Nathan's Zinger
Text: 2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a
It’s not that often that I preach a sermon in three parts… but in essence, today brings together the two different themes over the past two weeks.
2 weeks ago, God chastises Nathan for being a Yes-Man to David. Last week, we see the corrupting influence of power creeping in on David… on no small part to Nathan’s unwillingness to rein David in early. Now it’s time for redemption… for both Nathan and David.
Last week, we heard the story of David and Bathsheba. David, being the middle-aged King, commits adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. She gets pregnant, and David does everything in his power to cover it up… going so far as to have Uriah intentionally killed in battle. Without putting too fine a point on it, David has Uriah murdered… and then he takes Bathsheba as his own wife. He would have gotten away with it too…
It is also fortunate that the story does not end there. David may well have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for the prophet Nathan. The story tells us that God was not very happy with this at all, and sends Nathan to confront David. Remember that Nathan was the court prophet for King David. He was the one charged with speaking on behalf of God to David and to the royal court of Israel, but he also was a close friend and confidant of the king.
Yet Nathan does not simply point a condemning finger at David and say “repent ye sinner!!!” Instead, Nathan takes a much different tack, and beginning with a story...
There were two men in a certain city, the one rich, and the other poor...
Ah, Nathan sets the trap.
The rich man had very many flocks and herds;
That’s the only description Nathan gives for the rich man. He had lots. Period.
but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.
Wow. Now that is a description. We can almost see that man cradling this little lamb in his arms, and the affection and care he had for this little animal. There is plenty to identify with here... that is Nathan’s trap.
Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.
Wow! An incredible injustice. The rich man who has lots, takes from the poor man, who has nothing but this sweet adorable little lamb.
Wham!! The trap is sprung. David falls for it: hook, line, sinker, rod, reel and copy of angling times. David’s anger against the rich man is considerable, he vows that death is too good for one who commits such injustice. He demands that all must be restored to the poor man four fold for all that was taken from him.
It is in the midst of David’s righteous anger that Nathan lets him have it.
David, you are the man! You did this to Uriah, taking Bathsheba for you own. You have it all, and you have become corrupt with the power that God gave you!! Where is the responsibility that comes with your office? God gave you everything you have... and you assume that you can take whatever you want? There are incredible consequences for what you have done!
David stares at Nathan. He can’t escape, and Nathan is right. Suddenly the condemning finger David pointed at the rich man pointed at him. In shock and horror, David quietly says,
I have sinned against the Lord...
This is no simple acknowledgement of ‘oops, hehe sorry.’ David’s realization is deep, profound, and powerful. Uriah is dead. Bathsheba has born him a son. The clock cannot be turned back. Restoration to the way things were is simply not possible. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it cannot be put back in. He sees himself for what he has become. Through this process, David becomes human again. He realizes his power, his position, his achievements are all gifts from God, and he has abused and squandered them for his own gain. David had lost his integrity when he lost sight of what God called him to be.
As we learned last week, and as we learn this week, with power comes responsibility (as last week); for us... with the gifts of God come responsibility.
We identify with the ideals of David so much, that when the storyteller strips it away, we see ourselves... not David. The effect that Nathan’s parable had on David has the same impact on us. It catches us off guard, tearing down any pretensions that we deserve what we have. Our life and everything that we have is God’s precious gift, not to be taken lightly, not to be wasted.
But wait a second... David is a king! We’re just average people sitting in here. We can get away with clicking our tongues at David, and feel comfortable in our own pew. Yet after spending so much of our time identifying with David in every story up until now, it is very hard for us to pull out. The writer has us pinned, and we can’t get away from this one. The message is for us as the church and for us as individuals. David may well be a king, but that was his particular gift. He was a gifted ruler, capable of uniting the people of Israel in a way that had never been done before... Yet while we are not kings, each of us have those unique gifts and qualities that make us special in God’s sight. God calls us to use our own gifts responsibly, and not to assume that we get what we deserve.
The painful reality is that we are much more like David than we care to admit. Each of us has gifts and skills that are unique. God calls each of us to live our lives as whole people. Yet we can become complacent with success, corrupt with the power that we’ve have, self-righteous in assuming we know that God wants of us. As I said last week, if power and success tends to corrupt... so does complacency... and we miss God calling us... Through this story our own humanity is painfully revealed. There are consequences in abusing power or our own personal gifts. The most devastating is that loss of integrity and sense of who we are.
Yet this is also a story about forgiveness. David blew it... There is little doubt about that. Yet even so, the good news is that even when we blow it big time there is forgiveness. We also have to remember that even Nathan himself blew it. Two weeks ago, he gave David a blank slate to do whatever he wanted. This was his opportunity to stand up to David, and in it, Nathan himself finds redemption in his role as a prophet. Both of them find it when they remember to be true and honest with who they are… with what God calls them to be. With that, the begin to regain the integrity that they lost in selfishness.
Even when we blow it big time, there is room for redemption. That is one facet of the gospel of Christ that we cannot get away from. God loves us so much, that even in those times that we do blow it, God is there to pick us up, dust us off and help us continue on our way. My friends, this is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
Amen.
