Lenten Devotions - Day 21
“One day someone came to visit the rich man, but the rich man didn’t want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle and serve it to the visitor. So he stole the poor man’s lamb and served it instead.” 2 Samuel 12:4
Nathan’s parable paraded before King David pretended to be a true story—a story about another. It is a classic strategy, not likely to have begun with Nathan, but certainly, his was the foremost example upon which prophets like Amos built their own critiques of the nation and its leaders. King, listen to this story of gross injustice! How can such a thing happen in Israel with no one held accountable? What an outrage! As David’s emotions are stirred by the story, he delivers an edict of condemnation. That is when Nathan delivers the punch line: You are the man.
He could have brushed Nathan aside. He could have ignored the prophet’s condemnation. The kings of the other nations around Israel would not have considered his actions with arranging the death of Bathsheba’s husband worthy of self-flagellation. Guilt over adultery and the murder of a foreigner within the nation’s borders were insignificant issues as they related to a king. David had authority and power to ignore Nathan, imprison him, or arrange for his death in response to a critique of the king. It is not so much his sin of adultery and murder that sets him apart from the kings round about, nor the rest of the kings of Israel and Judah. What sets him apart is the way he responds to Nathan highlighting his guilt.
He did not hide behind his position, power, reputation, or authority. He did not seek to escape his guilt or project an image of innocence. He was not as worried about what people would think of him if they found out about his faults. He was much more concerned with God’s reaction. He was concerned not so much with the past, but about the future. He was wanted to know how would God respond and lead him into the future. He was concerned with restoring his relationship with God and returning to a position of leader of his nation before God.
Nathan’s job was to convict David. It was not to rebuke him and leave him in the reject pile. The point of conviction is restoration. It is to clear the air and allow for a renewal of focus. It is to bring the convicted to a new beginning, not an end.
There were consequences to David’s sin. There were things he could not undo. The dead were not to return. Adultery could not be undone. His life could be refocused, however. He could become “a man after God’s own heart.” He could return to the character of the boy Samuel had anointed while Saul was still king—one who would trust God for direction, rather than his own inclinations, desires, and self-serving interests.
Are we willing to look at our sin as an opportunity to start over, returning our lives to God’s will and direction? Are you ready to allow God to alter the focus of your life, beginning with the confession of your own failures and need for God’s forgiveness and restoration? Will we give others the same chance?
Take a hard look at your own guilt. Turn it over to God and receive a new lease on life.
“Lord, grant me the courage to leave behind my sin, accept my failings, and begin life anew after your will. Grant me the grace to allow others a new beginning without condemnation.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
Nathan’s parable paraded before King David pretended to be a true story—a story about another. It is a classic strategy, not likely to have begun with Nathan, but certainly, his was the foremost example upon which prophets like Amos built their own critiques of the nation and its leaders. King, listen to this story of gross injustice! How can such a thing happen in Israel with no one held accountable? What an outrage! As David’s emotions are stirred by the story, he delivers an edict of condemnation. That is when Nathan delivers the punch line: You are the man.
He could have brushed Nathan aside. He could have ignored the prophet’s condemnation. The kings of the other nations around Israel would not have considered his actions with arranging the death of Bathsheba’s husband worthy of self-flagellation. Guilt over adultery and the murder of a foreigner within the nation’s borders were insignificant issues as they related to a king. David had authority and power to ignore Nathan, imprison him, or arrange for his death in response to a critique of the king. It is not so much his sin of adultery and murder that sets him apart from the kings round about, nor the rest of the kings of Israel and Judah. What sets him apart is the way he responds to Nathan highlighting his guilt.
He did not hide behind his position, power, reputation, or authority. He did not seek to escape his guilt or project an image of innocence. He was not as worried about what people would think of him if they found out about his faults. He was much more concerned with God’s reaction. He was concerned not so much with the past, but about the future. He was wanted to know how would God respond and lead him into the future. He was concerned with restoring his relationship with God and returning to a position of leader of his nation before God.
Nathan’s job was to convict David. It was not to rebuke him and leave him in the reject pile. The point of conviction is restoration. It is to clear the air and allow for a renewal of focus. It is to bring the convicted to a new beginning, not an end.
There were consequences to David’s sin. There were things he could not undo. The dead were not to return. Adultery could not be undone. His life could be refocused, however. He could become “a man after God’s own heart.” He could return to the character of the boy Samuel had anointed while Saul was still king—one who would trust God for direction, rather than his own inclinations, desires, and self-serving interests.
Are we willing to look at our sin as an opportunity to start over, returning our lives to God’s will and direction? Are you ready to allow God to alter the focus of your life, beginning with the confession of your own failures and need for God’s forgiveness and restoration? Will we give others the same chance?
Take a hard look at your own guilt. Turn it over to God and receive a new lease on life.
“Lord, grant me the courage to leave behind my sin, accept my failings, and begin life anew after your will. Grant me the grace to allow others a new beginning without condemnation.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
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