Nathan paused when he approached the throneroom door. “LORD, give me the strength to do Your work here.”
He pulled the door open and walked up to King David.
David smiled and cocked his head to the left. “Nathan, I didn’t expect you today. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“There were two men. One of them had vast flocks of sheep and cattle. The other was poor. He saved and bought a lamb one day. This ewe was like a daughter to him. It ate from his hand and drank from his own cup.”
Nathan paused.
David was staring toward Nathan’s right. A smile was on his face.
“A third man came to the rich man’s house one day. Not wanting to decrease his herd he took the poor man’s lamb and had it prepared for the traveler to eat.”
David’s fist came down hard on the throne’s hand rail. He sat forward. “No. That man shall die for that and he must repay four times for such a travesty.”
Nathan stepped forward and stared into David’s eyes. “It’s you, Sir.”
David’s mouth dropped open. The color drained from his face.
“The LORD God chose you from the sheepfold to rule His nation. You were given protection from Saul. His wives became yours. Judah and Israel obey your commands. If you wanted more He would have given it. Why have you despised the LORD’s commands? You killed Uriah with the sword of Ammon to have his wife for your own. Because of this the sword shall never depart from your own house.
“You kept this private, but God will have your wives used in broad daylight. Your own sons will rise up against you.”
David sat back. His palms rubbed the hand rails. “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan nodded. “The LORD accepts your confession. You shall not die. Since this has brought such rise to your enemies to blaspheme the LORD the child shall die.”
Nathan turned and walked out of the throneroom to the sounds of sobs.
************
I would not have wanted to be Nathan on that day.
I’m glad he had the spine to carry out what God gave him to do.
You may be wondering why I included this in a series of devotionals on prayer. There is no prayer to God in this exchange.
No, but there was leading up to it.
David committed a double sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. He did his best to keep it quiet. He thought he succeeded.
You can’t keep a secret from God.
He knows every little thing that occurs.
You might keep a secret from your closest friends, but never from God.
We aren’t told how Nathan discovered the details about David’s dealings. We are told God sent him to David to inform him of the consequences of his actions.
Somebody was sent to Bathsheba’s house to bring her to David that fateful night. They pointed out that she was a married woman. Did they leak that to Nathan? We’ll never know.
Did God speak to Nathan with a dream? The parable he told could have been a dream Nathan had that night.
At that time God did speak to men in an audible voice and in person. If one of these methods was used it remains a mystery to us.
God’s primary means of speaking to us today is through these stories and other messages in the Bible.
The important thing for us to carry out of this exchange is the need to confront sin as sin.
Nathan was given the difficult task of informing King David of the consequences of his sins.
A king has the authority to have someone’s head removed from their shoulders if they make them unhappy.
Nathan followed the decrees of a much higher authority than a human king. He answered to the King of kings.
And so do we.
That doesn’t mean we’re to go around pointing our fingers at everybody we know is living in sin. That would be a never-ending undertaking.
There are individuals who are brought into our lives that we are given a certain amount of influence over. Close friends are included in that group. So are church leaders, especially if you happen to be on an important committee within the church. Family members might listen to you, but not if you come across as holier than thou.
I think Nathan was a mentor to David at this time in the king’s life.
David would have coveted someone who had a connection to the God of the nation he was called to lead.
The title of prophet was given to Nathan because of that connection.
Make sure your connection to God is strong before you go about confronting sin in anyone’s life.
There are guidelines established in the Bible to be followed in certain situations. Make sure you know them before you try to carry them out.
Remember we live under a covenant of grace these days because of what Jesus endured on the cross. We don’t stone folks for committing certain sins now like they were told to do in Old Testament times.
Even Jesus refused to have the adulteress stoned before he died. Mary could have been stoned after she was found to be pregnant with Jesus. Let that thought sink in.
We all sin and fall short of God’s glory that’s why we all need a savior.
I don’t think Nathan wanted to confront David that day. He was simply following God’s orders.
If you want to carry out confronting sin for anything but godly reasons check your motives.
Your own sin of power might be clouding your judgement.
If you’re on good ground for stepping in to change a situation by calling someone out then pray hard about it. Then go for it in God’s strength.
We need more Nathans in today’s world.
The line of what sin is has become too blurry these days.
Go in God’s grace.
I’ll see you later. Wade
