Category: Kings
Scriptures:
2 Samuel 12:1-12:15
2 Samuel 12:1-12:15
1 Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds,
3 but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him, and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.
4 A traveler came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to prepare for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 David’s anger burned hot against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!
6 He must restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity!”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
8 I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things.
9 Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’
11 “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’”
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die.
14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.”
15 Nathan departed to his house. Yahweh struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it was very sick.
Commentary
David, God’s man, can get in sin, but he will not stay in sin. 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 simple parable in order to get David to see his sin. 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, and so he took the poor man’s pet lamb and made a meal of it for his guest.
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. 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. Next, God would raise up evil against David from within his own house, and finally, one of David’s associates would take his wives from him and lie with them in full public view. David was moved deeply by the words of the prophet and made no excuses for his conduct. He acknowledged his sin.
Nathan accepted the confession and declared that God would not take David’s life on account of the sin, but would punish him by taking the child that had recently been born to Bathsheba.