Day 131 – 2 Samuel 12:15-23

Scripture Review

2 Samuel 12:15-23

"And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick."

(2 Samuel 12:15)

The prophet has delivered the word of the LORD, and now he goes home. Then the Bible says, "And the LORD struck the child." The same LORD who forgave David in verse 13 now allows the consequence spoken in verse 14 to visibly be seen. The Holy Spirit reminds me, "the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David." The Scripture still calls Bathsheba "Uriah's wife." David may have brought her into his house, and the palace may call her David's wife, but the Bible reminds me whose wife she was when David took her.

The child becomes "very sick." The judgment is personal now. It enters David's house. It touches his heart. The sin that began with a look from the roof has now brought sickness into the nursery. That is the awful consequence of sin. It never stays hidden.

"David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth."

(2 Samuel 12:16)

David is doing what he should have done much earlier, he goes to God. The verse says he "besought God for the child." That means he pleaded. He begged. He prayed with the burden of a father whose child is slipping away.

In 2 Samuel 11:25, David said of Uriah's death, "the sword devoureth one as well as another." But here, when the child is very sick, David fasts, weeps, and lies on the earth. Sin had made him callous before, now chastening has made him tender again. A heart after God prays while there is still life. David has heard the judgment, but he also knows God is merciful. He does not presume, but he pleads. That is a great reminder for me. If there is still breath, still opportunity, still a door cracked open, then I ought to pray.

"And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them."

(2 Samuel 12:17)

The Elders of David's house try to lift him from the earth. These are men of his house concerned for him. They want him to rise. They want him to eat. They are watching their king sink under the weight of sorrow. But David "would not." He will not get up. He will not eat bread with them. His pleading continues. I think there is something important here. David accepts God's authority, but he still prays. He knows the word Nathan spoke, but he still seeks mercy. Faith does not always mean I stop asking because the situation looks dark. Sometimes faith means I keep praying until God settles it.

"And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?"

(2 Samuel 12:18)

The child was only a few days old. "On the seventh day, that the child died." Before there could be much life lived in this world, death entered the room. The servants are afraid to tell David. They reason among themselves, "if he would not listen while the child was alive, what will he do now that the child is dead?" The Bible says they feared he would "vex himself." That means they feared his grief might break out in some harmful or overwhelming way.

"But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead."

(2 Samuel 12:19)

David sees the servants whispering, and he knows. He does not need a long explanation. Their silence tells him what their words have not yet said. So he asks, "Is the child dead?" their response is, "He is dead." David's pleading did not receive the answer he hoped for. The sickness has ended in death, just as Nathan had spoken. David faces the truth directly. A heart after God has to learn how to face reality under the hand of God. That is not easy.

"Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat."

(2 Samuel 12:20)

David hears that the child is dead, and then he rises. He "arose from the earth." He washes. He anoints himself. He changes his apparel. These are outward signs that the season of fasting has ended. An extremely important thing he did here is he "came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped."

David does not worship because he got the answer he wanted. He worships after the answer was no. That is submission. David is not pretending the death is painless. He is submitting to the LORD who has ruled in the matter.

Then David goes home and eats. That does not mean he did not love the child. It means the pleading season had ended, and now the accepting season had begun. There is a time to fast and a time to eat. A time to lie on the earth and a time to rise. A time to plead, and a time to worship with tears still drying on the face.

"Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread."

(2 Samuel 12:21)

The servants say the quiet part outloud. "What thing is this that thou hast done?" They are confused. David's actions seem backwards to them. Most men mourn more after death than before it. David fasted and wept while the child lived, but when the child died, he rose and ate bread. They did not yet understand the reasoning of a man who had placed the matter in God's hands. There is no rebuke in their question that I can see. It sounds like honest confusion. They are trying to understand their king.

Sometimes when we walk through grief in faith, people may not understand why we pray so hard and then accept God's answer. They may not understand why we weep and worship in the same week. They may not understand how a Christian can hurt deeply and still rise. But grief and faith are not enemies. They can sit in the same room.

"And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?"

(2 Samuel 12:22)

David explains himself. While the child was alive, he fasted and wept. Why? "Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?" That is a humble sentence. David does not say, "God has to do this." He says, "Who can tell?" He knows God is sovereign, but he also knows God is gracious. So he pleads for mercy while there is still opportunity. That is the right spirit for prayer after failure.

This is also where I see the tenderness of repentance. David cannot undo what he did to Uriah. He cannot undo what he did with Bathsheba. He cannot erase the reproach brought upon the name of the LORD. But he can still pray. He can still seek God's face. He can still humble himself while life remains.

"But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

(2 Samuel 12:23)

David recognizes that he will see his child again one day. "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." He accepts the finality of death in this life, "can I bring him back again?" The answer is no. David cannot bring the child back. No amount of fasting now will reverse what God has allowed. But then comes hope: "I shall go to him." That is confidence. David knows the child will not return to him, but he believes he will go to the child. David's words do not remove the grief, but they give grief somewhere to look. He does not say, "I will forget him." He does not say, "It does not matter." He says, "I shall go to him."

While the child lived, he prayed. When the child died, he worshipped. That is the behavior of a man who has been broken, forgiven, chastened, and brought back to submission under the hand of God.