SCRIPTURE: 2 SAMUEL 12
NATHAN REBUKES DAVID (vs. 1-31)
The Lord sent Nathan to tell David this message: “There were two men in a certain town. One is rich and the other one was poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. That lamb was like a daughter to him. Now a trader came and the rich man wanted to prepare a meal for him. Instead of taking one of his own sheep, the rich man took the ewe lamb of the poor man. (vs. 1-4)
Upon hearing this, David was burned with anger and said to Nathan: “That rich man deserves to die. He must pay for that lamb four times over because he did such a thing without pity” (v. 5). Then Nathan said to David: “:You are the man!. The Lord had anointed you king over Israel and delivered you from the hand of Saul. He gave your master’s house and wives to you. But you struck down Uriah, the Hittite with sword of the Ammonites and took his wife to be your own. Now therefore, the sword will never depart from your house. Calamity will be upon you. Someone close to you will lie with your wives in broad daylight.” (vs. 7-11).
David confessed his sin but Nathan said that the son born to him by Bathsheba will die. The Lord struck the child with illness. David fasted until the child died on the 7th day. Then David comforted Bathsheba and later, they gave birth to a son named Solomon.
Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and defeated the royal citadel. Then David mustered the entire army and captured it. He took the crown from the head of their king and place on his head. He made the people of Ammon work at brickmaking. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
THOUGHTS:
When David listened to Nathan of how that rich man treated the poor man, he was burned with anger and condemned him to pay forth lamb four times over. It is very easy to condemn others. But beware: the sentence you pass on to others will be passed on to you. David paid for his sins fourfold. (1)-the baby died; (2)-his daughter Tamar was raped; (3)-his son Absalom was killed by Joab; (4)-his son Amnon was slain by Benaiah.
David confessed his sin and God forgave him. But David paid dearly for his lustful pleasure. He had to reap what he had sown. He sowed lust and reaped the same. He sowed murder and reap murder. Forgiveness is not an excuse to sin because there are sad consequences you have to bear.
It took great courage, skill and tact for Nathan to speak to David in a way that would make him aware of his wrong actions. When you have to confront someone, present your message with skill and tact. Ask wisdom from God on how you are going to say it.