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GOD SENT NATHAN TO REPROVE DAVID
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11
2 Samuel 12

Psalm 51:1-10

 

“Have mercy upon me, O God,

according to thy lovingkindness…”

 

GOD SENT NATHAN TO REPROVE DAVID
 
God was gracious to David and He allowed him time to repent. He sent Nathan the prophet to reprove him of his sin. The man of God approached the king carefully, using a parable. When Nathan finally confronted David, David understood the grave nature of his sin and repented. He had to face the consequences of his sin. He also expressed his repentance in a psalm that he wrote (Ps 51). Nathan told David that the Lord would take away his sin. The child that was born out of the adulterous union died. This caused much sorrow to David. Nathan’s parable made David condemn himself. It was a sad occurrence in the nation of Israel that brought the king down spiritually.
 
At first, David acted as if nothing had happened, but the Lord knew and was not at all pleased. The Lord sent Nathan to David. The details of God’s conversation with the prophet are not given. However, the Lord gave His messenger wisdom on how to approach the most powerful man of the nation. Nathan came to David as if he was seeking judgment from the king for a case. He thus told of an imaginary rich man who would not take a kid out of his flock to kill for a traveller. Instead, he took the only kid that a poor man had and dressed it for that traveller. David saw the immediate injustice in the story and sentenced the offender to death and also to pay back fourfold. Nathan’s story was a parable. The offender was David and the prophet told him so. The poor man in this case would be Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba.
 
Nathan identified David as the guilty one. David’s sentence was according to the Mosaic Law, and thus right. When anyone stole a sheep or a goat, the penalty would be fourfold repayment. The wisdom of Nathan caused the king to sentence himself. He came to understand the grave nature of his actions when the prophet told him, “Thou art the man…” (2 Sam 12:7). This was the turning point of that sad episode, and David responded in a positive attitude to make right that wrong.
 
THOUGHT: God’s justice is not selective.

PRAYER: Father, let me always have a repentant heart.

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