Hope for the Future

Sometimes a nomadic clan will lose their last animal. This is the definition of destitute. Even if herds are decimated through famine or disease if a remnant remains there is always hope of rebuilding the herd. Once the last animal is gone, all hope for the future is gone too.

Some nomadic cultures have a clause, a last ditch hope for a clan on the brink. A donation of a single animal from another tribe. This animal is wrapped in cotton wool (not literally) and mollycoddled, because all hope rests in its survival. It is spoon fed and given an almost human status in the family, while it is carefully raised, waiting to be bred at the right time, hope beyond hope that a herd can eventually be established.

This tradition was practiced in Biblical nomadism as well. In fact this is the basis on which the prophet Nathan brings King David to the realisation of the severity of his crime.

2 Samuel 12:1 So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. 2 The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. 3 The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 4 One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”

5 David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! 6 He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man!

What had David stolen? He did not steal only a few minutes from Bathsheba, he stole her entire future. He didn't steal just Uriah's wife, but all of his hopes and dreams for a future together with his wife. This is what abuse is about, not just the damage done in the minute but the damage done into the future.

David was shocked to imagine taking the last glimmer of hope from a suffering family. This was the first time he realised what he had truly taken. By taking Bathsheba David destroyed a family, taking away the hope Bathsheba had for a life with her husband, and the hope Uriah had with his wife. Then he had Uriah killed. Bathsheba lived. But her future, her dreams and desires, plans and hopes were forever changed.

The metaphor is not about who Bathsheba belonged to. Don't get caught up there, that's not the point. The point is her innocence. And the symbol of hope and a future she was to her family.

The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children.