105 – Nathan’s Story
II Samuel 12:1-31 Psalm 51:1-19
Only God knew about David’s sin with Bathsheba. He sent the prophet Nathan, who stood before the king and told this story: “There were two men who lived in the same city. One was rich. He had a large herd of cattle and a large flock of sheep. The other was poor. He only had one small lamb, but she was like a daughter to him. The lamb grew up with his children as a pet. She ate from their bowls, drank from their cups, and even slept with them at night.
The rich man had a friend come to visit from a far off city. When it came time for a meal, the rich man didn’t want to use one of his own sheep. Instead he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”
David became angry. He stood up and shouted, “That’s disgusting! How could he be so heartless? He deserves to die. He’ll give the poor man four lambs for what he’s done.”
Nathan pointed at David and said, “You are the man! The Lord says, ‘I made you king over Israel and gave you all you have. I would’ve given you more if you had asked for it. So why have you despised me and done this evil? You killed Uriah with an Ammonite sword, and took his wife. Because of this, the sword will never leave your house. You did all of this in secret, but I’ll judge you openly.’ ”
David broke down before Nathan. “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Later, he wrote this prayer:
“Oh God, have mercy upon me.
Hold me tight within your love.
In your compassion, remove my rebellion.
Wash my guilt, and remove
the stain of my sin.
I know I’m rebellious.
My sin haunts me day and night.
You’re the one I fought against.
This evil is against you.
You’re right to be angry and throw me away.
I’ve been this way all my life.
But I know you want to teach me.
Go deep inside of me and put wisdom there.
Use harsh cleansers until
everything is absolutely clean.
Replace my depression with joy.
Remove my sin and give me
a clean new heart.
Give me a determined spirit,
and restore the joy of my salvation.
If you do these things, I’ll teach others about your ways.”
Nathan went to David and said, “The Lord has heard your prayer and has taken away your sin. You’ll not die, but the child will die because of how you treated the Lord.”
Suddenly, the child became sick. David begged God to spare him. The king wouldn’t eat, but spent day and night on the ground pleading with God. His servants tried to get him to eat, but he refused.
On the seventh day, the child died. The servants were afraid to tell David. They had watched him agonize while the child was still alive. They thought he would do something desperate when he found out the child was dead.
He saw them whispering to one another. He said, “Is the child dead?”
“Yes, he is dead.”
So David got up off the ground, took a bath, and put on clean clothes. He worshipped in the house of the Lord and then sent for something to eat.
The servants were amazed. He explained it to them. “While the child was still alive, I pleaded with the Lord in case he would be gracious and let the child live. But now that he’s dead, there’s nothing I can do. He can’t come back to me, but I can go to him.”
Later, Bathsheba gave birth to another son, and David named him Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon, and said he would be the next king of Israel.
