The Fall of David

Justice, Law, History Justice and Adversity Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)  2 Samuel 12 New International Version Nathan Rebukes David 12 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. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 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 "hared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 "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 God's who had come to him." 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for the world's four times over because he did such a thing and had no pity." 7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Jud h. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even mo e. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonit s. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 11 "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 t. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" 13 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. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord, the son born to you will die." 15 After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth[b] on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18 On the seventh day, the child did. David's attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, he wouldn't listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." 19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." 20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions, and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worship d. Then he went to his own house, and at his request, they served him food, and he ate. 21 His attendants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" 22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; 25 and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.[c] 26 Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel l. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply y. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise, I will take the city, and it will be named after me." 29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured  t. 30 David took the crown from their king's [d] head, and it was placed on his own he d. It weighed a talent[e] of gold, and it was set with precious stones s. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.[f] David did this to all the Ammonite tow s. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. For Reflection Yeah, I know the scripture is a little long. But sometimes in our search for brevity, we can miss the point. Yes, David forgot who he was and whom he served. He had accepted the power of God, and it destroyed him spiritually. His quest for the personal delights extracted by force from others became more rewarding than the delight and joy of others' successes. David was no longer concerned about his subject s. He was only concerned about achieving his personal desires. How courageous it was for Nathan to speak the truth to this treacherous and cruel man this king had become e. Re-read verses 9- 0. Oh, how few speak truth to those who have faith control over them. Why did he fast and weep before the child did? Because he thought he had the power to convince God that God was wrong. When the child died, David realized God did respond in the manner David expected. So, David declared God to be disloyal. So, David enhanced his disloyalty to G d. David relished the chaos he creat d. It was now all about David's glory, not the Glory of God. Pray Pray and let the Holy Spirit guide your li  Pray to speak truth to power. Pray so that you will advance continually the beloved community God has intended us to be Forward to a friend