When God Says No

Last Time:

David Stole the Wife of Uriah the Hittite and She Became Pregnant

He then Tried to Cover Up His Sin, which Led to Deception and Murder

David was Lost in His Sin

Then God Sent Nathan to Convict David of His Sin

Nathan Told David a Parable which Ended with David as the Bad Guy

David Confessed His Sin and God Forgave Him

But Now David has to Suffer the Consequences of His Wicked Actions

Violence will Plague His House

And He and Bathsheba’s Baby will Die

2 Samuel 12:15-31

2 Samuel 12:15–19 NIV

After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

One of the Consequences of David’s List of Sins is Now Coming to Fruition

This is an Agonizing Text to Read, Especially After Becoming a Father

I Now Understand Every Move David Makes on an Entirely Different Level

David Spends All His Time Fasting and Pleading with God

He Won’t Eat, Sleep, or Even Get Up Off the Ground

The Child Eventually Dies to the Illness and David’s Servants are Afraid to Tell Him about it

If He Acted this Way When the Child was Still Alive, How will He Act When He Learns that the Child is Dead?

He Might Try to Hurt Himself

But David Realized by Their Whispering that the Child was Dead

David Begged and Pleaded with God, and God Said, “No”

How will David React?

2 Samuel 12:20 NIV

Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

His Reaction to God Saying No:

He Cleaned Himself Up, Worshiped God, and Ate Some Food

He Didn’t Spiral Out of Control

He Didn’t Hate God for Taking His Child from Him

He Chose to Move Forward in Life Instead of Backward

2 Samuel 12:21–23 NIV

His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

His Attendants had the Same Reaction Most of Us Might have

They were Confused as to Why David Seems to be Doing Fine After the Child’s Death

David Gives His Reasons

David Knew God Said the Child Would Die, but He Prayed with a Hope for Grace Anyway

David’s Hope is that God will Change His Mind on the Baby Dying as a Consequence of David’s Sins

But God Said No

Now David Chooses to Move Forward Instead of Staying in the Past Wishing There had been a Different Outcome

His Little Boy Isn’t Coming Back

So He is Going to Live His Life so that He can Go to be with Him

2 Samuel 12:24–25 NIV

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

Now Things are Starting to Look Up

David and Bathsheba have Another Child and Name Him Solomon (“Peace”)

God Blessed Them with a New Child that Brought Them Peace

But God Tells Nathan to Name Him Jedidiah (“Loved by Yahweh”)

Because God Loved Solomon

Then Verses 26-31 Tells of David Capturing the Royal Citadel of the Ammonites at Rabbah.

David Defeated the King and Took the 70 lb. Golden Crown Off His Head and Placed it on His Own Head

And Made the People of Rabbah and All the Ammonite Towns Become Brickmakers for Israel

Applications:

Prayer Can Change God’s Mind

We See Several Times Throughout the Scriptures that God has Changed His Mind because the Prayer of a Righteous Person

Moses Does this on Several Occasions When God Decides to Destroy the Children of Israel

I Don’t Mean When God Changes His Mind that He Changes His Eternal Will

But He can Accomplish His Will with a Variety of Situations

Take Esther for Example:

Esther 4:14 NIV

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

God’s Eternal Will was for the Jews to be Saved from Destruction

But God Could Perform His Will Any Number of Different Ways

James 5:16 NIV

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

How are the Prayers of the Righteous Powerful and Effective?

Because God Listens to Them and Many Times Grants Them

We Ought to Pray with Faith that God can and will Answer Our Prayers

James 1:6–8 NIV

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

We Ought to Believe, like David, that God is Gracious

And He Could Change His Mind and Change Our Situation

Sometimes God Says “No”

We Must Realize that God Doesn’t Always Answer Our Prayers the Way We Want

Sometimes God Says No

How are We to React When God Says No?

We are to Keep Going and Continue Worshiping Him

David Begged and Pleaded with God to Answer His Prayer with a “Yes”

But God Answered with a “No”

David’s Baby was Sick and Dying

He was Desperate for God’s Healing Hand, but God Said “No”

It would be Easy to Give Up on God and Say, “Why should I serve you if you don’t even care about my pain!”

But David Knew Better than that

David Knew it was He that Brought on His Own Pain

And He Knew that Even When God Says “No”, He is still a God of Grace, Mercy, and Love

We Should Strive to be as Faithful as David When Tragedy Strikes Us and God Says “No”

Dwelling on the Pain will No Help the Situation

The Only Solution is to Go Forward with God and Wait for the “Peace” that He Promises to Arrive

Henry Colbert has Told Me about the Story of How He Became a Preacher and Ultimately, How He Met Marlene

I Won’t Go into Detail, because it is His Story, Not Mine

Tragedy Struck and God Said No

But He Continued with the Lord and this Led to Many Years of Preaching the Gospel

And Preaching the Gospel Led Him to Marlene

In this Lesson, We Learn How to React When God Says “No”