March 29 - Nathan Condemns David

The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes?

I love when God has a sense of humor. Old Testament God kinda freaks me out with all the anger and vengeance stuff but I can appreciate the sarcasm: “YOU are the man!” This reading is complicated, and I’ll be honest I didn’t totally get it the first time. David’s story and his relationship with God are both so complex, and there’s so much background you have to know
to understand where this reading fits into David’s life. David-the slayer of Goliath, God’s chosen to lead the people of Israel, author of Psalms both lamenting and joyful, ancestor of Jesus-has done something terrible: he has killed one of his soldiers in order to possess his wife, the beautiful Bathsheba. This is where Nathan comes to him, and gives him a very blunt wake up call: your God has given you everything you could have ever wanted and made you a king, but still you had to reach for more and cause harm to someone else.

I don’t know what the lesson here is about subversion and power. But I know even David, the good guy in many other Bible stories, is able to be tempted and corrupted by his power and the promise of more. And I know that he needed Nathan to be there to point out the evil he has done and name it for what it is. And I know that God still offers David love and forgiveness (after killing off his sick child but let’s skip that part). I hope that all those in power and all of us have a Nathan. Someone who can let us know that we are being a selfish jerk and might need to dial it back a bit and remember what’s important: faith, love, community, and relationship.

God help us to see:

That we may not be blind to our own faults, our selfishness and greed
God help us to listen:
That we may not be deaf to your guidance or the needs of the suffering
God, like Nathan, help us to speak:
That we may not be silent in the face of injustice and abuse of power
Amen

Link to Bible verses: 2 Samuel 12