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240715-Bible-Nathan-confronts-David.txt

7:50 PM 7/15/2024

David, the "man after God's own heart", was loved by the people, waiting and serving for years in coming into his kingship.
However, David later sidetracked in a sin for nearly a year (see 2 Samuel 11).
I consider 2 Samuel 12 to be one of the best lessons I've seen in the Bible!

2 Samuel 12 (NASB):
1 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,
"There were two men in the city, the 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 one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his bread and and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
5 Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.
6 "And he must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion."
7 Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 "I also gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little I would have added to you many more things than these!
9 'Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10 'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'
11 "Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.
12 'Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.'"

Take a moment to pause and consider the enormity of what is going on here. Nathan as prophet is not prevented from coming to David. Nathan delivers his message. David had lost his footing, so to speak, and had gotten caught up in sin, which he attempted to hide for at least nine months? Yet, let us watch carefully on what happens next; consider David's response:

13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."

David did not a) blame anyone else, b) try to justify himself, c) try to sugarcoat or negotiate the situation; instead, d) David admitted his own fault.
Again, and let's pay attention to Nathan's immediate response:

13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.

In this moment, David's guilt has been removed!
When I first realized the significance of this event in the Bible, I was amazed to discover a clear distinction between guilt and consequence!
Yet see what else is to come per Nathan's next words.

14 "However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die."

Not only is David now burdened with those troubles and disgrace yet to come per verses 11-12, but he and Bathsheba will suffer the loss of this first child she carried nine months and bore to him. David still has significant consequences to endure, even after the Lord removed his sin.

How do we regard our own compromises, small and large, even as children of God through Jesus Christ?
Who else near us may be impacted by our sin?
Yet comforting to me is this in the New Testament which perfectly agrees:
1 John 1:
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Reviewing this again is sobering to me. Better yet to not sin in the first place. How to remain diligently near to the Lord, except to continue to inquire of the Lord with our decisions, as David did for many years during ascendancy from his anointing to his attaining position as king of Judah and Israel?

(I am fairly certain I wrote on this several years ago, thanks to the Lord, but at the moment I can't find the original, so here it is again. -jc)

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