After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. After Nathan had gone homeThis phrase marks the conclusion of the prophet Nathan's confrontation with King David. Nathan, acting as God's messenger, had delivered a parable and a direct rebuke to David for his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. The Hebrew root for "gone home" (בָּא) implies a return to one's place of dwelling, signifying the completion of Nathan's divine mission. This moment underscores the gravity of prophetic ministry in Israel, where prophets were often called to deliver difficult truths to those in power, reflecting the courage and obedience required to fulfill God's commands. the LORD struck the child
The phrase "the LORD struck" (נָגַף) is a powerful expression of divine intervention. In the Hebrew context, this verb often denotes a severe blow or plague, indicating the seriousness of God's response to sin. This action is not arbitrary but is deeply rooted in the covenantal relationship between God and His people, where sin has real consequences. It serves as a sobering reminder of God's holiness and justice, and the reality that sin, especially from those in leadership, can have far-reaching effects. that Uriah’s wife had borne to David
The text deliberately refers to Bathsheba as "Uriah’s wife," even after her marriage to David, highlighting the ongoing consequence of David's sin. This designation serves as a reminder of the adultery and the wrongful death of Uriah, emphasizing the moral and ethical breach committed by David. The historical context here is crucial, as it reflects the societal norms and the importance of lineage and marital fidelity in ancient Israel. It also underscores the personal and communal impact of sin, as the child is a product of this union. and he became ill
The illness of the child is a direct result of the LORD's action, as indicated by the Hebrew verb חָלָה, which means to become weak or sick. This serves as a tangible manifestation of the spiritual and moral disorder introduced by David's actions. In the broader scriptural context, illness and suffering are often used as instruments of divine discipline, intended to bring about repentance and restoration. This moment in the narrative invites reflection on the themes of sin, consequence, and the hope of redemption, as David will later seek God's mercy and forgiveness. Persons / Places / Events 1. NathanA prophet who served during the reign of King David. He was sent by God to confront David about his sin with Bathsheba. 2. DavidThe King of Israel, known for his heart for God but also for his significant moral failings, including his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. 3. BathshebaInitially referred to as "Uriah’s wife," she became David's wife after the death of her husband. She bore David a son who became ill as a consequence of David's sin. 4. The LORDThe covenant name of God, Yahweh, who is actively involved in the events of Israel and holds David accountable for his actions. 5. The ChildThe unnamed son of David and Bathsheba, who becomes ill as a direct consequence of David's sin. Teaching Points The Seriousness of SinSin has real and often severe consequences, not only for the sinner but also for those around them. David's actions led to the suffering of his child. God's Justice and MercyWhile God is just and punishes sin, He is also merciful. David's life and future were spared, and he was given the opportunity to repent. The Role of ProphetsNathan's confrontation of David highlights the importance of accountability and the role of spiritual leaders in guiding others back to righteousness. Repentance and RestorationTrue repentance involves acknowledging one's sin, seeking God's forgiveness, and accepting the consequences. David's life demonstrates the possibility of restoration after repentance. The Impact of LeadershipAs a leader, David's personal failings had national implications, reminding us of the responsibility that comes with leadership. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the illness of David and Bathsheba's child illustrate the broader consequences of personal sin? 2. In what ways does Nathan's role in this account challenge us to hold others accountable in love and truth? 3. How can David's response to Nathan's confrontation inform our own approach to repentance and seeking forgiveness? 4. What lessons can we learn from this passage about the nature of God's discipline and its purpose in our lives? 5. How does understanding the consequences of David's sin help us to appreciate the depth of God's grace and mercy in our own lives? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 51David's psalm of repentance, traditionally understood to be written after Nathan confronted him. It reflects David's deep remorse and plea for God's mercy. 2 Samuel 11Provides the background of David's sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, setting the stage for the events of 2 Samuel 12. Hebrews 12:6Discusses God's discipline of those He loves, which can be related to the consequences David faces for his sin. Proverbs 3:11-12Speaks of not despising the Lord's discipline, which is relevant to understanding the purpose behind the child's illness. People Ammonites, Bathsheba, David, Jedidiah, Joab, Milcom, Nathan, Saul, Solomon, Uriah, UrijahPlaces Jerusalem, RabbahTopics Bare, Bore, Born, Borne, Child, David, David's, Departed, Home, Ill, Incurable, Lad, Nathan, Sick, Smiteth, Smote, Struck, Uriah, Uriah's, Uri'ah's, Urijah's, WifeDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Samuel 12:13-17 6227 regret 2 Samuel 12:13-23 5088 David, character 2 Samuel 12:13-25 5652 babies 2 Samuel 12:15-17 5567 suffering, emotional
