Verses 15-25

The death of one child and the birth of another12:15b-25

Why did God take the life of this child since its parents sinned?

"That the child should be punished for what David did seems wrong. We need to remind ourselves, however, that even today innocent children suffer from the things their parents do. The more pointed question deals with whether God should be credited with the cause of the suffering. I once sat at the funeral of a child who had been accidentally killed by a drunk man riding through the community on a motorcycle. In the funeral message the minister tried to convince those of us present that God had a purpose in the child"s death as though it were something God had planned. I was revolted by what he said because he took an evil event and made God the cause. In understanding Nathan"s interpretation of the child"s illness we need to separate the physical cause and the religious interpretation or application. Whatever the child"s illness, both Nathan and David saw it as connected with David"s sin and raised no questions about it as we do." [Note: Kenneth L. Chafin, 1, 2 Samuel, p309.]

"When David slept with the woman and created new life, the woman did not belong to him but to Uriah. The child cannot belong to David. He cannot enrich himself through his sin, and in a sense, justice is done to Uriah." [Note: Vogels, p251.]

David prayed for the child"s recovery, lying on the ground as Uriah had previously slept ( 2 Samuel 11:9; 2 Samuel 11:11). However when God took its life, David knew the time for praying was over. Praying for the dead finds no support in this passage or anywhere else in Scripture. David"s servants apparently believed he would become hysterical with grief when he learned the child had died ( 2 Samuel 12:19). The king was probably referring to the grave rather than to heaven when he said, "I shall go to him ..." ( 2 Samuel 12:23). In the context the issue was the inevitability of death, not what happens after death. The child could not come back to life, but David would someday join him in death. Scripture is silent on the eternal state of dead infants, but we can find great comfort in knowing that the Judge of all the earth will do right ( Genesis 18:25).

The birth of David and Bathsheba"s second Song of Solomon, Solomon (whose name comes from the Hebrew word shalom, peace), was a blessing from the Lord. It demonstrates that God"s grace is greater than all our sins. [Note: Merrill, " 2 Samuel," in The Old ..., p236.] Solomon had another name, Jedidiah (lit. beloved of Yahweh). The former was perhaps a throne name that David gave him to anticipate his reigning as king. [Note: Shemaryahu Talmon, King, Cult, and Calendar in Ancient Israel: Collected Studies, p152.] It may indicate that David felt that God was now at peace with him. [Note: NET Bible note on 2 Samuel 12:24.] Solomon was born about991 B.C. The fact that God allowed him to live and even made him David"s successor on the throne is testimony to God"s great grace to David (cf. Romans 5:20). The statement, "Now the Lord loved him," ( 2 Samuel 12:24) is the Hebrew way of saying the Lord chose him. [Note: Heater, p145. Cf. Malachi 1:2-3.]

Verses 26-31

God"s faithfulness to David12:26-31

In spite of David"s rebellion, God granted his army victory over the Ammonites. David"s military leaders evidently executed the defeated warriors ( 1 Chronicles 20:3) and forced many of the people to do labor of various kinds to support Israel ( 2 Samuel 12:31). [Note: On the crown mentioned in 2 Samuel 12:30, see Siegfried H. Horn, "The Crown of the King of the Ammonites," Andrews University Seminary Bulletin11:2 (1973):170-80. For an explanation of David"s actions in 2 Samuel 12:31, see G. C. O"Ceallaigh, ""And So David Did to All the Cities of Ammon,"" Vetus Testamentum12 (1962):179-89.]

Chapters10-12contain very important revelation that helps us understand the complexity of God"s righteous ways. We often think too superficially about the way God deals with sin in His people"s lives. We see in these chapters that David"s great sins did not completely wash out his past record of godly behavior. God continued to bless him in part because God had chosen him as His anointed, but also because he genuinely had a heart for God and usually sought to please God. His sins had terrible consequences, as we shall see, but God did not cast David off. The most important factor seems to be David"s basic heart attitude toward God. In this he was very different from Saul, and it is for this reason, I believe, that David did not end as Saul did. When David sinned, he confessed his sin. When Saul sinned, he made excuses. [Note: For a structural analysis of chapters10-12, see Roth, "You Are . . ."]