2 Samuel 12 (Part 3) Bible Study (David's Child Dies / Solomon's Birth) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Amen. You sang with strength tonight. I felt the strength of your voice tonight. More importantly, God sensed it, and it was glorious, I'm sure, to him. Now we worship him in his word.

So do you have a bible in your hands? If you do, meet me in the book of second Samuel, and let's go to our final study of the chapter that we've been studying the past few weeks, chapter 12. Second Samuel chapter 12 is where we are tonight, and we will be looking at the remaining and concluding verses of this chapter. Second Samuel chapter 12, and place your finger there at verse 15 because that's where we're going to begin. Verse 15.

Lord, this is your word. We love your word. We love you. We fear you. We honor you.

Lord, speak to us through this study. Let it touch our hearts. That it cause us to see that you are the truth. Lord, we ask that these things would be applied to us. Guard our minds and our hearts from confusion, distraction, anything that would sabotage the sanctifying work of your word as we sit under the washing of it.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Verse 15 tonight, it's gonna set the tone. It's gonna really establish the theme for the study that we are embarking on together. And so we're gonna read that pause, and then we're gonna continue to read.

And so look at verse 15. It starts a little bit awkward, but remember, the numbers in our bibles, the references, the chapters, and the verse numbers are not inspired necessarily, though God has used it mightily to help us know the word. Verse 15 reads, then Nathan went to his house, and the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. The part I want you to see is, and the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. The Holy Spirit clearly and plainly wants to tell us that the fatal disease that was placed upon this baby was a direct act of God.

That might be disturbing to us initially. That might be a another proof text for the atheist or the agnostic who would try to, find ammunition in our own word to assault the character of God, and it might even trouble the uninformed believer who doesn't know how to explain these these complicated matters that we see in in the holy word of God. But out of all the things that we can we can talk about, we can spend next hour discussing evil in our world and God's role in it and our responsibility in that. But if there's one thing for the sake of this study that we must ensure that we don't misinterpret about what we see in this context is that the Lord does not afflict David's son because of David's sin. In other words, he's not punishing David's son.

What the lord is doing is chastising David. He's chastising David, not David's son. And in God's perfect wisdom, he sees it and finds it necessary that in the early blossoming stages, as early as you can imagine of this baby, that that life would be removed in order to perfect the work that the Lord wants to see happening in David's heart. And so let's just make that clear here. Right?

David's son is not paying for David's sin. It is David's son who will lose his life in order to discipline David, and there's a great difference there. I know it sounds similar, but it's it's not. And it's not trickery here. There is a a very important lesson in that.

And we're gonna see the hope even in this son's death as you know very well. Last week, you and I briefly discussed the wise and the ways of god's discipline pertaining to his children. God is our heavenly father. He is the father of all spirits, but he is specifically responsible, and he has a specific affection for those who have put their trust in the son of God. And so we looked at some of the whys.

Why does God discipline? Why does he allow painful circumstances to occur? Why does he permit it in the lives of those that belong to him and the ways in which he does it? The ways in which he does it. And the ways is perfect.

It's there's not just there's not a chart of how he disciplines. It's perfectly orchestrated and ordained for specific sins in the specific lives of each of his children in order to bring about the best result in their sanctification. But in this study, we're gonna look at the fruit of God's discipline. We're gonna see the the results of God's discipline in the life of his son, of his servant, of David namely. And so I want you to see that.

I want you to keep that in mind. That's the framework that we're going through. The fruit the fruit of when God puts his finger on us in order to apply pressure, in order to, bring about some kind of, of of pain for the sake of growing us and helping us learn why sin should not be something we even entertain. So let's read now in verse 16. David therefore sought God on behalf of the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.

And the elders of his house stood beside him to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. When you and I turn away from the Lord, when any of God's children turn away from the Lord from for a, prolonged season of time and remain in a state of stubborn unrepentance, the method by which the Lord will bring us back to him is often through affliction. Affliction. He will call for specific circumstances to occur in us, around us, very much close to us in order to awaken something in us. When you look here at, of David's situation, we might wonder why would God go to such an extent.

And then we might broaden that question to why does he allow any suffering to happen, especially the suffering that doesn't make sense in the lives of those who are seem to be least deserving of it. And though, again, we can spend the rest of this time exhaustively answering that, here's one thing based on the example that is set before us where we can have somewhat of a clear answer of why God implements this kind of method, the utilization of suffering. It is not that the Lord has nonsensical delight in seeing us, deal with certain burdens. It is because our sinful nature often requires it. Our sinful nature often requires and demands that God apply painful predicaments in order to push us where we need to be.

And that is exactly what is happening here to David. David, when he was left alone, was going along just fine for several months living as a hypocrite, living distant from God and distant from true godliness. And it wasn't until the child was smitten that something happened in him where he put himself in a place that he is not known for for too long, and that is the presence of God in true humility and in true worship. David has not been in this kind of place for several months. And the psalmist in Psalm one nineteen verse 67 says something very insightful.

