“I Would Have Given You Even
More”
The LORD
sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a
certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number
of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one
little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his
children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It
was like a daughter to him.
“Now a traveler
came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own
sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him.
Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for
the one who had come to him.”
David burned with anger
against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who
did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did
such a thing and had no pity.”
Then Nathan said to
David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I
anointed you king over
“This is what the LORD
says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before
your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you,
and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but
I will do this thing in broad daylight before all
Then David said to
Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The
LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing
this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die.”
After Nathan had gone
home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had
borne to David, and he became ill.
2 Samuel 12:1-15
You can’t
get away with it, and you can’t take it with you. In both cases, God knows
everything about you. You need to get right with God.
It is
not unusual for us to think we can get away with whatever it is. King David
thought he would get away with murder and adultery. When he was found out, he
was remorseful and he did seek forgiveness, which God granted. But he paid for
his sins. He could never build the palace that might have been his. He could
plan it, but it was his son Solomon who built it. David never ever again went
on to achieve the greatness he had when he allowed God to be with him.
Nathan
exposed the sin of David. But remorse alone did not make things better. And,
the consequences of his sin never left his household.
If you
have been trying to get away with something, remember that you will be found
out. Turn yourself in to God. Don’t hide. Instead, seek His gracious
forgiveness.
We have to face our sins – before we can put them behind us.
Our Daily Bread –