Worship While in Pain

Kellen has been writing about infant deaths. One of the main passages related to this issue is 2 Samuel 12. To summarize, David has an adulterous affair which results in the conception of a child and the death of the woman's husband (by David's direction). David is then confronted by God through the prophet Nathan. David confesses, and Nathan says that David's sin is "put away." However, the consequences of his sin still remain: the newly-conceived child will die.

My point here is not to rehash what Kellen has argued. I would instead like to point out the rather strange reaction of David to the news of the consequences. The first reaction is, "David therefore sought God on behalf of the child" (2 Sam. 12:16). At this point David's selfish, sinful desires have apparently taken a backseat to God's sovereignty. Later (v. 22) we are told he was seeking God's grace. David understands that the only One who is able to intervene is God Himself. So David fasts and prays before God for seven days...and the child dies.

The king's servants are afraid to tell him the news because they think that David will be crushed. Who wouldn't, right? The death of a child would be terrible for any parent. And if he reacted so strongly for the seven days the child was still alive, what would he do when he heard the news of the child's death?

"And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped" (v. 20).

After worshipping David returns to his normal life, to the confusion of his servants. Later in the passage David gives the reason for doing so from a human perspective: the child is dead and cannot be brought back; rather the opposite is true: David will go to him.

The question I would like to pose is this: How is it possible for David to go to the house of the Lord for the purpose of worship when his child has just died as a result of his personal sin? I will suggest two reasons (if you have more, please comment):

1. David has a proper understanding of God's holiness. God is perfectly and infinitely holy and as such He must act in justice against sin--even the sin of king David, the "man after God's own heart." David understands the death of his child in light of God's attributes. While death is painful, it is a result of sin ("sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned...." Rom. 5:12). Thus, in David's mind the death of his child highlights the holiness of God and the depth of his sin.

2. David has a proper understand of God's sovereignty. Notice that his view of sovereignty did not keep him from entreating the Lord for grace. But--and this we must notice--when the grace David desired did not come he worshiped. David was not about to sulk in despair because his desire was not granted by God. Instead, he understood that God sovereignly rules over man and if God chose to execute justice rather than grace at that moment, then the Judge of all the earth did what was right. The proper response is to worship the Lord for His sovereignty.

Circumstances are often an easy place to become self-centered. We look at ourselves, focusing on the difficulties of the moment. It may be death, or something far different such as a job situation. It may be something that comes along normally in the course of life, or it may be a consequence of sin. Whatever the case, we need to be like David! We should seek God's grace, but worship Him regardless of the outcome.