"YOU ARE THE MAN!"
© 2005 by Jerry L. Croasmun
"YOU ARE THE MAN!"
© 2005 by Jerry L. Croasmun
In the twelfth chapter of 2 Samuel we read where God sent the prophet Nathan to tell King David a parable or story. The story begins in 2 Samuel 12:1-3 where we read, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought."Nathan continued the story in verse 4 where we read about the rich man who took the poor man's ewe lamb. The story made King David mad as we read in 2 Samuel 12:5, "David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, 'As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!'" David was correct in his evaluation of the situation for the man truly deserved justice and should have to pay for what he had done. In verse 6, David continued by saying, "He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had not pity."
King David was not merely making up or deciding what punishment the rich man deserved, but rather he was making reference to God's law. In Exodus 22:1 we read, "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep." King David knew right from wrong and he certainly was familiar with God's word. (See devotional article, "The King's Bible.")
Nathan let David get angry and roused up and then he let the king have the ole one, two punch when he said in 2 Samuel 12:7, "You are the man!" I am sure David could hardly believe his ears, yet he did not deny it or tell Nathan to shut-up. Instead he continued to listen to the prophet of God. In 2 Samuel 12:9 we read, "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 Ammonites."
All too often we are blind to our own faults and sins. Nathan had to say, "You are the man!," before King David came to his senses and confessed his sin. In 2 Samuel 12:13 we read, "Then David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.'" David knew he deserved death for what he had done with Bathsheba and to her husband, Uriah. We too deserve death for our sins. In Romans 6:23 we read, "For the wages of sin is death . . ." However, the good news for us is the verse does not end there, but continues with, "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Likewise, in 2 Samuel 12:13, Nathan continued by telling David, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die."
David deserved justice and death, yet God chose to grant him favor and grace. David confessed his sin to Nathan and in 1 John 1:9 we read, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." King David penned Psalm 51 after his encounter with God's prophet, Nathan. I believe, he truly desired to make things right with his God. For in Psalm 51:2-4 we read, "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You [Lord], You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight."
I pray we would learn to come to God, our creator, with repentant hearts. May we know that He alone can blot out our transgressions. "Dear Lord, We confess that we are men and women who have grieved Your heart. Please forgive us for we have sinned against You. Lord, we pray as the psalmist in Psalm 51:10, 'Create in [us] me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within [us] me.'" Amen.
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