8431 fasting, reasons 2 Samuel 12:15-18 6242 adultery
8605 prayer, and God's will
9021 death, natural 2 Samuel 12:15-21 5796 bereavement, experience 2 Samuel 12:15-23 5686 fathers, examples Library David and Nathan
'And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin.'--2 SAMUEL xii. 13. We ought to be very thankful that Scripture never conceals the faults of its noblest men. High among the highest of them stands the poet- king. Whoever, for nearly three thousand years, has wished to express the emotions of trust in God, longing after purity, aspiration, and rapture of devotion, has found that his words have been before him. And this man …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThou Art the Man
'And David said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die; because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.'--2 SAMUEL xii. 5-7. Nathan's apologue, so tenderly beautiful, takes the poet-king on the most susceptible side of his character. All his history shows him as a man of wonderfully sweet, chivalrous, generous, swiftly compassionate nature. And so, when he hears the story of a mean, heartless selfishness, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Letter vi. In My Last Two Letters I have Given the State of the Argument as It...
My dear friend, In my last two Letters I have given the state of the argument as it would stand between a Christian, thinking as I do, and a serious well-disposed Deist. I will now endeavour to state the argument, as between the former and the advocates for the popular belief,--such of them, I mean, as are competent to deliver a dispassionate judgment in the cause. And again, more particularly, I mean the learned and reflecting part of them, who are influenced to the retention of the prevailing …
Samuel Taylor Coleridge—Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit etc The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Cleansing.
As there are conditions requiring to be complied with in order to the obtaining of salvation, before one can be justified, e. g., conviction of sin, repentance, faith; so there are conditions for full salvation, for being "filled with the Holy Ghost." Conviction of our need is one, conviction of the existence of the blessing is another; but these have been already dealt with. "Cleansing" is another; before one can be filled with the Holy Ghost, one's heart must be "cleansed." "Giving them the Holy …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life That the Ruler Should not Set his Heart on Pleasing Men, and yet Should Give Heed to what Ought to Please Them.
Meanwhile it is also necessary for the ruler to keep wary watch, lest the lust of pleasing men assail him; lest, when he studiously penetrates the things that are within, and providently supplies the things that are without, he seek to be beloved of those that are under him more than truth; lest, while, supported by his good deeds, he seems not to belong to the world, self-love estrange him from his Maker. For he is the Redeemer's enemy who through the good works which he does covets being loved …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity How the Poor and the Rich Should be Admonished.
(Admonition 3.) Differently to be admonished are the poor and the rich: for to the former we ought to offer the solace of comfort against tribulation, but in the latter to induce fear as against elation. For to the poor one it is said by the Lord through the prophet, Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded (Isai. liv. 4). And not long after, soothing her, He says, O thou poor little one, tossed with tempest (Ibid. 11). And again He comforts her, saying, I have chosen thee in the furnace of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Preparatory Service; Sometimes Called the Confessional Service.
In our examination of the nature and meaning of the Lord's Supper, we have found that it is indeed a most important and holy Sacrament. It is in fact the most sacred of all the ordinances of the Church on earth. There is nothing beyond it--nothing so heavenly, on this side heaven, as this Feast. Nowhere else does the believer approach so near to heaven as when he stands or kneels, as a communicant at this altar, the Holy of Holies in the Church of Christ. What a solemn act! To approach this altar, …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church The Right Understanding of the Law
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Before I come to the commandments, I shall answer questions, and lay down rules respecting the moral law. What is the difference between the moral laud and the gospel? (1) The law requires that we worship God as our Creator; the gospel, that we worship him in and through Christ. God in Christ is propitious; out of him we may see God's power, justice, and holiness: in him we see his mercy displayed. (2) The moral law requires obedience, but gives …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Samuel 12:15 NIV2 Samuel 12:15 NLT2 Samuel 12:15 ESV2 Samuel 12:15 NASB2 Samuel 12:15 KJV
2 Samuel 12:15 Commentaries
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