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. This is the point Paul makes when he speaks of man's salvation as the result of God's sovereign choosing, long before man is even born, before man can do anything good or evil (as if this would affect the outcome of God's choosing): 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. 37 David mourned the death of his son a long time. Maybe the Lord will feel sorry for me and let the baby live. 23But now that the baby is dead, why should I fast? For us, there was an unexplainable peace in the midst of our sorrow. Rather I will approach the passage somewhat like Michael Landon, the late television actor and director, would have done. In the context of our text, I find it difficult to understand how. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. 24 For THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU, just as it is written (Romans 2:21-24). By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. 27Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah and have captured its water supply. Everyone who is condemned as a sinner in Romans 1-3 is one who has received a revelation about God, who has the mental capacity to grasp it and respond to it, and has rejected this revelation. If this were the case, then David surely had reason to hope that God would spare the child's life. The fast which David observes is a very serious one. . David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. As one who has lost a child in infancy, I am satisfied with the conclusions I have reached here. David's Reign and Death 27 The length of David's reign over Israel was forty yearsseven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. We lost a child as an infant. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table." (2 Samuel 9:7, NIV ) For less than $5/mo. 11 Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals? (Jonah 4:5-11, emphasis mine). First in 2 Samuel 5:14, "And these be the names of those that were born to him in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon," He worshipped God in spite of his loss and his pain. The willful student and everyone else knew he had gotten away with his unacceptable conduct. This revelation comes through nature: 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. There is a difference, however, in being a sinner by nature and being a sinner in deed. David, (flourished c. 1000 bce ), second ruler of the united kingdom of ancient Israel and Judah. Jonah did not deserve this gracious provision, yet Jonah somehow felt he did deserve it. These 120,000 children cannot distinguish between their right hand and their left. The child has not died, but is asleep.". You will not die. Those who can tell their left hand from their right can also discern between what is good and what is evil. Why would Jonah be so intent on the condemnation of 120,000 who could not tell their right hand from their left? I will go to him, but he will not return to me (verse 23). When David asked if the child was dead they could not deny it. He had a way a catching the emotion of the moment and then portraying it dramatically. 2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. 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. But now the child is dead. If this were the case, David would have to be understood to say something like this: I cannot bring this baby back to life, but I will join him in the grave. I want to address this last view first, and then seek to defend my own view, which is that babies who die (before the age of accountability) go to heaven. 12You had sexual relations with Bathsheba in secret, but I will do this so all the people of Israel can see it., 13Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord., Nathan answered, The Lord has taken away your sin. His cause of death is yet to be decided, but early indication suggested he . He was angry with God because of the grace He had shown to these sinful Ninevites. Third, in Romans 5 Paul teaches us that the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ atones for the sin of Adam, so that no descendant of Adams is condemned to hell for Adams sin. "Father of wandering," "cause of wandering," or "my . Show yourself to be a man. With effective pre-natal and post-natal exercises, mothers will be able to enhance their health and diet during pregnancy. Indeed, he deserved much worse than what he received. hebrew bible - What was David's infant son's age at death? - Biblical 31 Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. I am choosing not to do this, having already noted the details I think are important. All those who have not yet made this willful choice to identify with Adam in his sin, and who die before doing so, are involuntarily covered by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. A baby girl died after sh e was left home alone in Cleveland for 10 days as her mother traveled without having made . What comfort there is to know that our little ones are in His arms. David | Biography, Summary, Goliath, Bathsheba, Reign, & Facts Someone has said, Where there's life, there's hope. As far as David's hope for the healing of this child is concerned, God has indicated to David that he should cease his efforts to persuade God to relent concerning this child's death. This is the first of a number of painful events David will experience as a result of his sin regarding Uriah and Bathsheba. 2 Samuel 12 NCV - David's Son Dies - The LORD sent - Bible Gateway After some period of distress (see Psalm 32:3-4), God sent Nathan to David with a story, a story which deeply upset David. Elsewhere, the apostle Paul instructs Timothy that elders -- those church leaders whose lives are publicly under scrutiny -- who persist in their sin are to be corrected publicly, so that all will learn (1 Timothy 5:19-20). For David to mourn excessively would have been to express his regret over God's will. I will focus on four lines of evidence. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. If God had spared his son, David would have rejoiced greatly. Is that not the same sense that we gain from Paul's words below? It would seem from this text Paul is speaking of the coming of the age of accountability. c.1000 BCE - c.901 BCE See all related content Jonathan, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) books 1 and 2 Samuel, the eldest son of King Saul. