1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and
said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other
poor. 2 The
rich man had exceeding many
flocks and herds: 3 But the poor man
had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up:
and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own
meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a
daughter. 4 And
there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own
flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto
him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to
him. 5 And
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath
done this thing shall surely
die: 6 And
he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he
had no pity. 7 And
Nathan said to David, Thou art
the man. (2 Sam 12:1-7)
The Sunday after Ascension Day.
The Collect.
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O
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GOD,
the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great
triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but
send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us un-to the same place
whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for The Ascension Day.
The Collect.
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G
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RANT,
we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son
our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in
heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and
reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
¶ This Collect
is to be said daily throughout the Octave.
We will understand this parable given by Nathan better if
we understand the context given in the previous chapter. I will summarize the
chapter for the sake of brevity. King David enjoyed his position as King
perhaps too much. When it was the time for king’s to go forth to battle with
their armies, David remained behind at the King’s Palace. We may surmise that there was already a
tug of sin at David’s heart that prompted him to remain where he should not and
at a time which was incongruous with the duty of a king. We are told that
David, apparently listless, arose from his bed in the evening. We are not told WHY he arose at the time of
first sleep, but his subsequent actions may give us a hint. He not only arose
from bed, but went up and walked on the terraced roof. Being VERY familiar with
all the ground surrounding his palace, David may even have known of the habits
and appearance of Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba) whom he observed taking a bath in
her courtyard beneath the roof from which David peered. Oh, did I mention? She
was beautiful as well. David did not stop at being merely a peeping tom. He
inquired after the woman and was told that she was the wife of Uriah. He then
sent for her and slept with her. Bathsheba conceived a child from this brief,
but immoral, encounter. David,
desperate to cover his sin (a hopeless undertaking for any of us), sent for
Uriah who was away performing his duties as a soldier. He wined and dined
Uriah, and sent him to his home to sleep with Bathsheba. Uriah refused to go to
the pleasure of his bed while his fellow soldiers were fighting in the field.
David, still desperate to cover his sins with even a greater and final one,
sent a note with Uriah back to Joab (his Field Commander) to place Uriah in the
first line of battle in which certain death could be expected. Joab complied
and Uriah was killed (murdered). David now feels his sin is covered and
forgotten. He sends for Bathsheba after the period of mourning and makes her
another of his wives.
Perhaps David is feeling quite smug. Perhaps he uttered to himself, “How I
love it when a plan comes together!” But David’s plan had not come
together at all. He had not escaped his sin. We read in the last verse of the
previous chapter (11): But the thing that David had done displeased
the LORD. (2 Sam 11:27) Regardless our cunning and malevolence in
designing elaborate smokescreens for our sins, the Lord is never deceived and
knows all. David is pleased with himself, but he is unaware of the great
displeasure of the LORD! This is a part of the equation that has escaped the
notice of David, and us as well, too often. The Lord is watching.
If our consciences are not tattered and in rags, God will surely bring
to our remembrance the depth and severity of our sins. At least, King David
still has a conscience, and the Lord knows of it. The Lord will send his
prophet, Nathan, before King David to open David’s eyes to the enormity of his
sin. He does so with a pathetic little parable that is a terrible example of
cruelty, but fades in insignificance when compared to the horrendous sin that
David has committed.
We should first know that the shepherds and tenders of the flocks of
sheep, even to this day, in the Middle East become emotionally attached to the
little lambs. When they are weary or hurt, the shepherd carries them next to
his breast (heart). So lambs are special to these nomadic people. They
represent tender innocence. But a little Ewe Lamb (little female lamb) even
more drastically represents that complete innocence. They often become, and did
in David’s day as well, pets of the shepherd’s family. They are cuddled and
even given personal names. It was touching for me to observe the tenderness
with which these rough and weather-worn people of Persia cared for such
helpless little lambs when they often lacked a decent place to lay their own
heads. So that is the setting for the parable which follows:
1 And the LORD sent
Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men
in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. Until God concludes
all time on earth, there shall always be the poor and wealthy existing
together. It is a shame that the rich take so little note of the needs of the
poor among them except in communities who hold up Christ as their Ensign. So
far, David sees nothing unusual in the beginning of the story.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and
herds. No surprise here, except to establish that this was a truly
wealthy man. In many ways, he was very like David – he owned many flocks of
sheep and herds of animals.
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe
lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him,
and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup,
and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. May I say
that this man, though existing in poverty, was rich in the things of the heart?
