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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Samuel 12:15 - 12:25
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The Death of David's Child
v. 15. And Nathan, having delivered the sentence of the Lord, departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, the phrasing once more calling attention to the sin, and it was very sick. The sickness in this case was a direct punishment of God upon the parents.
v. 16. David, therefore, besought God for the child, to spare its life; and David fasted, as a sign of deep sorrow and repentance, and went in, to a quiet room or retired spot of his house, and lay all night upon the earth. He bowed in meekness under the punishing hand of God, but also pleaded for merciful consideration, if he might expect such.
v. 17. And the elders of his house, his oldest and most confidential servants, arose and went to him to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. His grief was too great to Field to their appeals and admonitions.
v. 18. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the child died, God had deemed it best to carry out the punishment decided upon. 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 mot hearken unto our voice; how will he, then, vex himself, by being plunged into still deeper grief, in which he might do himself harm, if we tell him that the child is dead?
v. 19. But when David saw that his servants whispered, not daring to approach him with the sad news, David perceived that the child was dead, he drew his conclusions from their behavior; therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, he is dead.
v. 20. Then David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, the tent where the Ark of the Covenant had been placed, and worshiped, his humble yielding to God's chastening hand enabling him joyfully to bear the burden laid upon him. Then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
v. 21. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? They could not explain David's conduct to themselves. Thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
v. 22. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, he thought in his heart, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child may live? If God had spared his child. David would have regarded the fact as a proof of God's special mercy upon him.
v. 23. But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? He humbled himself under the mighty hand of God without giving way to fruitless grief. I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me, a clear confession of the belief in a life after death.
v. 24. And David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, with the same comfort which he himself had received, and went in unto her and lay with her; and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon, undoubtedly with the prayer that God might grant him peace in every way. And the Lord loved him, gave the child special evidences of His loving-kindness.
v. 25. And He, the Lord, sent by the hand of Nathan, the prophet, as His official representative in this case; and he called his name Jedidiah (beloved of the lord), because of the Lord. All this points forward to the object of Christ's coming in the flesh. For He is come to cover over our nakedness and disgrace before God, to change the scarlet color of our guilt into the white of perfect innocence, through the atonement gained by His blood.