Read 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

Read 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

26 When Bathsheba heard that her husband had been killed, she mourned for him. ²⁷When the time of mourning was over, David sent for her to come to the palace; she became his wife and bore him a son. But the Lord was not pleased with what David had done.

12  The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. ²The rich man had many cattle and sheep, ³while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it with some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. ⁴One day a visitor arrived at the rich man’s home. The rich man didn’t want to kill one of his own animals to prepare a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked a meal for his guest.”

5 David was very angry with the rich man and said, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die! ⁶For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”

7 “You are that man,” Nathan said to David. “And this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul. ⁸I gave you his kingdom and his wives; I made you king over Israel and Judah. If this had not been enough, I would have given you twice as much. ⁹Why, then, have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle; you let the Ammonites kill him, and then you took his wife! ¹⁰Now, in every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah’s wife. ¹¹I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble on you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man; and he will have intercourse with them in broad daylight. ¹²You sinned in secret, but I will make this happen in broad daylight for all Israel to see.’ ”

13 “I have sinned against the Lord,” David said.

Nathan replied, “The Lord forgives you; you will not die.

Think

What David had done was horrendous.  Adultery, murder, covetousness - a list of deadly sins.  But he didn't recognize his fault until the prophet Nathan spoke to him.

Pray

Lord - there are things about myself that I am blind to.  Help me to hear the voices that call me to change; so that I would be filled with your wisdom and cleansed of my sin.