This coming Lord’s Day we will bring our study of the life of king David to a conclusion as we consider 2 Samuel 12:10-25.

The story of David’s sin ends with the death of his son, born to Bathsheba, and the account of David’s grieving in the aftermath of this horrific loss. In these verses we are exposed to a deeply moving scene as the king walks through that awful ‘valley of the shadow of death,’ and seeks the mercy and favor of the Lord on behalf of his desperately ill son.

He prays, he fasts, he humbles himself before the Lord, begging for the recovery of his child. And yet, the prophetic word announced by Nathan concerning the eventual death of David’s son will come true (v. 19).

What is most instructive for us is what David does next (vv. 20-24). I’ll not spoil the surprise here, but I will say that he does what we might not expect. His reaction to the Lord’s discipline is quite remarkable, and it will serve as a most worthy model for future generations of believers in Christ.

And then, as I indicated last week, the episode also concludes with a most magnificent promise, one triumphantly arising from the smoking ruins of David’s greatest failure (vv. 24-25).

The Lord provides another son; a son with two names! And with his birth will come the very embodiment of God’s unfailing promise to bring One into this world who will undo all of the damage and destruction unleashed by David’s sins, and our sins, and those of the whole world!