… and was unto him as a daughter…
Part
Two – David is Apprised of His Sin
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)
As we saw in the previous devotion of 14th of August, David failed in a
seemingly casual manner to fulfill his duty to lead his army in battle, but
remained, instead, in the comfort of his palace from which he went to spy upon
Bathsheba taking a bath in her courtyard. This led to adultery and finally to
murder of Uriah. A small lapse in duty can have grave consequences, not just
for the offender, but those who suffer under his leadership. We shall see that
God does ultimately forgive David, but the legacy of his fatal lapse of duty
(and the consequent sins engendered) will plague Israel for the duration of
King David’s reign. There will be a great contrast drawn for our learning
between King David’s legacy of sin, and the reign of righteousness of the
coming Son of David (as was accounted the Son of God, Jesus Christ).
It is amazing to our consciences that a man can sin so reprehensibly and still
feel no guilt of conscience unless reminded of the sin by the preacher. It
brings to light the egregious sins so common in America today for which few
feel guilt. They do not feel guilt because the preachers of America have failed
to allow Judgment to begin in the House of the Lord. They have remained silent,
and sometimes even abetted, concerning the present-day sins of abortion,
homosexuality, and adultery (not to mention the irreverent and immodest dress
of our people).
Nathan was the Court Prophet of David’s reign. He wrote the histories of both
the reign of David and of Solomon. David later named a son ‘Nathan’ moist
likely in honor of this courageous and Godly prophet. As we see in verses 1-7
above, Nathan comes to David with a parable following David’s double sins of
adultery and murder. Though polygamy was never approved of God, David had more
than one wife. He was a wealthy monarch who could afford the luxury, if not the
nagging! So Nathan tells a story that perfectly reflects a rich man with many
wives as compared with a poor man with only one – and that ONE being the
treasure of his life.
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…
From Nathan’s parable, we learn more than one lesson. First, we learn that the
words of a prophet are not the words of God unless God SENDS him; secondly, we
see that David still retains a high sense of justice when told of the injustice
done to the poor man. It is possible for a man to commit serious sins without
being given over to a reprobate mind in God’s eyes. He may still be salvaged if
a sense of conscience remains and has not been seared as with a hot iron.
(1 Tim 4:2)
We see in the parable that David’s offense began with a lapse of duty, led to
covetousness of another man’s wife, then to adultery, and finally culminated in
murder. Just as the one who tells a small lie may feel his offense small, that
small lie will require a growing host of other lies to cover the first. In the
beginning of the parable, David is unable to see himself in the parable and is
incensed with righteousness indignation at the greed of the rich man. His sense
of justice is an OUTWARD, and not an INWARD, sense. We may all see our image
reflected in the character of David.
Even if we have not committed an open act of adultery, every one of us has
lusted in his heart. Even if we have not had a Uriah slain, we have hated
another in our souls. We are not better than David, so do not even allow your
imaginations to consider it so!
David’s anger is incensed against the rich man[1],
and he proclaims a fitting punishment for such a one – 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 had taken a poor man’s
lamb (Bathsheba) while he had a full court of wives and concubines. He took no
pity on Uriah because he was blinded by his desire to cover his own sins. Of
course, no man can cover his sins. Like the leprosy of Naaman, it is an
insidious progression of deformity and outrageous odor that will eventually reveal
itself when it is the most disgusting in nature. Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Gal
6:7) . . . . ye have sinned against the
LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. (Num
32:23b) By the way,
the wages of sin is death, and every reader of this devotion has sinned;
therefore, we all DESERVE the penalty of death. However, owing to the unmerited
grace of God, we have a Savior whose substitutionary death paid that penalty
for all who receive Him and are the called according to His purpose.
David has accurately and justly pronounced judgment upon his own sin
unwittingly! But now comes the hard and pitiful moment of awakening: And
Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.
There is a more subtle lesson in this parable and approach of Nathan that may
go unnoticed without a deeper reflection. You will recall that our Lord told
the Woman at Jacob’s Well this famous prophecy: But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father
in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is
a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:23-24)
This fact is fully illustrated in Nathan’s approach to David.
We have churches today whose approach is full of biblical
truth, but sadly lacking in Spirit. Or, otherwise, we have churches whose
approach is full of some spirit, but lacking on the side of truth. The happy
union of the two is desperately necessary to convict of sin. Nathan knows that
he must follow the Word of God as directed; but he also knows that to simply
accuse David of the enormity of his sin will simply cause him to become
defense. So he redirects the sin of David upon an fictional character at whom
David can look with an unjaundiced eye. Once he pronounces the judgment against
that character, it is an easy step to connect David to the sin. This is
intelligent and thoughtful evangelism. Sinners are not generally converted by
pounding the on the head with a Bible and telling them they are going to Hell.
At such a threat, they will simply bow-up against you and not even listen to
your attempts to lead to a remedy for sin. A thoughtful, reasoned, and logical
advancement of truth will almost always be far more effective. I learned long
ago in my military Fundamentals of Learning course that in critiquing students
after a period of practical application of learning, it is far more effective
to begin with the positives of what a student did well (even if difficult to
determine) followed by pointing out areas necessary for improvement. The
positive grabs their attention so that they will continue to listen when you
point out weaknesses.
At
any rate, Nathan, with great tact and consideration, reveals – not only the
enormity of David’s sin – but has David pronounce the deserved punishment as
well. Such advanced logic and reason was unknown outside of Holy Scripture in
the days of David. It is almost a lost art today because the famine of the
wisdom of God’s Word in the broader society today.
We will next examine David’s repentance and the beginning
cost of David’s forgiven sin.
[1]
It is ever so easy to
see sin in others; when you do, examine your own behavior the more closely.
