The Strand Study Bible

II SAMUEL

552

II SAMUEL

always felt comfortable using David… he “kept looking up” ( Psa 130:1 ); he understood forgiveness. 12:14 Although God had forgiven David for his sin and put away His hand of correction (vs. 13), still ( Howbeit ), David could not stop the law of sowing and reaping. No one can (Gal 6:7-8). 12:18 A thought: Which son of David and Bathsheba is doing well in Heaven today? The one here who died at birth and went to be with Jesus ( Mt 18: 1- 4b , 10 & 19: 13- 14 ) or the one (Solomon) who failed God miserably in his life (I Ki 11 and Mt 25:14-24-30/ Lk 19:11-20-26)? Don’t weep too long (or hard) worrying over babies that go on to be with the Lord. They’re fine! It’s you and I, who are still alive, that need to worry ( Ezk 3:20 and II Cor 5:10-11 ). 12:23 There are two schools of thought concerning David’s statement ( I shall go to him ). David is either referring to the death of his son and the grave or he is referring to immortality –the fact that the child was now with God, and that he would someday die and see his child again. Knowing God is a God of principle, and that all babies who die before the age of conscious intellectual capacity (what we refer to as the age of accountability - Deut 1:39 and Phil 4:3 ) are covered by God’s great grace ( I Ki 14: 10- 13 ), the latter seems to be the proper interpretation ( I Sam 3:7,13 ). John R Rice in Bible Facts About Heaven notes: No one goes to Hell because of Adam’s sin. Christ has paid for that for every unaccountable baby. It is only by conscious sin, sin by choice, that children become lost sinners. How early in life that is, we do not know. Doubtless it is much earlier with some children than with others. 1 12:24 Solomon’s name means “peace.” He is referred to 12 times in the NT (Mt 1:6-7 & 6:29 & 12:42, Lk 11:31 & 12:27, Jn 10:23 and Acts 3:11 & 5:12 & 7:47). Solomon is the 31st generation from CHRIST . 13:1 This word ( loved ) is the Hebrew word “ahab” (pronounced aw-hab ). It is found over 240 times in the OT and is translated “ love ” (c. 225 times), “ friend ” (12 times), “ beloved ” (5 times) and “ liketh ” (once – Amos 4:5). According to Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies , this word implies an ardent and fervent inclination of the mind. 1 Meaning: This word deals more with “what you think” mentally than “how you feel” sexually. Question: Exactly what “kind of love” did Amnon have for his sister, Tamar, initially? Was it a pure kind of love or an impure kind of love? In order to answer that question we must compare this word with itself in both the Old and New Testaments: *Old Testament If you’ll notice, this word “ahab,” which is translated “ lover ” (I Ki 5:1), “ friend ” (II Chro 20:7/Isa 41:8 and Prov 17:17), and “ love ” ( II Sam 1:26 ), has absolutely nothing to do with the sexual, and everything to do with the mental. The “ love ” that Amnon had for Tamar (initially) was a pure kind of love; one that describes for us Amnon’s initial “thinking” towards his half sister (vs 2). *New Testament Of the 27 NT books, only 16 of them actually contain OT quotes. The 11 books that do not quote the OT are: Philippians , Colossians , I Thessalonians , II Thessalonians , II Timothy , Titus , Philemon , I John , II John , III John and Jude . Of the 16 NT books that contain OT quotes, only 8 of them quote verses from the OT that have the Hebrew word “ ahab ” in it: *Mt (Mt 5:43 & 19:19 & 22:39/Lev 19:18 & Mt 22:37/Deut 6:5) *Mk (Mk 12:30/Deut 6:5 & Mk 12:31/Lev 19:18) *Lk (Lk 10:27/Lev 19:18) *Rom (Rom 9:13/Mal 1:2 & Rom 13:9/Lev 19:18) *Gal (Gal 5:14/Lev 19:18) *Heb (Heb 1:9/Psa45:7 & Heb 12:6/Prov 3:12) *Jms (Jms 2:8/Lev 19:18) *I Pet (I Pet 3:10/Psa 34:12). In every case, the only Greek word that is used in the NT to describe the Hebrew word “ ahab ” is “ D γ DS η” ( agape ), which describes God’s kind of love ( II Jn 1:6 ). Thus, the “kind of love” that Amnon had for Tamar (initially) was God’s kind of love; the kind of love that made it hard in Amnon’s mind to do anything wrong to his half sister (vs 2). NOTE – The NT quotes the OT 286 times: Mt (53), Rom (51), Heb (36), Acts (28), Lk (25), Mk (24), Jn (16), I Cor (14), Gal (10), II Cor (8), I Pet (7), Jms (5), Eph (4), Rev (3), I Tim (1), and II Pet (1). 13:2 Ammon was a miserable ( vexed ) man. His unhealthy desires led him to unhealthy friends (vs 3). THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Those who accompany us in our misery can never aid us in our recovery I am glad to tell you on the authority of the Word of God that every little child who dies while he is an unaccountable sinner, dies before conscious sin, is taken immediately to Heaven. It is true that every child born into the world is tainted by the sinful nature he inherits from all preceding generations. But the Lord Jesus Christ has made atonement for even that sinful nature. All that a little baby has lost by Adam’s sin and the curse on the whole race, Christ has purchased back for him.

1 Rice, John R. Bible Facts About Heaven , Murfreesboro, TN, Sword of the Lord Pub., 1940. Print.