NATHAN REBUKES DAVID 2 SAMUEL 12:1-31biblestudyworkshop.com/data/old/2Samuel12.pdf · NATHAN REBUKES DAVID 2 SAMUEL 12:1-31 ... "There were two men in a certain town, ... “A parable

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NATHAN REBUKES DAVID

2 SAMUEL 12:1-31

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Avenue, Nashville, TN., 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor


Nathan Rebukes David

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Text: 2 Samuel 12:1-31, 1. 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 deserves to 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 the house of 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? 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.



10. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 11. "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' " 13. Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." 15. After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 18. On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." 19. David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." 20. Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.



21. His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" 22. He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23. But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 24. Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25. and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. 26. Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27. Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28. Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me." 29. So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30. He took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David's head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31. and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. He did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. (NIV) Introduction: I. Smith stated, “the Lord left David almost a whole year in his sin before sending his prophet to confront him about his misdeeds.”



A. Psalm 32, Smith also wrote, “describes the miserable state of his, David’s, heart during this period.

1. Psalm 32:1-11, Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart! (NIV)

B. To be forgiven David had to repent, confess his sins and pray earnestly for God’s pardon.

II. The Ammonite-Aramean wars served as the backdrop, historical setting for the David-Bathsheba-Uriah episode. (See Anderson)



Commentary: 2 Samuel 12:1, 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. (NIV) I. The Lord sent Nathan to David.

A. Nathan had the unenviable duty to charge the king, who had the power of life and death, with murder and adultery! B. Nathan, as God’s faithful prophet, did as he was directed.

1. Nathan was faithful and wise, wise in presenting God’s message in a diplomatic manner, faithful in presenting God’s word exactly as he was commanded without modification. 2. These lessons today’s preachers would do well to learn!

C. David had been unrepentant for nearly a year by this time. (Pulpit Commentary).

1. If Nathan had not gone to David, would he have ever repented?

II. When he came to him, he said, …

A. There was nothing in Nathan’s remarks or demeanor to suggest Nathan was relating a parable. B. David thought Nathan was presenting an actual case and as king was asking him for a judicial decision regarding an injustice. C. David pronounced the death sentence on himself, to his own shock and dismay.



D. Smith noted that this remarkable parable contained only sixty-one (61) words.

1. Someone said, “A sermon does not have to be eternal to be immortal.” 2. Coffman observed that the Old Testament contains only a few parables. 3. “A parable is different from a fable or an allegory in that a parable relates things that either actually happened, or that might reasonably have happened,” Coffman wrote. 4. Nathan went to David as if his purpose were to ask his judicial decision on a case which had been submitted to him, Coffman observed.

E. Anderson references other similar Old Testament judgment eliciting parables; viz., …

1. 2 Samuel 14:1-20, Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart longed for Absalom. So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, "Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don't use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. Then go to the king and speak these words to him." And Joab put the words in her mouth. When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, "Help me, O king!" The king asked her, "What is troubling you?" She said, "I am indeed a widow; my husband is dead. I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them.



One struck the other and killed him. Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, 'Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.' They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth." The king said to the woman, "Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf." But the woman from Tekoa said to him, "My lord the king, let the blame rest on me and on my father's family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt." The king replied, "If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you again." She said, "Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed." "As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "not one hair of your son's head will fall to the ground." Then the woman said, "Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." "Speak," he replied. The woman said, "Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. "And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, 'I will speak to the king; perhaps he will do what his servant asks. Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from the inheritance God gave us.' "And now your servant says, 'May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is like an angel of God



in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.' " Then the king said to the woman, "Do not keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you." "Let my lord the king speak," the woman said. The king asked, "Isn't the hand of Joab with you in all this?" The woman answered, "As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land." (NIV)

2. 1 Kings 20:35-43 By the word of the LORD one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, "Strike me with your weapon," but the man refused. So the prophet said, "Because you have not obeyed the LORD, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you." And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him. The prophet found another man and said, "Strike me, please." So the man struck him and wounded him. Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, "Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, 'Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.' While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared." "That is your sentence," the king of Israel said. "You have pronounced it yourself." Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. He said to the king, "This is what the LORD says: 'You have set free a man I had



determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.' " Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria. (NIV)

3. Isaiah 5:1-7, I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. (NIV)

III. “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.

A. The two (2) men were David, one rich, and Uriah, the other poor. B. This parable presents extreme opposites, rich man-poor man, etc.