He says, before I was afflicted, I went astray. Before I was afflicted, I went astray. And then he goes on to say, but now I keep your word. Meaning, if I just kept going, I would have kept going, but it was the obstacle of affliction, the interruption of sudden suffering that brought me to the place where I now embrace and keep your word. Affliction was the instrument.

It was for a man like David, and it is still today for many of us. And in fact, if you read here in the one verse that we just read, verse 16, you will see that three things happened to David. Three things happened to David as a result of God's chastisement in his life. First thing is that Dave David therefore sought God. He sought God.

That's the first thing. A preacher cleverly said, you cannot live wrong and pray right. You cannot live wrong and pray right unless you're praying is, of course, you're confessing of that wrong. And it's not too much of a mystery. It's not difficult to understand that you and I are barred from experiencing genuine, sincere, real fellowship with God if we cherish sin in our hearts.

And what God does to awaken a longing and a desire for him again is what we see here with David. He ordains distress. He allows things to happen so that we would do what we would not do if we did not see before us things that do not please us at the moment. And yet David, when the shock came to him, he dropped to his knees. Now you would wish David had done this before all of this had happened.

You would think that if David stayed strong in his prayer life, he wouldn't have fallen into temptation. Nonetheless, he is where he's supposed to be. The second thing is, in the same verse, David therefore sought God, here's the second part, on behalf of the child. So not only was there a rekindled desire for God himself, but there was something reinstalled, reinstated, and that's compassion. That's compassion.

David had many wives. David had many children. David was a warrior. David was someone who saw a lot of bloodshed. And we saw earlier, we we were faced with the coldness of David's heart.

The same man who would weep when his enemies died was totally unmoved when he when he called for the death of an innocent man, one of his best men. Sin brings devastating shifts to the soul. And so you see now David who in the last time we saw him dealing with death, a death that he asked for, that he commissioned, and didn't have one tear come down that cheek, now we see David tenderized and pleading with God and seeking God and fasting for this little boy to remain alive. And so we already see how the chastisement of the Lord here has made David soft again. And not only just in this occurrence, scroll down to verse 24.

Look at verse 24. Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba. See, even though after the news of the death came, David still found the strength in his sorrow to be able to come to his wife, Bathsheba, and to comfort her, and to encourage her, and to build her, to to keep her eyes on the truth and the truth of who God is. So we see now how the discipline of God has made this man to be who God called him to be, not just toward God, but toward others. I see a third thing in the same verse.

We see that David sought God. We see that David sought God on behalf of the child. And lastly, we read, and David fasted. David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. I see David's fasting here as something more than just an expression of the seriousness of his devotion in this moment of pleading with the Lord.

Why do people not fast generally? Any idea? Well, let me let me make this let me make this clear. Fasting, biblically, is not things like, I'm not gonna watch Netflix for two months. That's not fasting.

That's discipline. It's not fasting. Fasting is not, I'm gonna get off TikTok for three hours. That's not fasting. K?

Fasting biblically is not eating food, physical food, for the purpose of devoting that time in which you would prepare and eat to prayer instead. So that's let's just establish that. Right? I remember sitting in a meeting and somebody said, you know, we're gonna all as a young adults, we're gonna we're gonna fast and just think about what you wanna give up, and some people just give up the most ridiculous things. Actually, a funny story.

I I remember that time I brought a a somebody that was not a believer, and he he brought his girlfriend at the time. And he was sitting in that meeting, and he got so excited about the idea that he looked at me. He says, me and my girlfriend decided we're gonna fast being intimate together. I said, that's that's not how fasting works. You need to repent and stop doing that.

That's not something you fast. But I admire his, enthusiasm. Non believer. Why do people generally not fast? Because they wanna eat.

This is very simple. It wasn't a mysterious thing. It wasn't a deep thing. It's the idea of being unwilling to resist the impulses of the flesh that cry, I want to eat. And it's, the weakness in so many that succumb to the impulses of the flesh.

And so to impose some restriction for a period of time and to feel your bones weak and your mouth feeling dry and headaches for the sake of prayer is just not the most flattering invitation. And so people generally don't fast because people don't wanna have self control in that area. I I know there are medical reasons, and I'm not gonna get into all that, but generally that is the case. And David, what you see here in this moment is ruling over the cravings of the flesh. Here we see a man who had such a strong conviction in the pursuit of God at this time that he could not even be physically removed by his trusted servants when he was locked in in that place of I'm going to seek God.

And you know what what came to my mind when I looked at this and I observed this? I thought to myself, only David had such self control when it came to his flesh wanting another man's wife. If David could could only find the conviction in him to say that person does not belong to me even though my eyes and my imaginations and my fantasies are calling out for her, I will not be moved. If only he was just as resilient in the will of God instead of giving over to idleness and lounging around on the couch where everything started from. Nevertheless, god's discipline now has led him into the place where he could relearn what it means to be an overcomer.

You see, David here is experiencing the sting of sin, and god is turning up the heat. He's experiencing the sting of his past sins so that he can be prepared for tomorrow's temptations. He would remember the weight of this, the seriousness of this, the consequences of this so that when the invitation comes again, he goes, I've been in this neighborhood before. I'm not going down that road again. How can we summarize what's happening to David?

