You are the man

Title: Nathan's Rebuke

Text: 2 Samuel 12:1-13

D.T The intent of forgiveness should not minimize the impact of sin.

Introduction: There is an old African proverb that goes something like this “The axe forgets; but the tree remembers.” It’s a stark reminder that if a person hurts someone, whether intentionally or unintentionally, they tend to either underestimate the impact of their actions, or they forget them all together. However the tree remembers that pain, and it tends to linger when the axe has already moved on. In today’s story King David, the man after God’s own heart is very much the axe. The tree is made up of several people who were hurt by the actions of David. The people whom David hurt go much deeper than he likely realized. However this is one story where the axe doesn’t forget. Why? Because it’s forced to remember. The reason David is forced to remember the pain he causes is due to the actions of a friend. We see this story unfold in 2 Samuel 12

Context: The foundation of today's story centers around one of David’s most infamous and disastrous moral failings. I am of course referring to his affair with Bathsheba. The story begins with a David who is beginning to age, because of this he chooses to remain in Jerusalem in the spring when his soldiers go out to fight. Right off the bat we see David resign himself to idleness, which is something often destructive to humanity. While in his idleness David see’s Bathsheba on the rooftop, and soon has an affair. This is bad enough, however after he learns that Bathsheba is pregnant, he ends up having her husband Uriah sent to the front line of battle so he can be killed. David believes that he’s successfully hidden his wrongdoing.

READ 2 Samuel 12:1-13

2 Samuel 12:1–13 ESV

And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

I have no doubt in my mind that David knew what he did with Bathsheba was sinful. I have no doubt that he knew he acted wrongly. David knew everything about this was horrible. If this is the case, why wasn’t David seeking forgiveness? Why wasn’t he remorseful in his actions? David didn’t evaluate his sin, because he didn’t see the impact of his sin. David didn’t see how his actions hurt Bathsheba, not only did she have an affair with David, that affair got her Husband killed. She would have to live with that knowledge. Uriah's siblings, perhaps even his parents, whomever his loved ones were mourned his death. The death of someone in a family is felt more deeply than people realize. Pain and more pain all leading back to David. While David seems all too eager to leave the wake of his destruction behind. The axe forgets, but the tree remembers.

However Nathan wouldn’t allow it. Nathan knew that David had to see the impact of his sin, so he didn’t in a way he knew would get his point across. Nathan told him this story. After David’s anger burned towards the story's villain, he demanded the man's death. Nathan then informs him “David, the story is about you. You are the man!”

It’s only after David was forced to remember and face the pain he left behind that he openly repented of his sin. Once he was forced to recognize the pain he left behind, he couldn’t hide anymore.

David’s friend Remember this series is all about how David’s friendships shaped him. The friend in this case is Nathan. It doesn’t seem very “friend like” what Nathan is doing. Forcing David to relive and focus on his own sin. However this is exactly what David needed. Would David have sought forgiveness if Nathan didn’t force him to reconcile with the pain he left behind? As a result of this realization we’ve got some of the best prayers about seeking forgiveness. Psalm 51. Would David ask God to create within him a new heart if Nathan doesn’t help David realize the scope of his actions?

The fact of the matter is this; we need friends who are willing to show us the pain we inflict upon others should that ever be necessary. It was certainly necessary for David.

We often face a temptation to seek forgiveness from God as a means of distancing ourselves from a problem rather than fixing it. We ultimately want to be the axe that forgets, we don’t want to remember. While seeking forgiveness is vital; we cannot act as if seeking forgiveness eliminates a problem. The intent of forgiveness should not minimize the impact of sin. If minimizing the impact of sin is the reason we seek forgiveness, then we have a fundamentally flawed idea of forgiveness. Having friends who are willing to show us the impact of our sin is perhaps our greatest means of misusing forgiveness in such a fashion.

Conclusion I know this is a heavy subject matter. I would much rather talk about the unending grace of Jesus. However, in order to keep the idea of forgiveness pure. We must entertain the idea of allowing our friends to show us the impact of our sin. Psalm 51:10-12

Psalm 51:10–12 ESV

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Forgiveness is never a catalyst to forget our problems, it’s the catalyst to fix them.