2 Samuel 12:2, The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, (NIV) I. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, …

A. David had many wives.

2 Samuel 12:3, 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. (NIV) I. but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought.

A. The “little ewe lamb” was Bathsheba, the only wife Uriah had, who was cherished and treated a pet. B. Smith wrote, “The verb bought suggests the lamb (Bathsheba) was not a gift or an inherited possession, but something which the poor man had to buy out of his meager savings.”

II. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children.

A. Uriah cared for Bathsheba and, as the wife of his youth, grew up with him and the children of this union.

III. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms.

A. Uriah did not have much, but he lovingly shared everything he had with Bathsheba. B. Clarke understood “slept in his arms” to mean this lamb was loved, a special favorite, a pet.



IV. It was like a daughter to him.

A. Parabolically, the poor man treated the little ewe lamb as a member of the family. B. “Keeping a pet sheep in the house was apparently quite common,” Smith wrote. C. While Orientals had no interest in dogs as pets, they were fond of fawns, kids, or lambs. (Pulpit Commentary)

2 Samuel 12:4, "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." (NIV) I. “Now a traveler came to the rich man, . . .

A. The traveler, wayfaring man, man that came to David was covetous lust. B. The Pulpit Commentary mentions that temptation first comes as a traveler, a passer-by, but if not resisted will become a wayfarer who stays a while and if, again tolerated, will take up permanent residence with the sinner.

II. 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.

A. Instead of satisfying his lust by calling for a wife or concubine from his harem, David stole Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba.

III. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”



A. The selfish, greedy rich man provided for the “traveler” by forcefully stealing from the poor man the only ewe lamb he had and did not take of his own vast livestock to serve the wayfaring traveler.

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! I. David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, …

A. David, not knowing Nathan had spoken of his sins, saw the injustice of the situation and became very angry! B. Willis via Coffman stated, “It is much easier to see sin in others than in one’s self.”

II. “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this shall surely die, deserves to die!... he is a son of death, a very bad man.” (Clarke)

A. David unwittingly declared he had sinned so wickedly that he deserved the death penalty, should rightly be executed. (See Clarke.) B. Smith noted that stealing a lamb was not a capital crime, but adultery was!

1. Leviticus 20:10, " 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. (NIV)



2. Exodus 22:1, "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. (NIV)

C. In addition, murder was also definitely a capital crime and David had ordered Uriah’s death!

1. David deserved to die! 2. Thanks be for God’s grace!

a. We don’t always get what we deserve.

2 Samuel 12:6, He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." (NIV) I. He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

A. Exodus 22:1, "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. (NIV)

1. David knew the law, certainly he knew the law regarding adultery! 2. Luke 19:8, And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. (KJV)

B. Coffman wrote that David had no pity on:

1. Bathsheba with whom he committed adultery.



2. Bathsheba’s grandfather Ahithophel, David’s trusted friend and advisor. 3. Uriah, a brave and devoted soldier. 4. Joab whom David enlisted as an accomplice in the murder of eighteen (18) men. 5. The families of the slaughtered soldiers.

2 Samuel 12:7, 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. (NIV) I. Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!

A. These words must have cut David’s sinful soul like a sharp two-edged sword and revealed as by the bright noon day’s sun the black selfishness of David’s self-righteous pride and horrible sins!

1. David stood self-condemned. (See The Pulpit Com-mentary.)

B. Smith wrote that these words, “You are the man,” may be the most dramatic sentence in the Old Testament. C. David did indeed pay fourfold in the death of four (4) of his sons; viz., this son of Bathsheba, Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah. (See Clarke.)

1. David paid sorely for his sins.

II. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says:

A. God definitely and always has the last word!



III. ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

A. Look at what God has done for you and look at how you have shown your utter contempt for God’s goodness. B. David was anointed king by Samuel at the Lord’s command.

1. 1 Samuel 16:13, So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah. (NIV) 2. Two (2) other anointings came later.

a. 2 Samuel 2:4, Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When David was told that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, (NIV) b. 2 Samuel 5:3, When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a compact with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. (NIV)

C. David had betrayed the trust everyone had placed in him including Jehovah, the citizens of Israel, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab, the military, et. al.

1. David was God’s anointed, but he certainly had not acted as God’s anointed.



a. Regrettably, Christians too often do not act as followers of Christ.

2 Samuel 12:8, I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. (NIV) I. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms.