I I quoted Psalm one nineteen verse 67 where he says, before I went astray or before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. But in that same chapter in Psalm one nineteen verse 71, the psalmist says, it was good that I was afflicted. It was good for me that I was afflicted. So past tense. Now in hindsight, I look back at my affliction, I look back at the discipline of the Lord, and knowing who I am today, I can say it was good.

It was good that God allowed these afflictions to arise in my life because he says that I might learn your statutes. Spurgeon said it in his own way. Spurgeon said, I have, quote, I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the rock of ages. I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me upon the rock of ages. And so David, Spurgeon, men of God today, women of God today will understand that as daunting as the discipline of God is, there is good in it in the end.

There is a holiness to be shared as a result if we are trained by it appropriately. Now what do we see here? Verse 18. On the seventh day, the child died. That's so sad because on the eighth day, what would happen to a male child?

He would be circumcised. Right? He would be recognized in the house of God. He would enter technically into covenant with God. And before that day came, God says, you're coming with me.

On the seventh day, the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him, the child is dead? He may do himself some harm. So here's the here's the news.

David, after seven days of consecutive fasting and prayer, while he's still laying out there, broken, shriveled up, exhausted, believing, hoping, The news comes to the servants as they look at it from a distance, and they said, how is he gonna handle this one? And the Holy Spirit gives us the perspective of the servants on this this awful news. And I looked at this, and I thought to myself, yeah, their hesitation to be the bearers of this terrible tragedy is understandable. Because in their thinking, if if he's like this while the child is alive, what's he gonna do to himself once we find out that he's gone? And they they were convinced that he would be so hysterical that he would hurt himself.

And so they were very, very careful to just barge in there and give him this this update. And David here is a unique leader. Right? He had a he had a as a king, the prerogative and the right and the necessity having an entourage by him at all times. And when I realized this, I thought, here here are these witnesses of David's whole predicament and ordeal.

They're witnesses of it, and he had an audience. He had an audience. And and there they are assessing this whole situation and assessing how he will deal with it and how he might respond to it. And though David was unique as a leader, here's the here's the truth with us. All of us, no matter who you are no matter who you are, all of us have an audience.

All of us do. There there is someone who knows you, who knows about your life, who watches your life whether closely or at a distance. And that should mean something to us, especially as we are called to be witnesses. We are called not just by our words, but through our lives to present a case for Christ. And what people will do, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you like it or not, or whether you like to pause that or not, is that there are people who are constantly evaluating our activity, our inactivity, our actions, our reactions, our attitudes, in all cases.

And here we see these men doing just that, watching David, wondering how is he going to do with all of this. And if you think this is just an like an isolated kind of interpretation of this thing, no. You see it throughout the scriptures. I'll never forget reading the book of Acts and seeing this little phrase at one point in Paul's ministry. And when I when I read that, it made an imprint on my heart because it it reminded me, and I hope it will remind you in the future, that there will be people watching, and there will be people registering, and there will be people putting the pieces together, especially as you and I endure God's providential dealings that seem very uncomfortable at the moment.

Can I show you that verse? It's so simple, but to me it's so deep. It's when Paul and Silas were in prison. In Acts 16 verse 25, with bleeding backs, dry mouths, bruised bodies, chained at the feet, chained by their hands, Here's a description that we have that we have of the scene in acts 16 and verse 25. Look at this.

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and this is the phrase, and the prisoners were listening to them. And the prisoners were listening to them. What a strange sound it must have been to these criminals that in that midnight hour, hymns were being sung and being echoed through the corridors and in those prison cells. I don't know if Paul and Silas knew that the prisoners were listening to them, but the Holy Spirit wants to tell you and me that the prisoners were listening to them in their suffering. They were assessing.

They were evaluating. They were wondering. They were considering how is it that these men are singing. And remember, there was a jailer in this whole ordeal. Once God ordained for an earthquake to occur and to set these men free, there was a jailer who knew to run to them and say, what must I do to be saved?

And so whether you realize or not with the burden that you're carrying, you're making a statement day by day. How you deal with those situations is is telling a story to others. And you might be aware of it, or like these two men, you might not be aware of it. The scripture is even in a very controversial place in the bible When it talks about head carvings, Paul alludes to the presence of angels as the motivation for obedience in that specific corporate call of obedience. The presence of angels who are witnesses, there's witnesses, there's much debate about that, but the whole idea is this.

There's people who are watching. There's an unbelieving crowd who is watching. There are weak believers who are watching. There are other people who are going through similar storms who are watching. So may God empower us not to give into the flesh and lose the opportunity of making a profound impact on those who need to see some hope.

They are wondering, what's this man going to do? Now we come back in verse 19. We read, but when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, is the child dead? They said he is dead.

You get the feeling that these servants wanted to just rip off the Band Aid as fast as possible, and they were very short with their announcement. They didn't wanna give any philosophical explanation or try to comfort him early on or try to do anything other than just confirm what he asked. And you can imagine the tension that just filled the air. You can imagine the suspense, and they're holding their breath, maybe some even closing their eyes. David was a passionate man.

