2 Samuel 12 (1 Chronicles 20.1-3 see our study of 1 Chronicles 20)
Our studies of Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 will be forthcoming. David spent at least six months in misery due to his sin. Bathsheba gets pregnant in 2 Samuel 11 (see our study), the two discover she is pregnant, David has Uriah murdered, they wait a few months for mourning, they marry, the baby may not have yet been born. Then comes Nathan to confront David for his sin. Whatever the amount of time, Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 describe the anguish David was going through during this period of his life.
After Nathan’s parable, wherein David becomes indignant, God brings the discipline upon His child (Hebrews 12.4-11). The consequences of David’s sins were mentioned briefly in our study of 2 Samuel 11. Here, God lays them out through Nathan to David. They are:
- 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.
- 11 Thus says the LORD: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun.
- 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.
Notice for each consequence there is a reason given. As parents, we need to take this seriously. The consequence matches the discipline given.
If the rest of David’s life was outlined according to his children, four of David’s male children die. This baby (2 Samuel 12), Ammon (2 Samuel 13), Absalom (2 Samuel 18), and Adonijah (1 Kings 2) all die in relation to the consequences of David’s sin. Some have seen this as fulfilling Exodus 22.1 in lieu of the death penalty for David and Bathsheba (Leviticus 20.10).
Do you notice that when you become angry at a sin in another, there are times your anger is directed toward you because you know that you are committing the same sin?
The mourning of David in this chapter (15-23) gives us insight into his belief of the afterlife and of God’s mercy and grace. David mourned by fasting and praying while the child was alive. When he found the child to have died, he finally ate. He knew that the child might be spared by God. After the baby died, he knew God would not raise him from the dead. David knew that he would be with the baby after David dies. This causes us to ponder the eternal state of babies who have died [email me if you desire further study on this topic].
After the child born to David and Bathsheba dies, she has another child (24-25). They called him Solomon. Interestingly, Nathan called him Jedidiah, which means “loved by the Lord.”
The chapter ends where 2 Samuel 11 should have begun, David went to war as the kings are supposed to do. This passage is found in 1 Chronicles 20.1-3.
I think verse 20 shows David’s devotion and faithfulness to God. When he heard his child was dead, he went to worship and praise God. This shows how we are to be and how we are to handle our trials. Despite the fact that things may be difficult and trials overwhelm us, God deserves our praise and worship. Whatever our circumstances may be, He is worthy of our thanks.