A. David inherited Saul’s harem including Ahinoam and perhaps Rizpah, a concubine.

1. 1 Samuel 14:50, His wife's name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul's army was Abner son of Ner, and Ner was Saul's uncle. (NIV)

2. 2 Samuel 3:7, Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, "Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?" (NIV)

3. 2 Samuel 21:8, But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah's daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. (NIV)

B. David came into possession of Saul’s house, everything that had belonged to Saul and perhaps to Ish-Bosheth as well.

II. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah.

A. David reigned over all Israel as a gift from God.



III. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.

A. God would have blessed David even more, Smith wrote. B. Coffman concluded that this means if David did not have enough wives already, more wives would have been given him… without taking Bathsheba, another man’s wife.

1. Any single woman in Israel was likely available for marriage to the king. 2. David grievously sinned in taking another man’s wife and murdering her husband!

2 Samuel 12:9, 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. (NiV) I. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?

A. David sinned grievously against Bathsheba and Uriah, but he sinned most of all against God! B. David despised the word of the Lord by doing what was evil in God’s eyes.

II. You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.

A. “Sword” here refers to enemy weapons as Uriah was actually shot with an arrow.



1. 2 Samuel 11:22-25, The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. The messenger said to David, "The men over-powered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." (NIV) 2. “You murdered Uriah!”… as if David had personally killed him!

B. David broke three (3) of the ten (10) commandments; viz., …

1. Exodus 20:13, "You shall not murder.” (NIV) 2. Exodus 20:14, "You shall not commit adultery.” (NIV)

3. Exodus 20:17, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (NIV)

C. “Hittites were a people of Asia Minor who flourished about 1900-1200 B.C. “Hittite” comes from Hatti, another name for Anatolia, the capital of which was Hattusha. Hittites spread to Syria and then into Palestine. There are many Old Testament reference to the Hittites.” (Youngblood)

III. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

A. …but you are just as guilty of murder as if you had killed him with your own hand. (See Smith.)



B. Coffman regards this as a contemptuous statement spoken by Nathan to David.

1. “You didn’t even kill Uriah yourself. You had the despised Ammonites do your dirty work for you,” we might add.

2 Samuel 12:10, Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' (NIV) I. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, . . .

A. You murdered Uriah by the hand of your Ammonite enemies. B. Therefore, you will never have peace but will be at war as long as you live. C. “Three of David’s sons would be murdered: Amnon by Absalom, Absalom by Joab, and Adonijah by Solomon. The long, bloody history of the house of David continued,” Coffman wrote. (See also The Pulpit Commentary.)

1. 2 Samuel 13:28, Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave." (NIV)

2. 2 Samuel 18:14, Joab said, "I'm not going to wait like this for you." So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom's heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. (NIV)



3. 1 Kings 1:1-27, When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his servants said to him, "Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm." Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The girl was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no intimate relations with her. Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, "I will be king." So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David's special guard did not join Adonijah. Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah who were royal officials, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon. Then Nathan asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, "Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king without our lord David's knowing it? Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in to King David and say to him, 'My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: "Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and confirm



what you have said." So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the king. "What is it you want?" the king asked. She said to him, "My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: 'Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.' But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals." While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. And they told the king, "Nathan the prophet is here." So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground. Nathan said, "Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!' But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?" (NIV)

4. 1 Kings 2:13-25, Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. Bathsheba asked



him, "Do you come peacefully?" He answered, "Yes, peacefully." Then he added, "I have something to say to you." "You may say it," she replied. "As you know," he said, "the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD. Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me." "You may make it," she said. So he continued, "Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife." "Very well," Bathsheba replied, "I will speak to the king for you." When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand. "I have one small request to make of you," she said. "Do not refuse me." The king replied, "Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you." So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah." King Solomon answered his mother, "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!" Then King Solomon swore by the LORD : "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! And now, as surely as the LORD lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised—Adonijah shall be put to death today!" So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died. (NIV)

II. because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’



A. To despise, disobey God’s word is to despise God.

2 Samuel 12:11, "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. (NIV) I. “This is what the Lord says:… II. ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you.

A. This was fulfilled in Absalom’s rebellion.

III. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

A. David’s adultery with Bathsheba was committed in secret, but David’s wives were later publicly ravished in full view. B. “One of Absalom’s first actions in his attempt to take David’s throne was to lie publicly with the king’s concubines, thus exercising the prerogative that always belonged to a new king,” Coffman observed.