The poor man had bought the little ewe lamb out of love and not any desire for
profit. He was poor, yet he expended his all for the little lamb as a pet. Not
only did the poor man expend his meager fortune for the lamb, he even nourished
it with the same zeal he had nourished his own children. He literally LOVED the
ewe lamb as his own little daughter. The lamb ate at the poor man’s table, and
drank from that same cup from which the poor man drank, and slept on his bosom
as a daughter does her father.
Perhaps you may find this somehow irregular to shower a ewe lamb with
such extravagant affection? In the perils of the wilderness where lions and
wolves lurk, a rough man may be drawn, with unusual tenderness, to something
that is quite the opposite of all that he sees in the desert wilderness around
him. Such would be the Ewe Lamb. The shepherds will not hesitate to pick up the
little lambs and carry them in their breast during a storm or some other need –
just as our Good Shepherd carries us through our storms and perils of life.
4 And there came a traveller unto the rich
man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for
the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and
dressed it for the man that was come to him. If justice fails, what
is left the poor? “Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys, and destiny
obscure; Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile, The short and simple annals
of the poor.”Elegy by Thomas Gray. Power
feeds on greed in the hearts of those who know not the Savior. The rich man had
such an abundance of sheep, it is probable that he could not give the number;
yet, he disregards his own wealth and goes for the singular possession of the
poor man. He took unjustly out of
greed and not need. Here we see the crushing similarity of the rich man and
King David. But David, complacent in his self-righteousness, fails to draw the
connection.
David, though lacking
grace perhaps, still has a conscience and a sense of justice. He is enraged at
this picture of injustice that Nathan has presented. Being guilty of a far more
serious crime than the rich man, David reacts with greater severity than the
offense of the rich man calls for: If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and
kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a
sheep (Ex 22:1) Though he judges the rich man more harshly than the
offense merits, he overlooks a greater sin and judgment in himself. Do we not
do the same. If the older couple in front are too slow in traffic, do we not
consider them incompetent; yet, while we are driving slowly for some reason and
are passed by another car, we think them to be foolish for speeding. Sin always
teaches us to look out and not inwardly. Our consciences, mentored by the Holy
Ghost, teaches us to always look to our own hearts before being critical. David
has failed to draw the proper conclusion in this story, but he soon will do so.
David expresses a very righteous and judgmental disposition toward the
rich man to Nathan: 5. And
David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath
done this thing shall surely
die: 6 And he shall
restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no
pity. David charges that the rich man will not only be accountable
for his sin under the full terms of the law (verse 6) but also forfeit his life
(a provision NOT required under the law). David, like us, practices a double
standard toward the sin of others while simply dismissing, out of hand, his own
egregious sin. But the prophet of the Lord will bring things down to the
personal level for David:
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7 And Nathan said to
David, Thou art the man.
Sin is no mild thing. It leaves scars and can have a permanent effect. Look at
the sin of Adam in the Garden. All of Creation fell with Adam who had failed to
maintain proper dominion over it. Young people (and old), do you believe your
sins of promiscuity and careless living is JUST between you and God? Have you
considered the hurt and pain an unplanned pregnancy can cause your families?
Would you try and cover that sinful behavior by murdering the innocent lamb
(baby) in its mother’ womb? When David heard the last words of Nathan, he was
filled with sorrow and remorse. Knowing that our sins are known illuminates and
magnifies them. One day, all of our unrepented sins shall be shouted from the
rooftops. How shall we feel then? See how David responds to the realization of
his sins:
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And
Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not
die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to
the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. (2 Sam
12:13-14) Sin will always leave an ugly scar. The child born out of the sinful
relationship of David and Bathsheba did die and was gathered to the Lord. Even
though David repented and mourned prayerfully before the Lord, the child died.
Upon the child’s death, David then celebrated with a feast. Why? David
said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then
David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the
LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they
set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What
thing is this that thou hast
done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise
and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept:
for I said, Who can tell whether
GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead,
wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but
he shall not return to me. (2 Sam 12:19-23) By his last comment,
David means that he shall go to the child in heaven. He has another son,
however, that will bring shame and hurt in David’s life – Absalom. Absalom was
rebellious and warred against his father. When the wicked Absalom was killed by
Joab, David’s response was quite different from that of the death of an
innocent infant - And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for
the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. And
the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered,
The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. And the king was much moved,
and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he
said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee,
O Absalom, my son, my son! (2 Sam 18:31-33) Grief and sorrow were a
part of David’s life from the moment of his grievous sin repented of. Do not
take your sins lightly even if you may repent of them.
Even though
the Lord is quick to forgive, the scar remains just as those scars remain on
the hands and feet of Jesus – scars made by the sins of you and me.
