2 Samuel 12

“So the Lord sent Nathan to David.” 2 Samuel 12:1 (HCSB)

If you recall yesterday’s chapter (2 Samuel 11), David was in control. David was the prime mover; he got things done. David totally dominated the action from the palace roof until he crashed into the unyielding wall of the Lord’s righteousness.

As expected, God and His Word dominate chapter 12. We expect judgment on David. And we see that here in chapter 12. But we have the sense that we have traveled beyond judgment in today’s chapter into the land of Grace and Mercy. Grace is God’s “something-for-nothing” when we don’t deserve anything. And His Mercy is set into motion when we don’t receive what we really deserve.

Without the words, “So the Lord sent Nathan to David,” we would be in for a bleak and hopeless story. This first line of chapter 12 dispels any notion that the Lord is a passive onlooker.

The verb “sent” (salah) is a signal. This verb occurs 12 times in chapter 11, where everyone “sends”: David sends, Bathsheba sends, Joab sends. Now God sends. He has gone into action and sends Nathan to David.

**Is the Lord calling you to be a “Nathan” for a brother or sister in sin? We must be willing to risk offending even the king to deliver God’s Word. Otherwise, we offend the King of Kings sends us as His messengers.

Let’s fight the urge to run ahead into the story. We should pause and meditate on those opening words because they speak of the vigilance of Grace. They show us that Grace pursues and exposes the sinner in his sin. They teach us that the Lord will not allow his servants to remain comfortable in sin but will ruthlessly expose our sin, lest we settle down in it.

LESSON: You may succeed in unfaithfulness, but God will come after you!

What immense and genuine comfort every servant of Messiah should find in the first six words of this chapter! Not that God’s pursuing Grace is enjoyable. But what if Grace and Mercy did NOT pursue us? What if God abandoned us when we succeeded at sin?

“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!” Romans 5:8 (HCSB)