Today's treasure: 2 Samuel 12:5-7
Read 2 Samuel 12:1-14
Note that Nathan used an analogy involving sheep.
At what point did David admit his sin?
How did Nathan respond to David with good and bad news?
The scene unfolds with Nathan sent to confront David's sin. We need to be careful not to confront for any other reason. We need to resist self-appointed confrontation with a fallen brother. Galatians 6:1 records one of those reasons.
Nathan was God's man for the job, but he still needed the protection and leadership of God as he confronted the powerful, persuasive king. Virtually a year had passed since David's initial sin with Bathsheba. We know the baby had been born, but we do not know exactly how old he was.
The time is so important because no sign of repentance had yet occurred. David appeared to be moving on with his life as if nothing had happened, but how do you suppose his sin affected his relationship with God? Our unwillingness to repent has internal effects.
Daved wrote exactly how he felt during his season of unrepentance. Psalm 32: 3-5
What obvious toll did David's unwillingness to repent have on him?
Psalm 32:3-5 describes a malady we might call sin sickness. Have you ever noticed God helps us accept His forgiveness, but He does not make us forget our sins?
Psalm 32:3-5 teaches an important truth. Spiritual illness (unrepentance) can lead to emotional illness (groaning, heaviness) and physical illness. Of course not all emotional and physical illness is caused by an unrepententant heart, but a refusal to repent takes a serious emotional and physical toll.
Nathan used a good preaching method to confront David. He used an illustration familiar to his hearer and drove the illustration home with the Word of God.
Sometimes the further we wander outside of God's will, the more we judge others and the less we show mercy. David was ready to fine the man "four times over" and kill him--until he found out he was the man. God may have wanted David to recognize the grace of God in the midst of the grave consequences of his sin. God wanted David to recognize he deserved to die. Bathsheba also deserved death, according to Hebrew law. So did Joab for setting up another person's death. God allowed David to sit as judge over his own life and pronounce a death sentence on himself so his Heavenly Father could grant him the undeserved gift of life. David no doubt, never forgot that moment.
David, through his behavior, wounded the heart of God by despising His Word. David's heinous, progressive sin did a terrible thing. It gave "great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme" (v. 14, KJV)
The word blaspheme means to 'revile, scorn, despise, reject; to condemn, to deride'. What other nations saw in David caused them to cast their eyes on David's God. Though many had not turned to the God of Israel, He had captured their attention and respect. David's actions caused the nations to lose their respect for God.
David placed God in an excruciating position. As God's foremost teaching instrument, even the eyes of the heathen nations were on David. Through David's failures, God would reveal something more of Himself. God's actions regarding David's sin teach the very foundation of salvation--God will forgive the sinner, but will still judge the sin.
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