David could erupt in praise and prayer and dance. Who knows what he's about to do now? And as they're there waiting to behold a sight that they would not want to see based on their own calculations, that suspense is now replaced with bewilderment. Because in verse 20, we see exactly what David does. Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes, and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.

Is this for real? No sigh, no disappointment. He he springs up, takes a shower, changes his clothes, and goes to Friday night bible study. And I look at this, and I think to myself, before looking at the response of these men, there is something here about worship that God wants to say Because the bible puts David in a in a position as a historical example of what a man or a woman after God's heart looks like. So if that's the title that David receives, then perhaps evaluating his life will help us know how we can come into that place of of being worshipers of his caliber.

What do you see about worship here that you think gives specific glory and honor to God? What does true worship look like? Can I tell you first that true worship is offered when things don't go our way? True worship is offered when things don't go our way. It's not conditional.

It's not contingent upon anything. It's not enhanced when the prayers are answered, and it's absent when we feel like God is not giving us our wishes. That's not how worship works. Worship here is plain and simple. We see here that the heartbreaking news of this child's death could have easily been a severe blow to the soul of this man.

But, again, what you see instead is that this man gets up, and his attitude here of of honor, immediate honor, clearly clearly showcases his strong confidence in the sovereign decree of God. You know how David can do this? Because David had a theological base in his framework of faith. And in his understanding of the character of God, he knew this one thing that seems so simple, but needs to be embedded in our hearts to see the full force of it in our lives. God is good.

God is good all the time. Right? And if I'm in the hand of God, if I've given my life to God, then I can trust that whatever he allows to unfold, whatever he closes, whatever he opens, whatever he multiplies, whatever he removes, no matter the mystery of it, no matter the complexity of it, no matter how I might even contradict certain things that I'm seeing in my life and believing God for, he's good. So it is good. It has to be good.

It has to be good. And if you can get that down deep in your heart, then you will also stand amazed at what your mind and your thoughts and your reflexes would be even as you face an untold and unforeseen pain. I know it's easier said than done. But if you trust that God has saved you for all of eternity, and I pray that every person here does, if you if you've entrusted death into the hands of the living God, then then why reserve your faith to believe that everything he allows in your life is also for your good? It's so much easier apparently for believers to trust God that he's gonna take us to heaven.

But for whatever the case may be, we seem to have very much difficulty to believe that he can lead us through this life. And, that shouldn't be the case. If you believe him for eternity, you can believe him for your seventy, eighty years here. And so this man showing us that true worship says, I don't know what's happening. I don't know where this is going, but I know who you are, and that is enough for me to say, I'm safe.

You are good. I will glorify you. Secondly, worship, true worship is offered even in the midst of sorrow. This is really hard. Void of sympathy or compassion.

He allows for grief. He allows for us to mourn. He allows for us to break down. He allows for us to take some time to to process the loss of this person or that thing. Jesus, the son of God, even had tears streaming down his face at his friend's funeral knowing that in a few moments he was actually gonna call him from his tomb.

God is very understanding. But there is, for some, when they endure any kind of suffering, they allow it to go to the point where their walk with the Lord receives a death blow. And no matter what dies, whether it's an opportunity, a ministry, relationships, or a person, because of maybe a poor understanding of how God works, they allow other things to die as a result. That's unnecessary. Their attendance dies.

Their service to God dies. Their praise dies. Their witness dies. And they just remain in a place of numbness, and they just cruise through life. And that is not God's will, and that is not what the Holy Spirit wants to do in us.

He wants to do so much more in us. He wants to elevate us and bring us above all of that and to soar with supernatural strength. Heartache heartache is powerful, but it should never come to the point where it kills our heart for God. And so trust that God is able to energize within you true worship even in the midst of pain. Thirdly, true worship is not just something that can be done in the midst of sorrow, and God is worthy of it even in the midst of sorrow, but true worship is offered as highest priority.

David went to two houses after he heard the news of his son's death. Let's read that again. David rose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes, and he went into the house of the lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, then he ate. Two houses.

Which one did he go to first? Yeah. Some have trouble if the meeting extends because they know that lunchtime is being compromised. David fasted for for days. And when he knew that he got an answer to his prayer, maybe not the answer that he wanted, but when he knew he got an answer, no, your son isn't going to live, the first thing that he does is I'm going to worship God.

You would think that he would go and order a meal. Is food sin? No. It's the principle behind what we see here, and the principle is this, that unless worship, honor, service to God is preeminent in our lives and everything follows that, it ceases to be true worship. If worship to God has fourth, third, or even second place in our priorities, no matter what we esteem it to be to God, it is not true worship.

True worship is only when everything revolves around our responsibility and our affection to the things of God and to the person of God himself. And so worship, you've heard me say this before, but it's worth repeating. Worship for a a lot of believers today is a matter of convenience. And as long as it is painless and as long as it doesn't come with too great of a price, as long as my time is not affected and my plans are not altered, then I will worship. That's not worship.

