”Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”“
II Samuel 12:15-23 NKJV
a. The LORD struck the child: This is hard for many to accept. Sadly, often the innocent suffers because of the sin of the guilty. Since the sickness came immediately after the words of Nathan the prophet, it was received as from the hand of God.
i. “The biblical writer does not hesitate to attribute directly to the Lord the sickness of this child, in accordance with the prophet’s word.” (Baldwin)
ii. This was far more tragic for David and Bathsheba than it was for the child himself. Their young son suffered for several days and we may trust that God’s comfort was extended to the child in the midst of suffering. At the end of his suffering, the child went to eternal glory. Though the child died, the chastisement was really upon David and Bathsheba and not upon the child.
iii. “God’s mercy to his erring and repentant children will be shown in converting the results of their sin into the fires of their purification.” (Meyer)
iv. This illustrates an important principle: even when sin is forgiven a price must be paid. God does not simply pass over or excuse our sin. It is forgiven, and a price is paid. Often an innocent party pays the price for forgiveness.
b. That Uriah’s wife bore to David: Though Uriah was dead, and David was legally married to Bathsheba, the biblical writer still referred to Bathsheba as Uriah’s wife. This is because when the child was conceived Uriah was alive and Bathsheba was Uriah’s wife. It is God’s way of saying, “Uriah’s death and the subsequent marriage doesn’t make everything alright.”
c. David therefore pleaded with God for the child: David was right to take the announcement of God’s judgment as an invitation to earnestly seek His mercy. When God’s judgment is announced or present, we shouldn’t receive it passively or fatalistically. We should cry out to God in repentance and ask for His grace and mercy.
d. David fasted…. the child died: This shows that extraordinary prayer and fasting do not change God’s mind. It put David in the right place to receive what he must from God, but it did not “force” God to change His plan.
i. Extraordinary prayer and fasting are not tools to get whatever we want from God. They are demonstrations of radical submission and surrender to God’s power and will.
e. He went into the house of the LORD and worshiped: This shows that David’s extraordinary prayer and fasting were answered. He had a sense of peace when the child died, knowing he did all he could to seek God’s mercy in a time of chastisement.
i. The ability to worship and honor God in a time of trial or crisis is a wonderful demonstration of spiritual confidence.
f. I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me: David was confident that his son would meet him in heaven. This is an indication that babies and perhaps children who pass from this world to the next will go to heaven.
i. 1 Corinthians 7:14 is an additional promise of assurance that the children of believers are saved, at least until they come to an age of personal accountability (which may differ for each child). However, we have no similar promise for the children of parents who are not Christians.
ii. If the children of non-Christian parents are saved and do go to heaven – even some of them – it is important to understand that it is not because they are innocent. As sons and daughters of guilty Adam, we are also born guilty. If such children go to heaven, it is not because they are innocent and deserve heaven, but because the rich mercy of God has been extended to them also. (Guzik)
A Price Is Paid!
Don’t miss this important principle! Out of mercy, God forgives our sin through His Son Jesus but because the Father loves His children discipline follows, so a price is paid for our sin.
Blessings
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