you.  Do you know the difference between being loved through the action of God and being the beloved in your very existence?  The comma is subtle, yet bold in its power to transform – let this truth wash over you today, beloved.

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