Grief in the Bible: What David Can Teach Us About Loss
In 2 Samuel 11, we read the story of David and Bathsheba. We all know the first part of the story fairly well. David, having sluffed off his duties as a military leader, chooses to stay home while his men go to fight the Ammonites. He is on the roof one night and spots a beautiful woman bathing. He tells his men to bring the woman to him. They sleep together and the woman, Bathsheba, gets pregnant. Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, is away fighting the battle David should be leading. David, terrified his sin will be discovered, schemes to bring Uriah back so he can sleep with his wife and believe he fathered the child. But Uriah has integrity and does not enjoy a luxury his men cannot have. David then schemes to have Uriah killed on the battlefield so he can marry Bathsheba and hope people do not figure things out. That is the story we know. Some of us go further and get to the part where Nathan, God’s prophet and advisor to the king, rebukes David via a well-played parable. In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan comes to David and tells him a story about a rich man stealing a poor man’s only lamb without a second thought. David becomes filled with righteous anger and demands justice for the poor man. Nathan then brings David’s sins to light by telling him he is the rich man. God knows what he did with Bathsheba and is less than pleased. As part of David’s punishment, the child he made with Bathsheba gets sick. David intercedes with the Lord to heal his child, but the child passes away. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. David therefore sought God on behalf of [...]
