Do You Have a Nathan?

2 Samuel 12 is a great story about the need to confront bad behavior.  

In chapter 11 we read the well-known story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, his attempted cover up of the pregnancy and the subsequent murder of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite.  

But how do you confront a King?  He’s the most powerful guy in the nation and he could have your head for stepping out of line! 

The prophet Nathan had chutzpah… the courage to tell David that he had really blown it… that the things he “had done displeased the LORD.”  (See 2 Samuel 11:27)  But Nathan takes a very interesting approach in this confrontation.  He tells David a fable about a cute little lamb. 

Stories about cute, innocent animals can really get to us.  The images are extremely powerful.  And the thought of animals being abused can be even more disheartening.  When my wife Gina and I are watching television and that commercial comes on for the ASPCA with Sara McLachlan singing that freakishly haunting song in the background, “In the arms of an angel…”, Gina will get up and walk out of the room.  It’s brutal.

It’s a simple story.  A poor man has a little lamb and he loves and cares for this lamb like it is one of his children.  His rich neighbor, who has tons of cattle and sheep, has a friend come into town and he wants to throw a dinner party.  Instead of cutting something from his own massive herd he takes the little baby lamb of his poor neighbor and turns it into lamb chops for supper. 

David is furious.  He says, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!” 2 Samuel 12:5 

We have such a keen eye for spotting sin in the lives of others while completely ignoring the sin in our own.  Jesus used the analogy of how we can notice a tiny speck of dust in someone else’s eye while we ignore the gigantic log sticking out of our own.  (See Matthew 7:3-5)  That’s a good mental image!  It’s also a reminder that we need to really be careful as we approach others when confronting them about their bad behavior.  Self-examination is a must.

Nathan’s confrontation of David is just two words in the original Hebrew:  “It’s you!” 

David repents and Nathan makes an interesting statement: “The LORD has taken away your sin.” 2 Samuel 12:13b  The grace and forgiveness of God is a beautiful thing!  But… there are almost always lasting consequences to our sin.  He loses the son and David’s family, as we talked about this past Sunday, becomes a train wreck. 

But David continues to trust God… he continues to be a man after God’s heart and returns to the path and plan of God.  And this is because his friend Nathan had the guts to confront him. 

I’m very thankful for the people in my life who hold me accountable to the profession I have made to live like Christ.  My wife, who will gently address my less than appropriate attitude in bad traffic.  My minister friends who keep my head from getting too big because of any ministry success I might think may be the result of my leadership.  My close friends who constantly call me to live as a man of purity, integrity, and loyalty to Jesus. 

Do you have a Nathan?   Do you have the courage to be a Nathan?

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2 (NLT)

- David Garison, Preacher with a sweet goatee