1. 2 Samuel 16:21-22, Ahithophel answered, "Lie with your father's concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench in your father's nostrils, and the hands of everyone with you will be strengthened." So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he lay with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. (NIV) 2. In doing this, Absalom was following the advice of Bathsheba’s grandfather, Ahithophel.



a. Absolutely ironic! b. David certainly reaped what he had sown including disgrace.

2 Samuel 12:12, You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' " (NIV) I. You did it in secret, …

A. …at least, he intended to do “it” privately in secret, but Coffman makes a good case for David’s attempted cover-up being an absolute failure and that gossipers all over Jerusalem must have been talking about these things continually.

II. but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ” 2 Samuel 12:13, Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. (NIV) I. Then David said to Nathan, … II. “I have sinned against the Lord.”

A. “David now realized the magnitude of his sin. He sincerely confessed his sin,” Smith wrote.

1. Psalm 51:1-19, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 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, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your



sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar. (NIV) 2. David’s sins were capital crimes, extremely serious. 3. Smith wrote, “David was moved deeply by the words of the prophet. He made no excuses for his conduct.” 4. David blamed no one but himself for his sins.

B. Coffman noted that David deserves the exalted place God gave him because of his repentance, his humiliation, his confession of sins and his unwavering trust in the Lord.



1. David’s repentance was genuine and heartfelt. 2. David never did such things again. 3. David’s penitential suffering continued over an extended period of time.

a. Psalm 38:4, My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. (NIV)

III. Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die,” or “The Lord has laid on another the consequences of your sin.” (See NEB and Anderson.)

A. God had forgiven David, but penalties for sins remained.

1. A murderer on death row may be forgiven, but this does not remove his coming execution. 2. Why would Uzzah have been struck dead for an inadvertent, albeit irreverent, act when David, a murderer, adulterer and coveter, was spared death?

a. 2 Samuel 6:7, The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God. (NIV)

B. Willis via Coffman wrote, “Here and elsewhere the Old Testament teaches that God forgave sins in Old Testament times.”

1. Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35, He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man's sin,



and he will be forgiven. He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the LORD by fire. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven. (NIV) 2. Leviticus 5:10, 13, 16, The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.' " He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven. (NIV) 3. Numbers 14:18, 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.' (NIV) 4. Psalm 103:3, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (NIV)



5. Psalm 130:3, 4, If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, wo could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared. (NIV)

C. Coffman reminds us that absolute forgiveness was possible only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our sacrifice.

1. Hebrews 10:3-4, But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. (KJV)

2. Romans 3:25, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (KJV)

3. Jeremiah 31:31, 35, "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD Almighty is his name: (NIV)

D. Clarke wrote, “Many have supposed that David’s sin was now actually pardoned, but this is perfectly erroneous; David, as an adulterer, was condemned.”

1. Clarke understood putting away David’s sin to mean David would not die for his sin of adultery.

a. Leviticus 20:10, " 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—



both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. (NIV)

2. The death penalty for this sin, Clarke wrote, had been transferred to David’s child. 3. At the time Psalm 51 was written David’s sin had evidently not been forgiven.

a. Psalm 51:1-19, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 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, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;



you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar. (NIV)

2 Samuel 12:14, But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." (NIV) I. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

A. This innocent child paid with his life for the sins of his parents!

1. This is certainly not the last time this kind of thing has happened. 2. Ezekiel 18:1-32, The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: " 'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. "Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or lie with a woman during her period. He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does



not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man. He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD. "Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them): "He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor's wife. He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things. He lends at usury and takes excessive interest. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head. "But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things: "He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife. He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people. "Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. "But if a wicked man turns away from all



the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die. "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die. Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! (NIV)

B. Smith wrote, “God would punish him (David) by taking away from him the child who recently had been born. Thus the visible



occasion for any further blasphemy against the Lord and his people would be removed from the scene.” C. David’s sins had brought the utter contempt of his enemies upon himself, his kingly office, his family and the entire nation of Israel.

2 Samuel 12:15, After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. (NIV) I. After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

A. The child’s illness and subsequent death clearly were the result of David’s sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah. B. This child suffered and died because of parental sinfulness. C. In 2 Samuel 11:27 the marriage of David and Bathsheba is documented, but in 2 Samuel 12:15 she is still called “Uriah’s wife.”

1. 2 Samuel 11:27, After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. (NIV) 2. 2 Samuel 12:15, After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. (NIV)

2 Samuel 12:16, David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. (NIV) I. David pleaded with God for the child.