That's idolatry. It's idolatry. Even in that, you realize that you and I are worshiping ourselves. We don't put the gift on the altar and realize when the altar is gonna be consumed. We remove the gift.

That's not how it works, but that's a wonderful imagery of what we can do in our spiritual walk with the Lord. And so true worship is sacrifice, and it will call for great sacrifice at times. And what will determine whether or not it is legitimate worship is, lord, you have first place in all things. You have first place in all things. And I I think that is increasingly being a lost posture in an age of much convenience and many other ambitions in life.

But here's David. It moves me to the core. I mean, here's this guy. He peels himself off the carpet. And the first thing that comes to his mind when he gets a no look.

If I read that verse in isolation with a blurred understanding of the of the context, you would think David did this because he got a yes. Your son will be healed. And here, your son is healed, David. Oh, he gets up, he washes himself, and he goes to the house of the Lord. No.

It was because of a no. A no. That's worship. God, you're worthy. You don't owe me anything.

You already gave me your son. I have eternal life. You are holy. I'm a creature. You're the creator.

I'm your servant. You're my master. You are good. I am skewed in my understanding of what is good. My heart lies to me more than anybody else.

I think I know what's best for me more than most people, including sometimes if I'm honest you, but I refuse to believe that in this moment. You are good. Here's my worship. Here's my worship. This is worship.

And what a testament it was. Look at verse 21. Then his servants said to him, what is this thing that you have done? They were, like, offended. What is this thing that you have done?

You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food. It just they were confounded. They were shocked. Trust in God when it is lived out is often a spectacle. It's a spectacle.

When it comes out of our bible studies and comes out of our book readings and our systematic theologies and it's lived out, it has the ability to rock people's world and not just the hope that we have in adversity. Right? Hope is a powerful thing, especially in adversity. But everything about our faith, the all encompassing realities of our faith, not just hope, for example, holiness, even holiness. Holiness when we choose to consecrate our lives and not join with the world, it has the ability to make people perplexed.

And so here you see these men, they're just dumbfounded. Hey. Can you help me understand this? You're living in an opposite and parallel universe. This is not how things happen when you hear the death of a of a little child.

And David is not faking it. David is not putting on a show. This is real. You know, when I was reading this verse, I was thinking about, yes, we don't we don't grieve as the world grieves according to first Thessalonians four thirteen, but it's beyond that. It's more than just a hope aspect.

Do you remember that verse in first Peter four four? In first Peter four four, Peter says, and to this respect, they are surprised when you do not join them in their flood of debauchery, and they malign you. And they malign you tells the group of Christians here that when you as a believer allow the gospel to truly come in and and cause you to live a life that is separated onto the lord, the unbelieving, the ones who were once your friends, they are surprised when you don't join them in the flood of debauchery. It's like, hey. There's more room.

Come swim with us. And when you say no, and when you say, I'm sorry. I'm going to bible study on Friday night. I'm sorry. I don't sleep in on Sunday.

I'm sorry. I don't do that. Whatever the case may be, it has the ability again to to be a spectacle and for people to wonder. Now two two things can happen as you live that out. One is that it brings such a challenge to the people that they inquire further about the hope that is in you.

What why are you like this? Why don't you do this? Or secondly, it can create enemies, and they malign you, and they mock you, and they despise you. And because the conviction is so real, the light is so bright, it exposes the darkness in them that they begin to, as a defense mechanism, now turn on you and try to shun you and put you in a category of crazy or whatever the case may be. That is not the case with these men as they witnessed David.

David making a statement of unshakable faith, these men had a genuine inquiry. How? How does this happen? Can you tell us the secret to your resolve, or can you explain your behavior here? David does.

He gladly does. Look at verse 22. He said, while the child was still alive, I fasted and wept for I said, who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead. Why should I fast?

Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me. You know, some might look at what David did here for the past seven days as as a waste, pointless, especially in light of the fact that God decreed already, and he made the charge, your son is going to die. He's going to die.

But David here does something, and he explains something that is consistent with the rest of scripture. And it's an important lesson about prayer. There are many examples in the Bible when God pronounces judgment, whether to an individual or to a nation, And the response of the object of judgment has actually brought about a different outcome that was decreed beforehand. In some cases, the judgment was completely removed altogether. In others, it was reduced.

And in some cases like this one, it didn't move one bit. It stayed the way it was intended to be originally. And so David here with his praying was not wasting his time, was not doing something that he thought was just, you know, I'm just gonna show some piety here. He's not showcasing anything. David had another belief about how God works and this is it.

God, through my praying, through my fasting can change course. Now I know that gets complicated philosophically. I know that it's complicated with the the foreknowledge of God and how God works, and I get it. I'm not going to allow myself to get so deep into this that I drown, and I don't want you to either. All I know is that there is there is the truth that God does know all things, that God has things determined on his prophetic calendar, but at the same time, I look at things like you have not because you asked that.

