David Sins PT2

To catch the first part of our story about David’s sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah her husband, click here.

The Lord sent Nathan the prophet to speak to David. A prophet is a man who God has chosen to speak through. A prophet tells a person or group of people what God says.

Nathan recounts to David a story in 2Samuel 12:1-13 NLT. “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor.  The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle.  The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.  One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”

David burned with anger against the man. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.  I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.  Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.  From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.”

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” David was remorseful for his sin but there were still consequences of his sin.

Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.  Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.”

David showed his sorrow over his sin by composing a psalm to the Lord. Psalm 51 is his prayer for forgiveness.

After Nathan left, the Lord struck down David’s child and he became ill. David begged the Lord to spare his son. He went to inside his house and would not eat. He spent the nights lying on the ground. His servants urged him to get up and eat but he refused. On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him his son was dead for fear of what David would do.

David noticed them whispering and asked, “Is the child dead?”

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

David surprised them by getting up and taking a bath. He put on lotions and clean clothes. He walked to the tabernacle of the Lord to worship. Then he went to his own house and ate with them.

His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”

 David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:21-23 NLT)

David said an insightful thing. He said that he couldn’t bring the child back to life but he would one day go to heaven and see him. He knew that all who believe in the Lord will one day go to heaven. Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior so you can go to heaven someday? To read more about that click here.

 

This verse in Psalm 51, that David wrote, is a great verse to memorize: Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated