David's Restoration
By Dennis Pollock
The story of David's adultery with Bathsheba and how he arranged for her husband, Uriah, to be killed on the battlefield is well known, perhaps the most well-known story of David after he kills the giant, Goliath. It is an unquestionably dramatic story, so this is not surprising, but it is a shame that the events that followed this awful season of his life are not equally known. In this study, we will observe how God restored David and the evidence which demonstrates that David, despite his terrible sins of adultery and murder, was, in fact, a genuine man of God. He was flawed for sure, but in his heart, he really and truly was devoted to YHWH, the God of Israel.
When God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David over his sins, the straying king admitted his guilt, saying, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan announced to David: "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die." (2 Samuel 12:13). Under the law of Moses, when two people committed adultery, they were to be put to death. It might be argued that in this case, Bathsheba had little choice. When the king calls for you, you must present yourself to him, and what he demands is never optional. But David certainly was guilty of willful adultery, and by the laws of Israel and God, he should have been put to death. However, God, for His purposes and mercy, allowed David to live. Nevertheless, through His prophet Nathan, He promised three judgments that would befall His servant David: 1) The sword (conflict and wars) would never depart from his life and family, 2) His wives would be given to his "neighbor" (this turned out to be Absalom, his son), and 3) the child who had been born to Bathsheba, fathered by David, would die.
David seemed to accept the first two judgments without protest or complaint, but the idea of his and Bathsheba's baby boy dying was hard for him to swallow. Next, we read: "And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill." (2 Samuel 12:15). Some might protest that this child had committed no sin and therefore it was unjust for God to cause him to die. Why should this baby have to pay for the sins of his parents? But God was not punishing the baby; He simply determined that the child would have a shortened life, as a disciplinary measure to David. God, being the Creator and Director of all events on the earth, and the Determiner of the length of days we are given, determined that this little boy would have a very short life.
People and Sparrows
We will all pass out of this life at some point, and it is not our job to determine how many years we are given. We are sojourners on this earth, and part of what makes God, God, is His prerogative to assign and limit the days allotted to us. Whether we are given twenty years or 120 years, we have no right to protest. Jesus said: "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will." (Matthew 10:29). Even little birds die at the precise time appointed to them by the Heavenly Father.
In the Psalms, David wrote this:
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:16)
But at that time, David could not accept that his little son's life should be cut short because of his sins. Probably, in recent months, David's prayer life had been pretty anemic. A guilty conscience and a healthy prayer life are incompatible. But now that he had confessed his sins, and had been told that God had forgiven him, he was ready to pray again. And his first and only prayer point at that time was a plea for the life of his son.
Time to Pray
At this point David did a very un-kingly thing – he lay on his face on the floor and began to intercede with God for the life of his son. David had experienced many answers to his prayers throughout his life, and he thought there must be a chance that by prayer and fasting, he could somehow change God's mind and the little boy's life might be spared.
The Bible says: "David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground." (2 Samuel 12:16). This is serious prayer, desperate prayer, intense prayer. All his other kingly duties and pleasures were put on hold as David gave himself in prayer to one objective: the life of his son. David is back – back with God. This is no longer David the adulterer or David the murderer; this is David the intercessor, David the man of God. And as a man of God, he did what men and women who love God do when they have a great need or desire – they give themselves to serious and prolonged prayer.
Some of David's men saw their king lying on his face for hours and finally could not stand it. They came to their desperate leader and urged him to get up. But he refused, nor would he eat a meal with them. Day after day, David prayed with his face on the floor, without food, calling out to God again and again for the life of his child.
But despite David's impassioned prayers, his baby boy grew worse and finally at the end of seven days, he died. God had answered many of David's prayers, but this was one case where no amount of prayer and no degree of fervency was going to avail. God's answer to David was a strict "no." No amount of prayer and fasting was going to change God's mind. God's discipline was just as certain as David's sins. Still, we must give David credit for his week of intercession. He had been praying, not for himself, but for his infant son, and demonstrating the compassion and concern that made him, at his core, a man of God.
God Says NO
After a week of interceding, David noticed some of his servants whispering to each other. They were discussing the death of the baby and wondering how David would take the news, fearful to share this with the king. They said: "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!" (2 Samuel 12:18). David quickly figured out what had happened and asked them if the child was dead, and they acknowledged that he was.
Upon hearing this, David did something they could not understand. He arose from the ground, took a bath, put on new clothes, and went into the tabernacle, a tent that served as his special meeting place with the Lord. The Bible says that there he worshiped. If there was any doubt that David was back in a right relationship with God, this settled it. No blaming God, no complaining that his prayers were not heard, no angry questions or murmuring about the fairness of God's judgment. The Bible simply says: "He went into the house of the LORD and worshiped." David, the man after God's own heart, had been AWOL for a season, but now he was back!
After a time of prayer and worship, David went back to his servants and requested a meal. After a week of fasting, he was ready to eat again. His servants found David's behavior very strange, and said to him: "What is this 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." (2 Samuel 12:21). David's responded: "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:22-23).
Accepting God's discipline, with fellowship with God restored, David went on to serve God and lead the nation of Israel for many years. He serves today as a model of God's severity and His mercy. Our God is not a wimpy Father, but He is a loving and compassionate Father. He disciplines and He forgives. Today we know that the forgiveness of our sins, both before our salvation and after it, is based on the cross, the shed blood, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no sin so heinous, there is no addiction so powerful, and there is no offense so great, that our God cannot forgive and deliver us through His Son Jesus Christ. Guilty sinners can be saved, and straying believers can be restored. If God would do this for David, before the cross of Jesus, how much more will He do it for us, those for whom Christ died?
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