I'm gonna believe that just as strongly. I'm gonna believe that just as strongly. And so what we see here is that David prayed because David believed to some extent, perhaps God will have mercy. Perhaps God will have mercy. I remember hearing a q and a of a very respected minister in my books, and it was a q and a that dealt with revival.

And one of the questions, and I believe it was a brilliant question, was, brother, if if Jesus told us and the New Testament affirms that things are only going to get worse and worse before his return, then why admonish? Why fast? Why extend prayer meetings and have conferences around prayer for revival, for a mass move of the spirit that would sweep in more souls into the kingdom of God? How does that coincide with the reality that things are only going to get darker and more vile and more unbelieving in our world? And as much as I respected this man, he he kinda went off in a different direction, and he went down this rabbit hole.

So so the interviewer repeated the question and tried to bring him back on course, and he tried to answer it, but it didn't satisfy me at least. It didn't satisfy me, and and I I to me, it was just like, there has to be an answer to that because if we're believing God for that, if we're asking God to move in our city, does that work? Is it going to work? Are we wasting our time? Or should we just hold tight, build bunkers, and and just wait for the return?

And then I remember in my own personal reading, not studying for any sermon, nothing of the sort, just reading through systematically the word of God, I came to the prophet Joel and a text appeared to me, and it answered the question. It answered the question. And my mind went directly to watching that q and a even years ago, and I've watched it more than once, and I thought to myself, that's it. That is it. Can I share it with you?

Joel chapter two. Look at verse 14 with me. In the context here, the prophet Joel has has called judgment upon the people of God, namely Israel, the people of Judah. It was inevitable. It was determined.

Their the warnings already came. The prophets have already lined up, and there was so much rejection, and God decreed judgment is coming. But look what Joel says. There's a call for repentance in twelve and thirteen, but look what look what it said here in verse 14. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the lord your God.

You see that? Who knows? Isn't that what David said? Didn't David say similar things? Who knows whether the lord will be gracious to me?

Who knows? I don't know if God will. All I know is that God is able. And because God is able, that's enough fuel for me to pray and keep praying, to fast and keep fasting, to seek and keep seeking. We are not fatalistic in our faith.

We are not among those who might say, it's all said and done. Just robotically move on and deal with it as it comes. No. There is a mysterious aspect to this where a holy God who says one thing can be moved in his heart through the prayers of his people. And sometimes it's a yes, and sometimes it's a no.

Regardless, I'm going to apply this to my prayer life. Who knows? And do you know why prayer is so important? Because David could get up with such confidence knowing that he did his part by seeking God and knowing that he sought God, so he got an answer and he can move on now. I don't wanna live my life wondering what if.

Do you see what I'm saying? What if I had sought God? What if I had prayed about the matter? I just wanna saturate everything in prayer. And then as God's providential leading occurs and whatever the outcome may be, I can be at peace.

I can sit down and have a meal. I can come to the house of God and rejoice and not doubt for a moment because I know that that I've done what he's called me to do and let of his sovereign purposes, I sought him. I sought him. I I brought it before him. I gave it to him.

Here's the outcome. Sometimes there's answers. Sometimes there's no's. Who knows? I did my part, though.

I did my part. And David here, as I mentioned in this verse, expresses something that has brought so much comfort to families, especially parents who have lost the life of a little child. What did he say at the end? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me. Bible students, some don't see this as the assurance or some revelation that alludes to a little one being in the presence of God and being pardoned for his sin.

Some simply see David's statement here as him acknowledging that he's gonna go to the grave and join his son in death at one point. He can't bring his son back from the grave. I'm just I have my own lot in that graveyard, and I'm gonna be there one day just just like he is. Here's my problem with that interpretation. It's very difficult to see how that thought is a source of comfort.

David has confidence here. David is consoled here by a certain revelation, and I think it's greater than I'm gonna die like my son died one day. David had, as a psalmist, many supernatural insights into the resurrection, into eternal life, into new covenant promises. And so it should not be a surprise to us that perhaps even at this point, he had some veiled understanding that the judge of the earth knows exactly how to judge, and that my son who has died at a certain stage of life will be brought into the presence of his holiness. And I, because I am righteous, because of God's mercy and grace, will join him one day.

And the comfort of of David's heart in this moment is not just the fact that his little boy, his unnamed child, would be among the righteous forever. It's that he believed one day he will see him and recognize him. I'll see him one day. I will go to him. He will not come to me.

I will go to him. And there's much debate among among people concerning how God does work and judge concerning those who are young, young in age, young in life. And, you've probably heard this. There are some who actually believe that, no, because you're born in sin, if you die young, God will hold you accountable because you've inherited Adam's sin, and you will not have eternal life. And there are others who who have gathered the evidence of the New Testament, of the Old Testament, have concluded there is there is a point in life in which you will be held accountable.

And prior to that point, God will judge differently based on your ability to know right from wrong. And that's the camp where I am in. And it's that's not just because of my subjective interpretation of justice. That's because the Bible shows us that there is a point in life in which the Lord does not hold us accountable as he does with someone who is more developed in their reasoning. So I wanna give you these references.

