2 Samuel 12:16-31 – Pointing To A Better King
God tells David that his child will die. But even so, when the child becomes sick, David fasts and prays. Does David not believe God, we might wonder? The answer is that David has encountered God’s grace. As a result he now can’t help thinking that God might show grace to his son as well? Perhaps God has told him the child will die in the same way that he would later tell Nineveh that they would be destroyed. Maybe it’s to stir David to turn to him. Alas, it’s not to be. The child dies. At this point David has done his weeping. He rises, washes, worships, and comes home. Even though God hasn’t answered his prayer, he responds in faith that he will see the boy again. This is a hope, a confidence, that any Christian parent who experiences the heartbreak of losing a child can have. The parents of Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck lost an infant son within two weeks of his birth. A few years later, their oldest child, Dina, died at the age of 13. Four years after that, they lost another daughter, Femia, aged only eight. The sense of loss they felt was profound. The author of their biography comments: ‘Their only comfort lay in the covenant of grace: God had promised to be faithful to their children in life and death’.
The chapter ends with the continuation of the Ammonites and the capture of Rabbah. It takes us back to the beginning of the last chapter, before David ever laid eyes on Bathsheba. If it seems like an anticlimax to the chapter – I think it’s meant to be. David is restored to service, in a sense. But his sin, even though it’s forgiven, will still cast a long shadow over the rest of his life. The sword will not depart from his house.
It’s clear that just like the other leaders in 1st and 2nd Samuel, whether Eli or Samuel or Saul, all of them are flawed, even David, the man after God’s own heart. So once again this book lifts our eyes beyond David, and points us forward to God’s true Messianic King, Jesus Christ.
Questions
- Why does David pray for his son when he knows what God will do?
- To whom does this chapter point?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.