The Life Of David
Pt. 21 When God Corrects Your Rebellion
2 Samuel 12:1-31

God sends a soul SURGEON
After Bathsheba became pregnant from David’s adultery, he arranged for her husband, Uriah, to die in battle to try and hide his sin. Nine months later at the birth of their child, God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David a story from Israeli agricultural life. God is faithful to send men of God to correct wayward children of God (Prov. 3:11, 12; Rev. 3:19)! The story involved a poor man who had a female lamb he loved like family. But when a rich man had a guest in town, he took the man’s lamb, killed it, and served it instead of one of his many sheep. Thinking Nathan wanted him to judge the matter, David was enraged and judged the man deserved to die for his selfishness and be punished. Nathan bravely tells him that he is that rich man in regards to Uriah. God uses fearless teaching and counsel from His word to confront and conform the soul (Prov. 27:6; Acts 20:26, 27; Eph. 6:19)! David’s heart is pierced realizing his judgments didn’t match his actions. As judgment, David deserved to die but God will instead punish him. Though God gave him all a man could ask for, he chose to covet and kill privately, so sexual problems and the sword would plague David’s house publicly. With God, there is no ‘perfect crime’—only perfect repentance!

David is cut and HEALED
Technically, David only sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, but he realized that all sin is primarily an offense to God’s character. Repentance is the recognition of rebellion, so the restoration of a relationship with God can begin! Once David agrees with God and repents, Nathan tells him because he despised the Lord that God will strike the child and he will die. For six days David does not eat, pleading for his son’s life. But the day before the boy was to be circumcised and named, God takes him. Repentance can’t fix what wisdom should have chosen, but God can bring beauty from ashes. David recognizes God’s right to give and take life, so he rises, eats, and goes to worship God (Job 1:17-21). From this situation, David writes a beautiful song to God—from heartache to healing (Ps. 51). Later, Bathsheba became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Solomon, meaning ‘peace.’ God again sent a message by Nathan that he was also to be called Jedidiah meaning ‘loved by God!’ God’s anger lasts a moment but His favor a lifetime (Ps. 30:5, 11, 12)!