09/26/2008
2 Samuel 12:1 - 7 (HCSB) 1So the LORD sent Nathan to David.
When he arrived, he said to him:
There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had a large number of sheep and cattle, 3but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. It lived and grew up with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
4Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.
5David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb.”
7Nathan replied to David, “You are the man!”
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Just before this event, David had slept with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah while he was away at battle. She became pregnant and David tried to cover the matter up. When he could not cover up her pregnancy, David gave orders for Uriah to be sent to the front line of the fiercest battle so that he would likely be killed in battle. And so it happened.
After Bathsheba mourned her husband, David took her as his wife.
Nathan the prophet came to confront David on the matter. Note that Nathan does not recount David’s sin. If he had done so, David would have sent Nathan away, or worse. However, Nathan tells a parable about a lamb, and a rich man who covets the poor man’s single lamb. David, not realizing the story is a parable, declares that the man who did this is detestable and must repay four-fold and deserves to die.
Then Nathan reveals that the offender is David himself.
We are just like David. We think that we have concealed our sin and nobody will know. But God knows. In David’s case, he needed to be reminded that God sees all and judges all. We too need to remember that God sees all.
David did not confess of his sin until it was revealed to all. And God will not forgive our sins until we confess them.
Will you confess your sins today before God? Or does He need to reveal your sins openly to get your attention?
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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