II Samuel 12:1-15a
“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. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 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.
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.” (II Samuel 12:1-5)
David had very carefully covered his sin with Bathsheba, calling her husband home to make it appear the child was his, then having him killed so it would look like a normal casualty of war. Only his cousin Joab and a few trusted servants would know about the adultery. He had gotten by with it, or so he thought.
God sent Nathan the prophet with a story that really touched David’s heart. Rather than use one of his own sheep to feed his friends, a very rich man had taken a very poor man’s only pet lamb and killed it to feed them, leaving the poor man a deep sense of loss and nothing to fall back on.
“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: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” (II Samuel 12:5-6)
David was horrified that anyone would be so heartless as to kill a man’s only friend when they had hundreds of their own. By doing so he had put the poor man’s very life and livelihood at risk. While the law required that a man repay double for anything he stole, The penalty for stealing something that affected his ability to survive required a far more severe penalty. Exodus 22:1 commanded, “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.” David was determined to see that the law was enforced.
“And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.” (II Samuel 12:7-9)
It must have shocked David when Nathan accused him of being the guilty party and then proceeded to describe how David had several wives, but had taken the only one Uriah had for himself, than had had Uriah murdered, using the Ammonite army to make it appear as just a natural result of war. People might not know what David had done, but God knew every detail. Proverbs 5:21 states, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.”
He had not been fooled by David’s efforts to hide the sin. Galatians 6:7 warns, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” We are fooling ourselves when we think we have fooled God, and we will reap the results of what we have done.
“Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” (II Samuel 12:10-12)
By not being satisfied with what God had given him, and taking Uriah’s wife, David had implied God’s provision was second rate and unacceptable, and that God wasn‘t smart enough to catch him. He had despised and been disrespectful to God.
As a consequence of David’s action, his descendants would be constantly at risk of being killed, and part of the problem would come from within his family. One of his own family would publicly have sexual relations with David’s wives as a sign of disrespect ot David.
“And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.” (II Samuel 12:13a)
When confronted with proof of his sin in I Samuel 15. Saul blamed the people and insisted he had done nothing wrong, excusing his action by claiming it was for the prupose of sacrificing to God. He didn’t acknowledge his sin until there was incontrovertible proof. David, on the other hand acknowledged his sin immediately, with no effort to shift the blame to Bathsheba or anyone else.
"And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 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.” (II Samuel 12:13b-14)
Under the law, the penalty for adultery and the penalty for murder were both death. Because David did not deny his sin, but confessed to it, God would forgive it as he has promised us. I John 1:9-10 advises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” By denying his sin Saul further despised God, accusing him of lying. David would not be killed for his sin, But Saul would.
Although David was forgiven, the consequences of his sin would not be erased. Many people believe that forgiveness erases the consequences of sin. When a murderer asks forgiveness, it does not bring the victim back to life, and when a girl gets pregnant as a result of sex outside the marriage, asking forgiveness does not erase the pregnancy. In the same way, asking ones mate for forgiveness for having an affair does not restore the trust.
David’s sin brought a reproach on the Lord, implying that it was okay for man of God to do wrong if he was important enough. The world needed to see that power and prestige did not earn special favors from God. The child that resulted from that sin would die.
“And Nathan departed unto his house.” (II Samuel 12:15a)
“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. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 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.
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.” (II Samuel 12:1-5)
David had very carefully covered his sin with Bathsheba, calling her husband home to make it appear the child was his, then having him killed so it would look like a normal casualty of war. Only his cousin Joab and a few trusted servants would know about the adultery. He had gotten by with it, or so he thought.
God sent Nathan the prophet with a story that really touched David’s heart. Rather than use one of his own sheep to feed his friends, a very rich man had taken a very poor man’s only pet lamb and killed it to feed them, leaving the poor man a deep sense of loss and nothing to fall back on.
“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: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” (II Samuel 12:5-6)
David was horrified that anyone would be so heartless as to kill a man’s only friend when they had hundreds of their own. By doing so he had put the poor man’s very life and livelihood at risk. While the law required that a man repay double for anything he stole, The penalty for stealing something that affected his ability to survive required a far more severe penalty. Exodus 22:1 commanded, “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.” David was determined to see that the law was enforced.
“And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.” (II Samuel 12:7-9)
It must have shocked David when Nathan accused him of being the guilty party and then proceeded to describe how David had several wives, but had taken the only one Uriah had for himself, than had had Uriah murdered, using the Ammonite army to make it appear as just a natural result of war. People might not know what David had done, but God knew every detail. Proverbs 5:21 states, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.”
He had not been fooled by David’s efforts to hide the sin. Galatians 6:7 warns, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” We are fooling ourselves when we think we have fooled God, and we will reap the results of what we have done.
“Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” (II Samuel 12:10-12)
By not being satisfied with what God had given him, and taking Uriah’s wife, David had implied God’s provision was second rate and unacceptable, and that God wasn‘t smart enough to catch him. He had despised and been disrespectful to God.
As a consequence of David’s action, his descendants would be constantly at risk of being killed, and part of the problem would come from within his family. One of his own family would publicly have sexual relations with David’s wives as a sign of disrespect ot David.
“And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.” (II Samuel 12:13a)
When confronted with proof of his sin in I Samuel 15. Saul blamed the people and insisted he had done nothing wrong, excusing his action by claiming it was for the prupose of sacrificing to God. He didn’t acknowledge his sin until there was incontrovertible proof. David, on the other hand acknowledged his sin immediately, with no effort to shift the blame to Bathsheba or anyone else.
"And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 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.” (II Samuel 12:13b-14)
Under the law, the penalty for adultery and the penalty for murder were both death. Because David did not deny his sin, but confessed to it, God would forgive it as he has promised us. I John 1:9-10 advises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” By denying his sin Saul further despised God, accusing him of lying. David would not be killed for his sin, But Saul would.
Although David was forgiven, the consequences of his sin would not be erased. Many people believe that forgiveness erases the consequences of sin. When a murderer asks forgiveness, it does not bring the victim back to life, and when a girl gets pregnant as a result of sex outside the marriage, asking forgiveness does not erase the pregnancy. In the same way, asking ones mate for forgiveness for having an affair does not restore the trust.
David’s sin brought a reproach on the Lord, implying that it was okay for man of God to do wrong if he was important enough. The world needed to see that power and prestige did not earn special favors from God. The child that resulted from that sin would die.
“And Nathan departed unto his house.” (II Samuel 12:15a)
No comments:
Post a Comment