It’s not that often that I preach a sermon in three parts… but in essence, today brings together the two different themes over the past two weeks.
2 weeks ago, God chastises Nathan for being a Yes-Man to David. Last week, we see the corrupting influence of power creeping in on David… on no small part to Nathan’s unwillingness to rein David in early. Now it’s time for redemption… for both Nathan and David.
Last week, we heard the story of David and Bathsheba. David, being the middle-aged King, commits adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. She gets pregnant, and David does everything in his power to cover it up… going so far as to have Uriah intentionally killed in battle. Without putting too fine a point on it, David has Uriah murdered… and then he takes Bathsheba as his own wife. He would have gotten away with it too…
It is also fortunate that the story does not end there. David may well have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for the prophet Nathan. The story tells us that God was not very happy with this at all, and sends Nathan to confront David. Remember that Nathan was the court prophet for King David. He was the one charged with speaking on behalf of God to David and to the royal court of Israel, but he also was a close friend and confidant of the king.
Yet Nathan does not simply point a condemning finger at David and say “repent ye sinner!!!” Instead, Nathan takes a much different tack, and beginning with a story...
There were two men in a certain city, the one rich, and the other poor...
Ah, Nathan sets the trap.
The rich man had very many flocks and herds;
That’s the only description Nathan gives for the rich man. He had lots. Period.
but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.
Wow. Now that is a description. We can almost see that man cradling this little lamb in his arms, and the affection and care he had for this little animal. There is plenty to identify with here... that is Nathan’s trap.
Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.
Wow! An incredible injustice. The rich man who has lots, takes from the poor man, who has nothing but this sweet adorable little lamb.
Wham!! The trap is sprung. David falls for it: hook, line, sinker, rod, reel and copy of angling times. David’s anger against the rich man is considerable, he vows that death is too good for one who commits such injustice. He demands that all must be restored to the poor man four fold for all that was taken from him.
It is in the midst of David’s righteous anger that Nathan lets him have it.
David, you are the man! You did this to Uriah, taking Bathsheba for you own. You have it all, and you have become corrupt with the power that God gave you!! Where is the responsibility that comes with your office? God gave you everything you have... and you assume that you can take whatever you want? There are incredible consequences for what you have done!
David stares at Nathan. He can’t escape, and Nathan is right. Suddenly the condemning finger David pointed at the rich man pointed at him. In shock and horror, David quietly says,
I have sinned against the Lord...
This is no simple acknowledgement of ‘oops, hehe sorry.’ David’s realization is deep, profound, and powerful. Uriah is dead. Bathsheba has born him a son. The clock cannot be turned back. Restoration to the way things were is simply not possible. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it cannot be put back in. He sees himself for what he has become. Through this process, David becomes human again. He realizes his power, his position, his achievements are all gifts from God, and he has abused and squandered them for his own gain. David had lost his integrity when he lost sight of what God called him to be.
As we learned last week, and as we learn this week, with power comes responsibility (as last week); for us... with the gifts of God come responsibility.
We identify with the ideals of David so much, that when the storyteller strips it away, we see ourselves... not David. The effect that Nathan’s parable had on David has the same impact on us. It catches us off guard, tearing down any pretensions that we deserve what we have. Our life and everything that we have is God’s precious gift, not to be taken lightly, not to be wasted.
But wait a second... David is a king! We’re just average people sitting in here. We can get away with clicking our tongues at David, and feel comfortable in our own pew. Yet after spending so much of our time identifying with David in every story up until now, it is very hard for us to pull out. The writer has us pinned, and we can’t get away from this one. The message is for us as the church and for us as individuals. David may well be a king, but that was his particular gift. He was a gifted ruler, capable of uniting the people of Israel in a way that had never been done before... Yet while we are not kings, each of us have those unique gifts and qualities that make us special in God’s sight. God calls us to use our own gifts responsibly, and not to assume that we get what we deserve.
The painful reality is that we are much more like David than we care to admit. Each of us has gifts and skills that are unique. God calls each of us to live our lives as whole people. Yet we can become complacent with success, corrupt with the power that we’ve have, self-righteous in assuming we know that God wants of us. As I said last week, if power and success tends to corrupt... so does complacency... and we miss God calling us... Through this story our own humanity is painfully revealed. There are consequences in abusing power or our own personal gifts. The most devastating is that loss of integrity and sense of who we are.
Yet this is also a story about forgiveness. David blew it... There is little doubt about that. Yet even so, the good news is that even when we blow it big time there is forgiveness. We also have to remember that even Nathan himself blew it. Two weeks ago, he gave David a blank slate to do whatever he wanted. This was his opportunity to stand up to David, and in it, Nathan himself finds redemption in his role as a prophet. Both of them find it when they remember to be true and honest with who they are… with what God calls them to be. With that, the begin to regain the integrity that they lost in selfishness.
Even when we blow it big time, there is room for redemption. That is one facet of the gospel of Christ that we cannot get away from. God loves us so much, that even in those times that we do blow it, God is there to pick us up, dust us off and help us continue on our way. My friends, this is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
Amen.
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