So you can you can write these down. I want you to even turn there because you might sit across a coffee table with somebody who is dealing with sorrow, dealing with the loss of a loved one, and and and a child of all things, which is even more devastating. So keep these references in mind. Let's go firstly to Isaiah seven, Isaiah seven verse 15 and verse 16. Isaiah seven verse 15 and verse 16.

This is in the context of the prophecy of the virgin who will have a child. We know that ultimately points to Christ, but look at the description of this child in the immediate sense of verse 15 of chapter seven. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. Did you see that? When he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.

Verse 16. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. So Isaiah makes a clear and obvious line. There's a line in which a child can cross in which he knows how to choose good and he knows how to refuse evil. And there is a part of that child's life according to verse 16 where he doesn't know how to refuse evil and he doesn't know how to choose good.

So that's obvious. Right? There there is a category of the unknown according to a child's ability to discern and make certain decisions. K. That's Isaiah seven.

Let's go to Deuteronomy one thirty nine. Deuteronomy one thirty nine. Here's the Lord reminding the people of who's going into the promised land. Only two from the original generation are going in, but not just Joshua and Caleb. Joshua and Caleb were not the only ones from that original group of exiles who are headed into the land of Canaan.

There's another group of people. Verse 39 of chapter one. And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there, and to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. So listen. God wiped away that entire first generation for anyone who was 20 and older.

Right? But we see here that specifically the little ones, your children. And here's his reasoning. I'm not going to restrict the promised land. I'm not going to bar them out for this main reason.

They have no knowledge of good or evil. So then if God is not willing to judge little children in this life with the severity that he brought about to their parents, then we got we have some insight of how he execute judgment concerning those who have no knowledge of good or evil. And I think that even applies to those who do not have the normal mental capacity even in their adult years to process things. Right? Even Romans one, we see that there is judgment based on revelation that's been given in nature.

And so God has revealed himself. God has exposed himself. And based on someone's ability to discern that, they will be held accountable. What about those who can't? Well, I think God will will have justice for them and mercy upon them.

And so I believe there is a stronger case here to understand that the lord will embrace and his arms will be wide open for little children. I think we're gonna see a lot of them in glory. I don't know how that all works. I don't know what age we're all gonna be at. I don't know what it is about the resurrection body that's gonna include all the intricacies of life and years, but praise God, he's a merciful lord and judge.

David knew that. We should believe the same. You and I have have briefly looked at the fruit of chastisement, how God disciplines, and why God disciplines, and what it brings about when one embraces God's chastening hand. But here's how I wanna end, and we're ending with that same thought in mind because there is one very important way of understanding God's discipline that if we end it here might leave some of us hopeless, especially for us who have maybe dramatically messed up. Because we understand that this is not the end for David's discipline.

For the rest of his life, he's gonna know repercussions. He's going to know consequences until his dying day, and that could, that can make life pretty unlivable. Some might even wanna call it quits, but that's not how this story ends. So we have to close this study in the way that this story ends because it will impart so much hope for the hopeless. Look at verse 24.

Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went into her and lay with her, and she bore a son and called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet, so he called his name Jedidiah because of the Lord. Look at verse 24 very carefully. Then David comforted who? His wife, Bathsheba.

Go back to where we started in verse 15 and look at how the Holy Spirit before this verse identifies Bathsheba. Then Nathan went to his house, and the Lord afflicted the child that who? Uriah's wife bore to David. So even after David got married, even after he thought he concealed everything and he hid everything, verse 15 reminds us that the child that's going to be afflicted with this disease was not a child that was consummated in a legitimate way. Uriah's wife, Uriah's wife, the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, that child that was conceived while Uriah was married to Bathsheba, that child is going to suffer.

And then you come to verse 24. When everything has settled, when that major blow came, and we are told by the same holy spirit, David comforted, not Uriah's wife, his wife, Bathsheba. His wife, Bathsheba. That is not to say that God sanctioned this marriage, meaning that he approved of the means by which this marriage came about. But it also doesn't mean that in God's mind, in order to rectify this whole mess, that David had to sever ties with Bathsheba, divorce her, put her away, and cut off this marital covenant with her because that would only add to the evil.

Someone once asked me on behalf of a friend, my friend had a had a past divorce before she knew the Lord, then she remarried. And there's another Christian friend of hers that told her, in order for you to walk in holiness, you need to divorce your current husband and go back to your original husband. You're living in adultery. Do you see how these bible studies help us in real life now? And, no, if you read it if you read Deuteronomy 24, it's actually an abomination.

It's actually an abomination to see a marriage covenant that perhaps was not the right way for it to come about and to sever that tie to try to somehow make it holy again and make it right again. So what we see here is that when David marries Bathsheba, God recognizes it as a true covenant. It's a true covenant nonetheless. It was very ugly how it happened, but it is a covenant nonetheless. And more than a covenant, here's how I see it.

It's a new day. It's a new day. He changes his clothes and now he comes into this point where he comforts his wife, and now we are told his wife, Bathsheba. K. How it happened for you to come about to this place, it was horrendous.

