Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: II Samuel 12

I Shall Go To Him

I Shall Go To Him

By |

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. 

II Samuel 12:23 

David had a clear and definite understanding of eternal life. In order to comfort himself regarding the death of his infant son, he uttered the words, ‘I shall go to him.’ He was clear about his anticipation that he would meet his departed son in eternity. This is certainly not the only location in Scripture where David expresses his understanding of eternal life, and of Christ’s relation to it. In Psalm 16 he remarks, ‘Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’ In Psalm 23, which is full of references to Christ as the Shepherd of His people, David says, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.’ These passages, and others like them, indicate David’s understanding of eternal life and that Christ is the key to it. Thus, when consoling himself upon the death of his son, he could say with certainty, ‘I shall go to him.’ This is the certain expectation of all believers who suffer such loss in this scene of time. This life is not all there is. Eternity lies before us. Blessedness in that eternity is inextricably tied to the Good, Great and Chief Shepherd. Because of Him we have comfort in the thought of many joyful reunions.  

O, Great Shepherd of the Sheep, 
we rejoice that our future lies with You. 
We praise You that You will bring all of us  
together into one fold. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Can I Bring Him Back?

Can I Bring Him Back?

By |

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. 

II Samuel 12:23 

There are times when we sincerely wish we could reverse the irreversible. David had lost a child. As a grieving father, he would have reversed the situation to bring the child back to the land of the living. He was keenly aware he could not. He makes two realistic statements in our text. One, he frames as a question, ‘Can I bring him back again?’ The other he makes as a simple statement of fact, ‘he shall not return to me.’ Having seen death, in various contexts, he understood the permanency of it and how irreversible death is. Against these realistic articulations, David sets other statements which clearly indicate his understanding that death is not the end of life entirely, although it is the end of life as we experience it here. His understanding of death is important for us not because it will destroy us with it’s finality, but because David could accept the reality of it knowing it was not the end. As we will see in future installments, David had clear hope in eternal life, and that hope rested upon the Person and work of Christ. This enabled Him and us to accept present reality.  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You are sovereign over all things. 
We praise You that because of Christ, 
we can face the realities of life and death. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
No Return

No Return

By |

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. 

II Samuel 12:23 

What did David understand about death, life, and Christ’s relation to them? The context of our text is that David had produced a child with another man’s wife. God had decided opinions about that and David’s subsequent behavior which had resulted in the husband’s death. By the mouth of God’s prophet Nathan, David had received the message that the child would die. David, knowing the mercy of God had fasted, wept, and prayed that God would spare the child. As soon as he perceived that the child had died, he arose, washed himself, changed his clothes, went to the house of God to worship, and then returned home to eat. His servants were confused and questioned his behavior, ‘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.’ Our text is David’s response. It indicates that David was comforting himself with the prospect of seeing his son again. There are several thoughts here which we intend to explore over the next few days. To begin at the end, David’s remark about the child not returning indicates he had a realistic view of death. We will see that  this view of death was consistent with his view of eternal life and of Christ’s relation to them both. 

Our Holy and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You do all things well. 
We praise You that we may depend upon You 
to do what is best for us, 
and bring all things to a good end.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Meta