A. When the physicians have done all within their power, only to God can we go for help. B. Coffman wrote, “To us, it seems strange that David was so touched by the death of this child. In the normal run of things, the death of some infant in the harem of an oriental king would have rated little or no attention. Why the difference here? David knew he deserved to die, according to God’s law, and he identified himself, in some sense, with this child; and it was doubtless the acute realization of his gross wickedness and the inevitable consequences of it which God had revealed to him that sent David into this frenzy of fasting, praying and hoping that God would spare the child.”

II. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.

A. David’s fasting and prostrating himself, sleeping on the ground, were evidences of his recognized guilt, penitence, confession of his sins and helplessness.

1. Even the king in this situation was totally helpless.

B. David begged God to show mercy and permit his son to live.

2 Samuel 12:17, The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. (NIV) I. The elders (courtiers) of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but…

A. These elders, Smith stated, were David’s “oldest and most influential servants” who were trying to help.



II. He refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

A. David’s influential advisors could not lessen David’s deep sorrow and penitence produced by his sins and their attendant consequences.

1. David would not be cheered.

2 Samuel 12:18, On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." (NIV) I. On the seventh day (of illness) the child died.

A. David’s abject penitence continued from the time he heard of the illness of his son to the time he learned of the child’s death. B. Israel’s contemptuous enemies saw that God would not spare even the king when he sinned!... leading them to have a more positive attitude toward the God of Israel.

II. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for…

A. The fear of the servants is very understandable.

III. They thought, “While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. IV. How can we tell him the child is dead? V. He may do something desperate (evil).”



A. The servants were afraid David might harm himself, kill himself.

2 Samuel 12:19, David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." (NIV) I. David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. II. “Is the child dead?” “he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” 2 Samuel 12:20, Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. (NIV) I. Then David got up from the ground, earth. II. After he had washed, put on lotions (perfumes) and changed his clothes, …

A. David “laid aside all the signs of penitential grief.” (Smith) B. David was resigned to God’s will and did not rebel against the Lord when his child died.

III. he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.

A. Smith identified this place as the tent in which the ark of the covenant was housed.

IV. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.



A. David worshiped first and then ate.

1. He must have been really hungry for he had not eaten in seven (7) days.

2 Samuel 12:21, His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" (NIV) I. His servants asked him, “Why are you acting this way?

A. The servants did not understand David’s behavior. B. People normally grieve upon the death of a loved one, but David’s behavior was the opposite of what was expected.

1. This bewildered David’s servants.

II. While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

A. David’s conduct was unfathomable to his courtiers and to us as well in view of his grief following the deaths of:

1. Saul and Jonathan

a. 2 Samuel 1:11-12, Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. (NIV)

2. Abner



a. 2 Samuel 3:31-35, Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner." King David himself walked behind the bier. They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb. All the people wept also. The king sang this lament forAbner:"Should Abner have died as the lawless die? Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before wicked men." And all the people wept over him again. Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!" (NIV)

3. Amnon

a. 2 Samuel 13:36-37, As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly. Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day. (NIV)

4. Absalom

a. 2 Samuel 18:33, The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!" (NIV) b. 2 Samuel 19:1-4, Joab was told, "The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom." And for the



whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning, because on that day the troops heard it said, "The king is grieving for his son." The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle. The king covered his face and cried aloud, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!" (NIV)

2 Samuel 12:22, He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' (NIV) I. He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. II. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’

A. David had hoped God’s death sentence on his son, through his repentance and God’s mercy and grace, could be divinely reconsidered. B. Later in Judah’s history, Hezekiah’s life was prolonged.

1. Isaiah 38:1-8, In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover." Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years



to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city. " 'This is the LORD's sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.' " So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down. (NIV) 2. For this kind of outcome David had prayed regarding his son.

2 Samuel 12:23, But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (NIV) I. But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?

A. Smith quoting Gordan said David explained that prayers for the dead are totally futile.

II. I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

A. Smith well wrote, “Nothing David could do would bring that child back from the dead. He was confident that one day he would go to be reunited with the child in the afterlife (heaven). David’s statement suggests a belief in infant salvation and immortality.”

1. Parental sins do not, cannot affect their infants folliwng death because they are in God’s care and keeping. 2. Clarke wrote that this verse “is one of the most solid grounds of consolation to surviving friends that they shall by and by be joined to them in a state of conscious existence.”