But now that you're here, let's walk hand in hand with the Lord and pursue honor to his name where we are right now. And David will experience more subsequent series of suffering. We're gonna see that for the rest of this bible study in second Samuel. But you know what's so profound? God's discipline does not nullify his blessings for us.

When God chastises us, it doesn't mean that he completely cancels his favor in our lives. You see, so he has now this relationship with Bathsheba. She's now his wife. They come together and they have a child. And when when when they come together to have this baby, it's not that just this baby is provided by God who gives life.

No. God goes the extra step, gives a message to Nathan the prophet, who were the last time we saw him, stuck his prophet finger in his face and told him, you are the man. Now now Nathan comes back to reassure David and Bathsheba, this baby that you guys have together, God loves him. The Lord loves this baby. And here's another name for this baby, beloved of the Lord.

Right? And so this is a reassuring thing. After this painful whole situation, God now wants to come and ensure that they know, I still have something for you. I have a plan for Solomon. I have a plan for your future.

Yes. You are under my chastening hand. And, yes, you will know more consequences to your sin, but I'm still here. And I still love you, and I still love what's happening in your family, and I want to do something with your future. Sometimes people, they go through such shame and embarrassment and public scandal, and they know that God is willing to forgive, but they think that's it.

Now I'm just in the backdrop of the kingdom of God, and it's it's done, And I don't deserve anything. I understand. And they just live in the shadows of God's love while they look on and they see others who live more respectable, more holy, more consistent, and the extent of their joy in service to the kingdom of God is just watching others be used by the Lord while you just sit there and not make a mess again. That's not how God works. They have a baby, and Nathan says, the Lord loves this child and has this prophetic reassuring message for David.

And it's even more than that. Look at verse 26. Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city, and Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah. Moreover, I have taken the city of waters. Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.

That's a very weird invitation. There's something wrong with Joab's character here. Makes you wonder if the relationship with David maybe was altered after he realized what happened to Uriah. It's not the point. Look at verse 29.

So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabban, fought against it and took it. God still has use for David as a king. And you read later on that a crown was placed on his head. A crown was placed on his head. And it comes full circle.

Right? Why did David come to this point, this low point? It's because he didn't go to war. He didn't go to this very same battle that he was supposed to go to. And so he sins and he sins and he sins, and it blows up in his face.

And then he's confronted, he repents, and he he he accepts the chastisement. And the lord says, k. Let's go back to where we left off. Now it is true that in the new covenant context, there are some sins that might disqualify some people from certain leaderships in the church, but does that negate the principle that is here is that God still can use you, and God still has a future for you. God still has a plan of redemption that goes beyond just you having fellowship with him again.

There is still a place in his kingdom that he has much use for you. And that is exactly how this story ends before we move on to chapter 13. A baby comes after a baby was lost. A crown was restored for the least deserving king in this whole thing. And when God does take us through the grinder, and when he does sit us down and confront us and sometimes expose us, what he has in mind on the other side of that very dark period that scripture calls in Hebrews 12 unpleasant at the moment is restored fellowship, restored utilization, and reassurance that you are loved by the same father who disciplined you.

Have hope tonight. Have have hope tonight. Let your faith be built up. Stop living your life looking in the rearview mirror as you're driving. That's very dangerous.

I don't recommend that. When you're driving, you're looking forward. You're not looking at the mirrors that look back. When you do that and you do that and I don't care how much of an expert of a driver you think you are. You're gonna hit something.

You're gonna stall. You're gonna get into an accident. It's the same spiritually. If you keep looking back on things that God said it's done and it's over and I've forgiven you, it's not gonna be good for your tomorrow. Just trust in the love of God.

Rehearse these truths, whether they're promises that are clear and direct or stories like this. He's the same God. And Christ has made that possible through his blood. Lord, we love you. This bible study has been a blessing to us because your word is life.

Lord, in this place, we have learned much about the seriousness of sin in the past few weeks as we looked at one chapter. We realized how we can get into sin. We realized what sin can do to us. We realized that we can't hide it from you. We realized that you will call us to account.

We realize that we can live for the rest of our lives with scars because of our sin. But, oh, lord, thank you for the relief of knowing that you love us, and you still have a purpose for us. And that, lord, you use messages and messengers to remind us of these things. And so, lord, for the one that is burdened by their past, let them confidently know that you are committed to them and that you have a calling for them. And, lord, as we saw David worship you when it made the least amount of sense to worship you, Lord, we worship you with a thousand reasons and more.

And so for the one who is heavy because of a trial, the one who has been praying and not getting an answer, the one who keeps fasting and it seems like the no is becoming stronger. Lord, may that not ever bend their devotion to you. The Lord has given. The Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

And so Lord, we end this Friday night giving you worship, not just in song, but a life set apart for you. Thank you that this Bible study has shown us again just how awesome you are. In your name we pray. Amen. Shall we stand, saints?

Love the Lord tonight. Crown him with your praise. Adorn him with your words of affection and truth, and let's bless him before we go home and see another tomorrow.