Lesson 21

This verse in 2 Samuel 12:23, Tree of Life Version, is sometimes believed to teach David expected to go to heaven, where his baby is thought to be.

23 But now that he has died, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? It is I who will be going to him, but he will never return to me.”

This belief is contradicted by verses showing David expected to be dead in the grave, along with his fathers. Sleeping in his grave he would be joined by Solomon.

1 Kings 2:10 Tree of Life Version

10 Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

1 Kings 11:43 Tree of Life Version

43 Then Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam was king in his place.

The word slept was taken from the Hebrew word shâkab, shaw-kab’; a primitive root; to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose).

David knew he would die and be buried.

This verse in Ecclesiastes 12:7, is also often thought to explain our eternal souls will return to God when we die. Read the passage in the Contemporary English Version and in the Easy-to-Read Version.

7 So our bodies return to the earth, and the life-giving breath returns to God.

7 Your body came from the earth. And when you die, it will return to the earth. 

But your spirit came from God, and when you die, it will return to him.

Job describes the spirit of God as being the breath we breathe to live.

Job 27:3 King James Version

3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

God’s breath keeps us alive. When we die, his spirit that we breathe, will return to him. 

Do you believe any of those verses conclusively demonstrate humans possess an immortal soul? Can you think of other Old Testament scriptures that would more effectively prove the belief? Take time to jot down your thoughts.