B. Teachings in the Old Testament regarding the afterlife are not nearly as clear as those on this subject which are found in the New Testament.

1. Job 7:6-10, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return. He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more. (NIV) 2. Psalm 6:5, No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave? 3. Psalm 30:9, "What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? (NIV) 4. Psalm 88:11, Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction ? (NIV) 5. Psalm 115:17, It is not the dead who praise the LORD, those who go down to silence; (NIV) 6. Isaiah 38:18-19, For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness (NIV) 7. Psalm 17:15, And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. (NIV)



8. Psalm 16:9-11, Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (NIV) 9. Psalm 16:10, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. (NIV) 10. Job 10:21, before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, (NIV)

2 Samuel 12:24, Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; (NIV) I. Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her.

A. Clarke wrote that David’s “extraordinary attachment to this beautiful woman was the cause of all his misfortunes.”

1. David is not the last man to act foolishly in regard to an attractive woman and he is not the last to pay a high price for his foolishness.

II. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon (the peaceful).

A. Solomon’s birth was an indication to David that he was again at peace with God.

1. Solomon’s reign was blessed with peace.



B. We may wonder why God permitted Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, to be an ancestress of Christ.

1. It’s almost as if crime paid in this regard, her son became king, and in her swapping a foot soldier husband for a king. 2. However, Coffman quoted Tatum as attributing this to God’s wondrous grace!

III. The Lord loved him;… 2 Samuel 12:25, and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. (NIV) I. and because the Lord loved him, he (some years afterward) sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah; that is, “loved by the Lord.”

A. David and Bathsheba had four (4) sons. (See Smith.)

1. 2 Samuel 5:14, These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, (NIV) 2. 1 Chronicles 3:4b-5, David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years, and these were the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. These four were by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel. (NIV) 3. Solomon was evidently the youngest of these four sons.

B. God through Nathan named this child Jedidiah, but strangely he is far better known by the name David gave him, Solomon. (See Clarke)



1. Anderson observed that the name Jedidiah is not mentioned elsewhere in scripture’s referencing Solomon.

2 Samuel 12:26, Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. (NIV) I. Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel.

A. Smith stated that the events of 2 Samuel 12:26-31 chronologically are to be placed in conjunction with the siege of Rabbah referenced in 2 Samuel 11:1.

1. The Pulpit Commentary identified the citadel as the part of Rabbah located on a high rock on the northwestern side of the city.

B. The royal citadel, literally, “The King’s City,” i.e., the entire capital of the Ammonite kingdom with the exception of the acropolis, had been captured by Joab, Smith wrote.

1. A blockade or siege was an extended process often involving months or more.

C. “Ammonites were a nomadic race descended from Ben-Ammi, Lot’s son by an incestuous relationship with his younger daughter. Ammonites became bitter enemies of Israel.” (Youngblood)

2 Samuel 12:27, Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. (NIV) I. Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, … II. “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply.



A. This was a most significant accomplishment because, without water, the city was sure to fall within a matter of days. B. “The City of Waters” was the name of the fortification built to protect the fountain, water source, (See Coffman.) which now was under Joab’s control. (Clarke)

1. Rabbah could not long stand without water and David was, therefore, urged to come quickly. 2. Rabbah was located on the Jabbok River; hence, “the City of Waters” or the “Water City.” (See The Pulpit Commentary.)

2 Samuel 12:28, Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me." (NIV) I. Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it.

A. Joab acted most loyally, honorably and politically wisely in notifying David of developments so the king could take credit for the capture of the city.

1. 2 Samuel 5:9, David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward. (NIV)

II. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.” 2 Samuel 12:29, So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. (NIV)



I. So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it; that is, the acropolis, citadel.

A. The entire army referred to all the military not already with Joab at Rabbah.

2 Samuel 12:30, He took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David's head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city (NIV) I. He took the crown from the head of their king –

A. The original word here rendered “their king” was the name of the national god of the Ammonites, namely, Malcam (or Milcom). (See Coffman)

1. Amos 1:15, Her king will go into exile, he and his officials together," says the LORD. (NIV) 2. Zephaniah 1:5, those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molech, (NIV) 3. Jeremiah 49:1, 3, Concerning the Ammonites: This is what the LORD says: Has Israel no sons? Has she no heirs? Why then has Molech taken possession of Gad? Why do his people live in its towns? "Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed! Cry out, O inhabitants of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; rush here and there inside the walls, for Molech will go into exile, together with his priests and officials. (NIV)

II. its weight was a talent of gold, …



A. A talent of gold weighed about seventy-five (75) pounds. (See NIV footnote.)

1. Coffman estimated the weight of this crown at between one hundred (100) to one hundred twenty-five (125) pounds.

B. It may have been that this very heavy crown had been mounted over the throne of the Ammonite king rather than being worn directly on the king’s head. (See Smith)

1. Coffman wrote, “The weight of that crown indicates clearly that it adorned a statue of their idol, not the head of their ruler.” 2. The Pulpit Commentary shares Coffman’s view.

