I Will Go To Him = My Child Is In Heaven?

Pulpit Magazine’s posting of a MacArthur answer to a question about the age of accountability has – not surprisingly – generated strong positions on both sides of the issue. One side (mine and others) says that God certainly can save infants and children who die, but that it is not an automatic given. The other side (Johnny Mac and others) says that, since these children never reached an age where they could tell right from wrong, God doesn’t hold their fallen state due to original sin against them, and they are automatically saved. In reality, there are at least two more positions on this issue. One – God doesn’t save any infants who die because they never heard and responded to the gospel (similar to the person in some remote part of the world who never hears the gospel). And, Two – God only saves the infants who die whose parents are believers.

As expected, whenever discussing this topic, David’s comments in 2 Sam. 12:23 concerning the death of his own son has been cited numerous times, and it is this verse that I would like to address in this post. Here is what David says about his son who had just died:

But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.

That’s it. That’s all of it. And many great and godly people have interpreted what David says here to mean that he would eventually see his son again in heaven. What I want to do is to try and view David’s comments in light of the context of what is being talked about…not what someone may assume is being talked about. Here is what we know from the text:

• “But now he has died” – David’s son has just died. So the context of his conversation with those around him concerning his fasting/not fasting is his son’s death. Death is the context from which to view this passage (go back and read this chapter starting at verse 18). There is nowhere a mention of life, or eternal life, or heaven anywhere in this passage. The subject is David’s son’s death.

• “Can I bring him back again?” – David is asking a rhetorical question of whether or not he can bring his son back. But, back from what? Back from the dead. The context of David’s comments is still death…the death of his son.

• “I will go to him” – David is simply saying that he will go to his son. But, what does he mean? Where is his son that he will go to him there? We will come back to this one since it is the main focus of this whole post. But first I want you to see the context from which David makes this statement to see what he means by it.

• “but he will not return to me” -Again, David is making the statement that his son will not return back to him. But back from what? The correct context from which to read these words from David is death…the death of his son, and the fact that his son will not return to life from the dead.

So, I hope we can agree that the proper context from which to read David’s statements is the death of his son (from verse 18 onward). Everything David says here is concerning the fact that his son is dead. Now we can read the part of the verse that I believe many have misinterpreted by pulling David’s words out of the context of his son’s death and made them incorrectly refer to his and his son’s eternal life in heaven.

David says, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

I submit that the clear reading of this statement – based upon the context in which these statements are being made – is that David is saying that he will one day die as his son has died, and that he will join his son in death, but that his son will not rejoin him in life.

Does this mean that David’s son is now in hell? Not at all. I contend that it is entirely possible for David’s son to be in heaven, for God can save whomever he wishes. My point is that one cannot infer that from this passage. To do so is to do damage to the text. And to develop a theology which MacArthur and others teach concerning an age of accountability using this text is nothing short of mishandling Scripture. The only clear and reasonable reading of this statement by David – which leaves it in its proper context – is to understand that David is talking about the death of his son and his own future death, and not his son’s eternal dwelling place.

Steve Camp has done a much more thorough and in-depth review of this topic in his article back in May titled How Wide is the Narrow Road. I encourage anyone who is interested in this whole topic to read Steve’s handling of this issue. It is perhaps the most consistent and biblical I have seen. Here is a portion of what Steve says in the article.

It’s hard to fathom, but that little phrase, “I shall go to him…” is the foundational Scriptural evidence given to forming this doctrinal conviction. Most evangelicals who hold to this belief, assert that David was stating an immutable theological truth, “That my son is in heaven, as all children are in heaven, and one day I will go to him.” What is surprising to many of us who do not hold to this view, is that this application of this one verse resembles more of a prooftexting than it does a clear exegesis of the text.

This text interpreted in that fashion, may come from what I call a “sentimental hermeneutic.” David is not expressing in those words a theological certainty; he is expressing grief and a desire to be with his son. This is a common emotion in a time of death especially when the loss was attributed to his own sinfulness. To make it something more seems out of context within the text.

In closing, Steve says this:

Take heart in this beloved, that the Lord from before the foundations of the earth has known His own; and He will not lose one of them. Christ on the cross propitiated the Father, redeemed His own and brought us into peace with God forever. Nothing can separate us from His love.

If you have gone through the loss of a child, or someone who has been mentally handicapped their entire life, or maybe you are burdened about what happens to others that have never heard the gospel before and have died, how do you get resolve in those uncertain and painful situations? Run to the character of God and fix your heart and mind on who He is. Know that He is Sovereign and will work all things for His glory and our good. This is called faith. When the Scriptures seem silent on an issue such as these, then find your comfort and solace in His care and character.