Nathan Rebukes David
February 22, 2019
Commentary
The critics who say that God allowed David to get by with his great sin apparently haven’t read the whole story. God’s man can get in sin, but he will not stay in sin. That is what distinguishes God’s man from the man of the world. God left David in his guilty state for almost a year. He then sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke the sinful king. He chose to use a parable in order to get David to see his sin. The parable was simple. A poor man and rich man lived beside one another. While the rich man had many flocks and herds, the poor man had only a little lamb which was a family pet. When a traveler came to the rich man he was unwilling to feed him from his own flock or herd. Rather he took the poor man’s pet lamb and made a meal of it for his guest (vv. 1-4).
David’s anger boiled as he heard the story which he took to be a real occurrence. He ordered that this man make a fourfold restitution for the stolen lamb (vv. 5-6). Nathan then made the devastating application."You, David, are the man!” You have pronounced judgment upon yourself. David was as guilty of murder as if he had struck Uriah with his own sword. He then had taken to himself the wife of the man whose death he had orchestrated. David had despised the Lord by taking Bathsheba and denied by his conduct the omniscience of his God (vv. 7-10).
The penalty for David’s sin is twofold. First, the sword would never depart from the house of David (v. 10). Second, God would raise up evil against David from within his own house. Third, one of David’s associates would take his wives from him and lie with them in full public view (vv. 11-12). David was moved deeply by the words of the prophet. He made no excuses for his conduct. He acknowledged his sin. Nathan accepted the confession. He announced that God would not take David’s life on account of the sin. However, God would punish him by taking the child which had recently been born (vv. 13-14).
Application
I need to remember that the consequences of my actions will reach farther and deeper than I can ever imagine. It is true that God will forgive me and restore my relationship with Him but this will not eliminate the consequences of my wrongdoing.
2 Samuel 12:1– 14 (NET)
1 So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to David, Nathan said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. It used to eat his food, drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. It was just like a daughter to him.
4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler who had come to visit him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked it for the man who had come to visit him.”
5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 Because he committed this cold-hearted crime, he must pay for the lamb four times over!”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘I chose you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your arms. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well! 9 Why have you shown contempt for the Lord’s decrees by doing evil in my sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife to be your own wife! You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!’ 11 This is what the Lord has said: ‘I am about to bring disaster on you from inside your own household! Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion. He will go to bed with your wives in broad daylight! 12 Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’”
13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven your sin. You are not going to die. 14 Nonetheless, because you have treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.”
Illustration: A Child’s Faith Concerning Her Father’s Promises
A friend tells of overhearing two little girls, playmates, who were counting over their pennies. One said, “I have five pennies.” The other said, “I have ten.” “No,” said the first little girl, “You have just five cents, the same as I.” “But” the second child quickly replied, “my father said that when he came home tonight, he would give me five cents, and so I have ten cents.” The child’s faith gave her proof of that which she did not yet see, and she counted it as being already hers, because it had been already promised by her father. (Source Unknown)