C. The Pulpit Commentary does not share the view of some commentators that “a talent of gold” refers to the value of the crown rather than its weight.

III. and it was set with precious stones –

A. The NRSV, JB and BV read “a precious stone” perhaps meaning that the crown had a notable stone, Smith observed. B. Coffman held the view that “the precious stone” was placed on David’s head rather than the crown itself.

IV. and it was placed on David’s head.

A. Smith wrote that this statement may refer to a symbolic ceremony in which the heavy crown was placed over the head of David.



V. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city . . . 2 Samuel 12:31, and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brick making. He did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. (NIV) I. and brought out the people who were there, . . . II. consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brick making.

A. This reminds the reader of the slavery endured by the Israelites in Egypt.

1. Exodus 5:4-21, But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!" Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working." That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people: "You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don't reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies." Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.' " So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of



you for each day, just as when you had straw." The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?" Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people." Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks." The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day." When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, "May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." (NIV) 2. How ironic it is that Israel subjected the Ammonites to slavery they had found so horrible in Egypt.

B. Coffman stated this is a reference to the wholesale torture of the Ammonites, brutal and inhuman treatment of captives which was widely practiced in ancient times.

1. Amos 1:3, This is what the LORD says: "For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, (NIV) 2. 1 Chronicles 20:3, and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with



iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. (NIV) 3. Some hold that David cruelly killed the captives while others hold they were forced to do hard labor. 4. There is some question about the textual accuracy of verses 29-31.

III. He did this to all the Ammonite towns.

A. It appears that these cruelties could have ranged from hard slave labor to barbarous atrocities involving cutting people into pieces and/or burning them to death as in the brick kiln.

1. 1 Chronicles 20:3, and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. (NIV) 2. These cruelties, common to warfare in that age, cannot be defended, The Pulpit Commentary states. 3. The Ammonites were a barbarous people.

a. 1 Samuel 11:2, But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel." (NIV) b. Amos 1:13, This is what the LORD says:" For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back {my wrath}. Because he ripped open the



pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders, (NIV) c. The Ammonites sacrificed their children in the fire to their idol god Moloch.

IV. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem. Conclusion: I. King or pauper, no act is hidden from the all seeing eye of the Almighty.

A. Sin produces suffering, consequences, penalties. B. The pleasures of sin are short lived.

II. Sins are more easily recognized in the lives of others than in our own lives.

A. God’s word must be preached to all sinners, rich and poor, powerful and impotent. B. How this pure word of the Lord is preached is vitally important and can make the difference between success or failure in bringing sinners to the Lord.

III. God’s grace is available to all truly penitent sinners.



Questions

on

2 Samuel 12:1-31

(Questions based on NIV text.)

1. How much time elapsed between 2 Samuel 11:2 and 2 Samuel 12:1? __________________________________________________________ How much time elapsed between 2 Samuel 12:1 and the death of the child? ____________________________________________________. 2. What was the condition of David’s heart, what was his attitude, during the time between 2 Samuel 11:2 and 2 Samuel 12:1? __________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. The ________________-_________________ __________________ served as the _______________________,________________________ __________________ for the ______________-__________________- _______________________ episode. 4. ____________________ had the ________________ ____________ to charge the _____________________, who had the _______________ of ________________ and ________________, with _______________ and ________________. ____________________, as _____________’s _______________________ ________________________, did as he was ________________. _____________________was ____________



and ___________________, _______________________ in presenting ________________’s ____________________ in a ________________ __________________, __________________ in presenting ??? _______________‘s ____________________ _____________________ as he was __________________without___________________. These are lessons today’s ______________________ would do well to. 5. If Nathan had not gone to David, would he have ever truly repented? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. What did Nathan say to David in 2 Samuel 12:1-4? ______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Define fable, allegory and parable? Which was this story Nathan related to David? ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Relate other Old Testament parables. _________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



