Scripture:
2 Samuel 12:7-13 ESV
[7] Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. [8] And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. [9] Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. [10] Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ [11] Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. [12] For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” [13] David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
Observation:
I wanted to bring this out yesterday when I read it but the LORD had other plans. This morning the holy spirit took me back to it. I don’t know why we are doing this out of order but here we go. David had stepped outside of GOD’s will. He let his flesh get the best of him, and his sin could not be hidden from GOD. Nathan was a profit and the LORD had revealed to him what had happened. The only question was…how do you approach the king with his sin? I’m sure Nathan spent time in prayer seeking GOD and how to say something to a man who could command his death, and it would be done. Then the LORD gave him the thought…a story…one that relates without saying it right out in the open. Let’s get the king to see his sin. Without speaking it right out so that he will know his wrong and repent. So putting together a case about a sheep that had been taken from a poor man by a man who had plenty. Nathan approached the king. It was time this had to come to the surface. Telling the story to David it did exactly what it was intended to do. The King wanted justice for the poor man…then came the point. After the king asked who did this heinous crime. Nathan told him… it’s you my king you did this. You took Uriah’s wife for your own and had him killed by the sword of your enemy. You had more than enough but coveted what another man had. To the point that you acted on your fleshly desire, and when the LORD exposed what had happened by allowing the seed that was planted to create life. You went even deeper to cover it up. By setting this man in the heat of the battle and leaving him by himself to die. This is your sin. My king and now it has been brought to light. David’s response had to bring a sigh of relief to the profit. I have sinned you are so right. Nathan’s response was more than likely not one that David wanted to hear. But it had to be said. There will be consequences to this David. The sword will not depart from your house, and rebellion will come from within your home. Your wives will be taken by your neighbors. What you did in secret will be corrected in public. However, the LORD has put your sin away…it will not cost you your life.
Application:
I would like to say that it’s easy to tell someone that what they have done is the cause of the pain they are experiencing. But honestly, it’s not. Tact is so very important. I’m just going to be honest this is an area GOD is working in in my life as well. I tend to just speak the truth and forget all about grace sometimes. Which leads to more heartache rather than healing. This is not the end goal. There are two cases we can look at in this scripture the correction given and how it was received. It’s important to have people in your life who are willing to speak the truth to you. It’s equally important to receive that truth. It is also very important to be able to tell a brother or sister the truth without chasing them away from Jesus. Grace and love are the keys. Building relationships is not easy. Sometimes we can say the right thing the wrong way and do more damage than good. As my brother Steve says honesty without compassion can be brutal. We have to say the hard things. But we also have to do it in a way that shows the love of Jesus. It’s not an easy task I know. I suffer from foot-in-mouth syndrome myself, and it’s not that I don’t love because believe me I do. I love people and I want them to see Jesus, and develop a relationship with HIM. But when I speak that love is not always heard because the seasoning salt of grace is missing.
Prayer:
Father, we love you and we know that you have a perfect plan. You will not start a work that you do not finish. This morning as we pray we are confronted with the way we speak truth. We know the hard things need to be said. So we pray for boldness…LORD, we also know that when they are said. We don’t want to push people away from the one who can set right the wrongs. So we have to have boldness that is covered with grace. The truth in love. Your son was the perfect example of this. So really our prayer this morning is…mold us to be like your son. HE knew just how to speak. So that people would be drawn near to you and not pushed away. Help us to do the same our lives are not about us being right as much as they are about us showing love to those who have done wrong so that they can be set on the right path as well. Your word teaches us how to love. In word and deed. The way we speak and what we do. Help us to say the hard things with love. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.