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. How does David react? David prayed, and fasted, and vexed his soul; at last they tell him the child is dead. He did not want another wife; he did not even appear to want an affair, just a night of pleasure. Are we better than they? They fear that this is tantamount to declaring young children innocent. But what followed would pierce David through: the son his sin had produced would die. First, this text (along with the others I have mentioned) offers comfort to all those who have suffered (or will suffer) the loss of a little one. You will notice that by the use of italics the NAB indicates to us that the word himself is supplied by the translators. Based upon divine grace through the coming death of Christ, David was forgiven for his sins and assured that he would not die. I would have to say that my own views on this subject are undoubtedly shaped by our experience in losing a child. It was also Joab who, in accordance with David's command, placed Uriah the Hittite at the front of the battle to be killed, so that David could feel justified in marrying Uriah's widow ( 2 Samuel 11 ). There is something especially tragic about the death of a child. 21Davids servants said to him, Why are you doing this? 2 Samuel 12:15-17 ERV - David and Bathsheba's Baby Dies - Bible Gateway 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Several years later, the subject of where babies go when they die came up in a theology class at seminary. He also made them build with bricks. In Romans 5, Paul writes: 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned -- 13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. But Nathan has made it very clear that David's sin has been taken away. The death of this child is a painful consequence of David's sin, but it is not punishment for his sin, per se. We can see an example of the right kind of thinking in the Book of Daniel. You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and took his wife to be your wife! She became pregnant again and had another son, whom David named Solomon. All those who suffer the eternal wrath of God for their sin are those who have, by their own willful choice, rebelled against God and rejected the revelation of Him He made known to them. 13. The Death of David's Son (2 Samuel 12:14-31) | Bible.org You never heard its declaration of faith - it was not capable of such a thing; it was not baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ, not buried with him in baptism; it was not capable of giving that answer of a good conscience towards God, nevertheless, you may rest assured that it is well with the child, well in a higher and a better sense than it is well with yourselves; well without limitation, well without exception, well infinitely, well eternally. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. Answer. Davids servants were afraid to tell him that the baby was dead. The basis for this distinction is what is of concern to us in our study of the death of Davids son. He said to Nathan, As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this should die! He knew God had heard him and He had answered. (27-1) Introduction The price of David's sin of murder and adultery was high. At least three of David's sons died during David's lifetime. June 22, 2023, 3:17 PM PDT / Updated June 23, 2023, 7:05 AM PDT. My wife and I, like many other parents, have experienced the shock of waking up to find our child dead in his crib. 36 He had no sooner said the words than the king's sons burst in - loud laments and weeping! In the case of David, God did not relent. For God to allow David's sins to have no painful consequences would enable the wicked to conclude that God does not really hate sin, nor does He do anything about it when we do sin. If you dare to repeat the slander again, let the lie stand in scarlet on your very cheek if you be capable of a blush. We have never dreamed of such a thing. We remember how Jonah rebelled, but was finally compelled to go to Nineveh, where he announced the coming of God's wrath on Nineveh in 40 days. There are several ways to approach this passage. I have already called attention to the words of Jeremiah 18, where repentance is encouraged, and where God leaves His options open concerning the canceling (or even delaying) of threatened judgment. In the case of the men of Nineveh, God did relent, and the city was spared (much to the displeasure of Jonah). It seems to me that this text suggests that God views the 120,000 differently than He does the older Ninevites. If God dealt graciously with David, on the basis of the new covenant, would He not also deal with his son on the same basis? First, let us hear from Charles Haddon Spurgeon: Now for one or two incidental matters which occur in Scripture, which seem to throw a little light also on the subject. June 26, 2023. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate. The woman is beautiful, and David decides that he wants her. But whether or not He would do so, they did not dare to presume. . David L. RyanThe Boston Globe/Getty Images. He went into his house and stayed there and lay on the ground all night. We have probably all watched (at least the older ones among us) some of the works which Michael had a hand in directing. David's sin is to be understood as the exception, rather than the rule in his life: Because David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5). Further, those of us who know and love God should be willing to trust Him in this matter. Chapters 11 and 12 of 2 Samuel are almost parenthetical, then, as they depict this exceptional period in David's life. 13 1 Now David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. 33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 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. Abishag in the Bible - What She Did and Why David's Son Wanted Her Is it possible that David felt this child might be the heir to his throne? David did see his servants whispering to one another, perhaps furtively glancing in his direction as they did so. The law certainly did not pronounce such a penalty on a thief, but it did condemn adulterers and murderers. The purpose for this child's death was instructive. Pauls conclusion (that all men are sinners) is summed up in chapter 3, as he draws together a list of Old Testament citations: 9 What then? 23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? Pogue visited . 18On the seventh day the baby died. Paul would make this same charge against the Jews centuries later: 21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? The principle would give a little lecture, and the student would come back with a big smile on his face. After becoming King of Israel, things were going very well for David, perhaps too well. Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed Summary: Second Samuel 12:15-31 shows us how to rebound after personal moral failure (that is, sin) in our lives. In chapters 1-3 of Romans, Paul lays a foundation for the rest of the epistle. He slept with her and had sexual relations with her. Who was Joab in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org The issue addressed by the fifth chapter of Romans is this: How can one person Jesus Christ be the Savior of all those who believe in Him? How can one man save many by dying for them?, The answer Paul gives us in Romans 5 is very simple: It was one man (Adam) who brought sin upon the human race; so, too, it was one Man (Jesus Christ) who provided the solution to the problem of sin for all who believe..