9. Identify the two men, the little ewe lamb, and traveler (wayfaring man)._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. What was David’s reaction to Nathan’s presentation? Does this surprise you? Why or why not? ________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Why did David think the person who stole the little ewe lamb deserved to die? _____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. Why did David deserve to die? ______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



13. What was the penalty for stealing a lamb? _____________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. On whom, according to Coffman, did David show no pity? _______ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15. What was David’s response to Nathan’s charge, “You are the man”? Was David’s response commendable? If so, why? _________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. In what ways did David pay fourfold for his sins? _______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. What did the Lord, the God of Israel, say to David in 2 Samuel 12:10-12?_____ ____________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. _________________ had ___________________ the ____________ everyone had placed in him including ________________________, the _________________ of _______________, ______________________, ___________________, __________________, the ________________, et, al. 19. David was God’s anointed, but he had not on this occasion acted like God’s anointed. How is your life like and unlike a follower of Christ? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20. ___________________ grievously ____________________in taking _________________ ________________’s ____________________ and ____________________ her __________________. ____________ _________________ against ________________ and ______________, but he __________________ most of all against __________________! ___________________ _________________ the _________________ of the ______________________ by ____________________ what was __________________ in his ___________________. 21. Was Uriah killed with a sword or by archers’ arrows? Explain. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



22. Which of the Ten Commandments did David violate in regard to the Uriah-Bathsheba matter? _____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 23. Tell of the calamity that came upon David from his own household. Give details. _______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 24. Who took David’s wives and had sexual intercourse with them “in broad daylight?” Was Bathsheba one of these wives? _______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25. David sincerely confessed, “__________ have _________________ against the ________________.” 26. What did David say in Psalm 51 which lets us know his repentance was genuine, that he was heartbroken because of his sins? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



27. What does, “The Lord has taken away your sin” mean? __________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 28. Why was Uzzah struck dead on the spot while David was allowed to live? ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 29. Give evidence that God’s forgiveness does not always remove the earthly consequences of sin. ___________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 30. Were sins forgiven in the Old Testament age or did they simply lay dormant until Christ died on the cross? Give reasons for your answer. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 31. What did David do when Nathan left? What were his reasons for doing these things? __________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 32. Give both Biblical and secular examples of children who suffered because of parental sins. ______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 33. David’s courtiers wanted to help David during this crisis, but they didn’t know how best to meet his needs. Cite times in which you would have liked to have helped troubled people, but simply didn’t know how. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 34. Why did the child of David and Bathsheba die? ________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 35. Why did David grieve before but not after this child’s death whereas he sorely grieved after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, Abner, Amnon and Absalom? ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 36. __________________ for the _______________are _____________ ____________________. 37. What did David mean by the statement, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me?” What does the Old Testament say about the afterlife? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 38. Clarke wrote, ________________’s _________________________ _________________ to this ____________________ _______________ was the ____________________ of all his _____________________.” 39. Give other examples of men who have acted foolishly because of an attractive woman. ___________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 40. How many children did David and Bathsheba have? _____________ Name them in the order of their births. ___________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



41. Do you regard it as ironic that Solomon, the son of Bathsheba, succeeded David as king of Israel? Explain your answer. ____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 42. Why is Solomon, the name given him by his parents, not best known by Jedidiah, the name God gave him? ___________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 43. When Rabbah was in imminent danger of falling to Israel, what message did Joab send to David? Why did Joab send this message to David? ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 44. When Rabbah was captured, how did David treat the survivors? Was this treatment of enemies justified? ….sinful? …brutal atrocities? _ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 45. How significant was Joab’s capturing Rabbah’s water supply? _____ __________________________________________________________



________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 46. How would you describe Joab’s character, devotion to duty, loyalty to David? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 47. Describe the crown mentioned in verse 30? Who/what wore it? How much did it weigh? What was its monetary value? _____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 48. What was done with the valuables, “plunder,” taken from Rabbah? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 49. What, in your opinion, are the most important lessons to be learned from the study of 2 Samuel 12? ________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Documents

NATHAN REBUKES DAVID 2 SAMUEL 12:1-31biblestudyworkshop.com/data/old/2Samuel12.pdf · NATHAN REBUKES DAVID 2 SAMUEL 12:1-31 ... "There were two men in a certain town, ... “A parable