The Life and Times of

Introduction

There is something especially tragic about the death of a child. My wife and I, like many other parents, have experienced the shock of waking up to find our child dead in his crib. The malady is now known as SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. One moment the child is healthy and happy; the next, the child is gone. It is indeed a shock. For us, there was an unexplainable peace in the midst of our sorrow. Several years later, the subject of where babies go when they die came up in a theology class at seminary. I remember the academic discussion, the Bible verses quoted, and the conclusions reached. Finally, I raised my hand and shared something like this:

The subject we are discussing here is one that is no academic matter for my wife and me. We lost a child as an infant. We know what losing a child is like. We also know the biblical texts which have been quoted, and we are familiar with the different views as to where babies go when they die. But when my wife and I lost our child, we had a peace and a confidence that went beyond what we have been talking about here. We knew that the God to whom we had entrusted our souls was a good and perfect God, who would do what was right with our child. It was not the arguments discussed today which gave us peace, but God Himself, and in that peace we rest.

Our text for this lesson is one that is most often used to comfort parents who have lost little ones. I would have to say that my own views on this subject are undoubtedly shaped by our experience in losing a child. I must therefore warn you that I do not speak with great objectivity here, but from the perspective of one who has experienced the loss of a child. I know that the conclusions I have reached concerning the fate of children who die are not held by all in our church, perhaps not even by all of the Elders of our church.

As one who has lost a child in infancy, I am satisfied with the conclusions I have reached here. I must point out that my conclusions are the result of inferences and logical processes. They are not always grounded on clear propositional statements. As such, they should be held less dogmatically than views that have clear, straightforward, repetitive biblical support. As such, they can and will be rejected by those who have reached different conclusions, also based upon logic and inference. In the final analysis, we all must say that our conclusions here are less dogmatic than other truths that are much more clearly stated in Scripture. In the end, we must cast ourselves upon the God to whom we have entrusted our souls and our eternal destiny. As Abraham said so long ago, “Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?” (Genesis 18:25).

Having said this, we can see from our text that David had a remarkable peace about the death of his first child by Bathsheba, a peace which caused those who witnessed it to marvel, and to question David about it. As we approach this text, let us listen to David's answer to the question posed by his servants. Let us seek to learn from David's lips the reason he could praise and worship God at the time of the loss of this child.

Review and Overview

After becoming King of Israel, things were going very well for David, perhaps too well. He seemed to have the Midas touch -- everything he touched turned to gold. God had given him success in all he undertook. Like Israel of old, David appears to momentarily forget that his success was the result of God's grace, and not a tribute to his efforts alone. The first glimpse of this overconfidence comes in 2 Samuel 7, where David expresses his desire to build a house for God. In response, God reminds David his successes are the manifestations of His grace (7:8-9). He goes on to assure David that there are good things yet in store for Israel, and that these too will be His doing (7:10-11). Having gently rebuked David for supposing that He really needed a “house,” God promised to build David a better “house,” one that is an eternal dynasty:

‘“The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you. 12 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, 15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:11b-16).’”

But in the chapters which follow, David's arrogance seems to increase. It is most evident in 2 Samuel 11. Israel is at war with the Ammonites, and in the Spring (the time that kings go to war), David sends his army to besiege Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites, where the last of the Ammonite opposition has sought refuge. David does not go to battle with his soldiers, but stays at home in Jerusalem, indulging himself in the good life while his soldiers camp in an open field. David gets up from his bed about the time his soldiers (and others) usually go to bed. As he is strolling on the roof of his palace, David happens to see something that was not meant to be seen -- a young woman cleansing herself, most likely a ceremonial cleansing ceremony done in keeping with the law. The woman is beautiful, and David decides that he wants her. He sends messengers to find out who she is. Their answer -- that she was Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite -- should have ended the matter, but David had no intention of being deprived of anything he wanted. He sent for the woman and lay with her.

For David, it was all over after that one night of self-indulgence. He did not want another wife; he did not even appear to want an affair, just a night of pleasure. But God had other plans. Bathsheba conceived and eventually sent word to David that she was pregnant. When David's efforts to deceive Uriah (and the people) into thinking Uriah had fathered this child, he had Uriah killed in battle with the help of Joab. After she had mourned for her husband, David brought Bathsheba into his home, taking her as his wife. Now at last, David hoped, it was over.

This thing which David had done displeased God, however, and God would give David no rest or peace until he had come to see his sin for what it was and repented of it. After some period of distress (see Psalm 32:3-4), God sent Nathan to David with a story, a story which deeply upset David. David was furious. He insisted that the rich man who stole the poor man's pet lamb deserved to die! Nathan then stopped David in his tracks with the words, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7). As David heard Nathan's recital of his sin, he broke, declaring to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13).

Nathan's response to David's confession was both comforting and disturbing. Although he deserved to die for his sins, David would not die because God had taken away his sin (12:13). What a relief these words must have been. But what followed would pierce David through: the son his sin had produced would die. It is David's response to the death of this son that will be the focus of our lesson.