I always found this difficult to understand as a child...it wasn't just that the child became ill and God chose not to perform a miracle and give it good health..."struck a blow" indicates that God caused the illness.
This is why I find the OT suspect...more the recountings by some Jews of a tribal God without the mercy of Christ.
That child wasn't the first to suffer because of David's sins.
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w93 3/15 pp. 8-9 Jehovah?s Mercy Saves Us From Despair ***Through the prophet Nathan, God exposed David?s sins and said: "I am raising up against you calamity out of your own house." Accordingly, the child born to Bath-sheba died. (2 Samuel 12:1-23) David?s firstborn son, Amnon, raped his own half sister Tamar and was murdered by her brother. (2 Samuel 13:1-33) The king?s son Absalom tried to usurp the throne and disgraced his father by cohabiting (raped is a better term) with David?s concubines. (2 Samuel 15:1?16:22) Civil war ended in Absalom?s death and in more grief for David. (2 Samuel 18:1-33) However, David?s sins humbled him and made him aware of the need to stay close to his compassionate God. If we should err, let us humbly repent and draw close to Jehovah.?Compare James 4:8.
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w85 2/15 pp. 22-23 Does Greed Sometimes Grip You? ***Still, he paid a heavy price. His first son by Bath-sheba died as a babe, and his family from then on was plagued with calamities. (I think David's little son paid a heavier price.)
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The WTS uses this situation to show why it is right for minor children of people executed at Armageddon to die as well.
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w52 6/1 pp. 342-343 Fixing Destinies in This Judgment Period ***FAMILY
RESPONSIBILITY 6
Since Ezekiel 9:4-6 shows that some "little children" are in the class eternally destroyed at Armageddon, on what basis are they put in that class in view of the fact that they are too young to be held accountable for themselves?
The Scriptures indicate a family responsibility or a family merit under which the destiny of unresponsible children is determined. Scriptural examples of this principle will help meek and teachable ones mold their minds to fit in with God?s view on this matter, will help them get God?s thoughts on it rather than stubbornly clinging to their own. Theirs are not only fallible but also immaterial, since Jehovah?s are the ones that fix the principles that determine the outcome of the matter.
7
When Dathan and Abiram rebelled against Jehovah?s theocratic arrangement in the wilderness the earth swallowed them up. But not them alone, for the record shows that along with them perished "their wives, and their sons, and their little children". (Num. 16:23-33; Deut. 11:6) Did not Achan by his greed bring death not only to himself but to his sons and daughters as well, his entire household and possessions being destroyed with him? (Josh. 7:24-26)
Did not David?s sin result in his offspring?s death? (2 Sam. 12:15-18) Ham?s trespass brought a curse upon his son Canaan. (Gen. 9:22-27) King Saul?s descendants suffered for his sins. (2 Sam. 21:1-9)
Also, the Mosaic Law stated that the iniquities of the parents should be visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
8
At a time of judgment Jesus said: "If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Matt. 15:14,
NW) That means not only clergy and laity but also parent and child. If a parent chooses to sin against the holy spirit despite the eternal interests of his offspring, that then becomes the responsibility of the parent.
We have seen how the destructions at the time of the Flood and at the time of the fiery downpour on Sodom and Gomorrah were final. No small children were preserved in the ark; they must have been slain by Jehovah. Many babes and youngsters must have been in Sodom and Gomorrah, but their youthful innocence did not cause Jehovah to count them righteous. The
presence of ten righteous ones would have saved the cities. There were certainly more than ten unresponsible children. Along with their unrighteous parents they were slain by Jehovah.?Gen. 18:20-33; 19:1-26.
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