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| 1 So then Yahweh sent Nathan the prophet unto David,–who therefore came unto him and said to him–Two men, there were in a certain city, the one, rich, and, the other, poor. |
Sent Nathan – It required courage, but whoever has a message from the Lord must needs have the courage to deliver it wisely and faithfully. R5681:3, R2017:1
The prophet was sent directly to the king. PD43/53; R4271:5
There were two men – The prophet made a parable showing the injustice and asked what would be a just decision. PD43/53; R5681:3, R4271:5
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| 2 The, rich, man had flocks and herds exceeding many; |
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| 3 whereas the, poor, man had, nothing,–save one little lamb, which he had made his own, and sustained, and it had grown up with him and with his children, all together,–of his own morsel, used it to eat, and, out of his own cup, used it to drink, and, in his own bosom, used it to lie, and it was to him, as a daughter. |
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| 4 Now there came a traveller to the rich man, but he thought it a pity to take of his own flock, or his own herd, to make ready for the wayfarer who had come to him,–so he took the lamb of his poor neighbour, and made ready for the man who had come to him. |
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| 5 Then was kindled the anger of David against the man, fiercely,–and he said unto Nathan, By the life of Yahweh, doomed to death, is the man that hath done this; |
Anger was greatly kindled – King David asked the name of the unjust man that he might be punished. PD43/53; R5681:3, R4271:5
Shall surely die – David unconsciously condemned himself to death. R2017:3
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| 6 and, the lamb, shall he pay back sevenfold,–because he did this thing, and, for that he had no pity. |
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| 7 Then said Nathan unto David: Thou, art the man! Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel–I, anointed thee to be king over Israel, and, I, delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; |
Thou art the man – It was a critical moment for David. Would he proudly resist the power of the truth, claiming that the customs of the world, instead of the Law of God, were to him the standard of privilege? R2017:2,3
Blessed is he who is not condemned by his own declarations in respect to the affairs of others. R3255:6
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| 8 and gave unto thee the household of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and gave unto thee the house of Israel and Judah. And, if this had been too little, I could have further given thee more and more of such things. |
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| 9 Wherefore, hast thou despised the word of Yahweh, by doing that which is wicked in mine eyes? Uriah the Hittite, hast thou smitten with the sword, and, his wife, hast thou taken to thyself to wife, yea, him, hast thou slain with the sword of the sons of Ammon! |
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| 10 Now, therefore, the sword shall not depart from thy house, unto age-abiding times,–because thou hast despised me, and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. |
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| 11 Thus, saith Yahweh,–Behold me! raising up over thee calamity out of thine own household, and I will take thy wives, before thine eyes, and give unto thy neighbour, and he will lie with thy wives, in the eyes of this sun. |
Of thine own house – Absalom's rebellion was the means employed for this punishment. R1397:2
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| 12 For, thou, didst it, in secret,–but, I, will do this thing, before all Israel, and before the sun. |
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| 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Yahweh. Then said Nathan unto David,–Yahweh also, hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die! |
I have sinned – The king saw the horrible mistake and humbly confessed the sin to the Lord. PD43/53; R5681:3, R4271:5
David saw his own conduct, not from the standpoint of other kings and what they did, but from the standpoint of the divine law of righteousness. R5681:3, R1396:6
The 51st Psalm is generally recognized as his expression of contrition for the sin. R3254:2
Put away thy sin – Justice would have been required in respect to the sins; but to the repentant soul the Lord's favor would, nevertheless, still be granted. R5681:4
God showed mercy on David (as to all Jews under the Law's typical sacrifices) in that he made allowance for his fallen condition. R1397:2
Realizing the Lord's forgiveness for the penitent moves one toward repentance. R3254:2
For the Christian, involuntary sins are cancelled; but wilfulness has a penalty attached. R1397:4
Sinful Christians find great consolation in the Lord's compassion if they are exercised as was David by their sins. R3254:2
Thou shalt not die – Because he had confessed and repented. R5681:3, R2017:5
The penalty of David's sin was death, under two indictments: Lev. 20:10 and Lev. 24:17. In view ofng only such pu R2017:4, R5681:3
If sin is fallen into, God does everything to encourage the acceptance of forgiveness and reformation, though the sinner is obliged to bear some severe penalty. R5681:4; Q281:3
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| 14 Nevertheless, because thou hast greatly blasphemed Yahweh, by this thing, the very son that is born to thee, shall, die. |
To blaspheme – While David's sin has given occasion to blasphemers, his repentance and forgiveness have given hope and encouragment to many who have been overtaken in a fault. R3260:6
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| 15 And Nathan departed unto his own house,–and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne unto David, and it fell sick. |
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| 16 David therefore earnestly sought God in behalf of the boy,–and David kept a fast, and used to go in and pass the night, and lie upon the ground. |
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| 17 And the elders of his house stood up over him, to raise him from the ground,–but he would not, neither would he eat food with them. |
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| 18 And it came to pass, on the seventh day, that the child died,–but the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for said they–Lo! while the child was living, we spake unto him, and he hearkened not unto our voice, how then can we say unto him, The child is dead, and so he do [himself] harm? |
The child died – Though the Lord indicated his forgiveness, yet there must be a punishment. R5106:4, R3255:5
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| 19 But, when David saw that his servants were whispering among themselves, then understood David that the child was dead,–and David said unto his servants–Is the child, dead? And they answered–Dead! |
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| 20 Then David arose from the ground, and bathed and anointed, and changed his apparel, and, entering into the house of Yahweh, bowed himself down,–then came he into his own house, and asked, and they set before him food, and he did eat. |
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| 21 Then said his servants unto him, What is this thing that thou hast done? For the child's sake, while living, thou didst fast and weep, but, as soon as the child was dead, thou didst arise and eat food. |
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| 22 And he said,–While yet the child lived, I fasted, and wept,–for I said–Who knoweth whether Yahweh may not grant me favour, and the child live? |
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| 23 But, now, that he is dead, wherefore should I go on fasting? can I bring him back again? I am going unto him, but, he, will not come back unto me. |
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| 24 And David consoled Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her,–and she bare a son, and called his name, Solomon, and Yahweh loved him. |
Solomon – His name signifies "the peaceful," thus commemorating God's promise concerning him. R2045:3
The LORD loved him – God accepted David's penitence and restored him to his favor. PD43/53
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| 25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and called his name Jedidiah [=Beloved of Yah], for Yahweh's sake. |
His name Jedidiah – Meaning "Beloved of Jehovah"; indicating David's forgiveness and restoration to divine favor. R2045:3
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| 26 And Joab fought against Rabbah, of the sons of Ammon,–and captured the royal city. |
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| 27 Then Joab sent messengers unto David,–and said–I have fought against Rabbah, I have also captured the city of the waters. |
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| 28 Now, therefore, gather thou together the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and capture it,–lest, I, capture the city, and it be called by my name. |
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| 29 So David gathered together all the people, and went to Rabbah,–and fought against it, and captured it. |
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| 30 Then took he the crown of Milcom from off his head, the weight thereof, being a talent of gold, with the precious stones, and it remained on the head of David,–the spoil of the city also, brought he forth in great abundance; |
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| 31 the people also that were therein, brought he forth, and put them to the saw, and to threshing sledges of iron, and to axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln, and thus used he to do unto all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem. |
Put them under saws – While we mark with pleasure the noble traits in David's character, we must deplore the steps of his decline leading to unnecessary cruelty, not only conquering, but triumphing ignobly over his foes. R2016:3
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