Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 12-13.

Part of me wants to write about Amnon and Tamar and how that led to Absalom killing Amnon (and later to Absalom’s rebellion), but I am really struck by David’s reaction to Nathan’s confrontation and the following illness and death of his son with Bathsheba.  When Nathan confronted David, David confessed his sin.  At which point Nathan tells David that God has taken away his sin.  However, that did not mean that David would not suffer any consequences from his sin.  In fact, Nathan told David that the consequences of his sin would follow him for the rest of his life.  So, we learn from this that we must confess that we have sinned (and part of that confession is regretting that we had done wrong, not just regretting that we got caught).  If we do confess our sin, God will forgive our sins.  However, we will still need to live with the consequences of our sins.

Which brings me to David’s reaction to one of the consequences of his sin, the son he had with Bathsheba became sick and then died.  When David learned of the child’s illness, he prayed and fasted begging God to heal the child and mourning the boy’s illness.  Then, when he learned that the child had died, he gave up his fasting and mourning.  While the child was ill, David petitioned God for healing, but once the child had died David recognized that the time for mourning was over.  He saw that the boy would not return to this life, but that he would in time join the child with God.  We should think and behave similarly.  While those we care for live, we should pray for their well-being, to the point of fasting and mourning for them if they are ill and/or suffering.  Once those we care for have died, in most cases, we should set aside our mourning and get on with our lives, not necessarily as quickly as David appears to have done here.   I will note that even though David gave up his mourning after his son’s death, he did not fault Bathsheba for mourning their son’s death.  Instead David comforted her in her loss.  We also should strive to comfort those who mourn the loss of their loved ones.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.