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| 1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one 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 exceeding many flocks and herds: |
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| 3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. |
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| 4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. |
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| 5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: |
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 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. |
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| 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee 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 I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. |
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| 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. |
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| 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. |
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| 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight 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 secretly: 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 the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD 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 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely 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 house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. |
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| 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. |
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| 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. |
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| 18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? |
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 whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. |
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| 20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. |
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| 21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. |
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| 22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? |
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| 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. |
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| 24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD 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 he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. |
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 children of Ammon, and took the royal city. |
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| 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. |
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| 28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. |
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| 29 And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. |
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| 30 And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
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| 31 And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So 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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