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Being Nathan – by Zack Fugate

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If you are not familiar with 2 Samuel 12:1-15, please stop and take a moment to read 2 Samuel 11, then get up out of your seat and look in the mirror. Once you have completed that task, go back to the Word and read 2 Samuel 12:1-15.

I would ask you, which would you rather be? Anyone in their right mind would rather be Nathan…but consider the implications of what Nathan was tasked with in this instance. On the heels of David breaking the tenth, seventh, and sixth commandments, Nathan was sent to him to rebuke him in the name of the Lord. Consider the weight of his approach. He begins by telling David…King David, a parable of a rich man who stole a poor man’s lamb to feed a traveler because he was unwilling to take one from his own flock.

David, immediately angered by the injustice states in verses 5 and 6, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourtold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” And while the very last sounds trickled out of David’s mouth Nathan states, “You are the man!” You see, David was correct; the man did deserve to die according to the law…as did he.

Nathan, a prophet of the Lord, was given the task of verbally holding David accountable for the dark and terrible things that he had done. Moreover, he was instructed to tell David that his sins would result in evil coming out of his house, in the public loss of his wives, and that his very own sons would die. Are you still wishing to be Nathan? Better yet, do you realize that you are David? that I am David…that if scripture parallels our own lives, we are all “the man”? Would you be willing to also consider that because of the grace and love of our heavenly Father, we are Nathan?

You might be thinking, “Hmmm, okay, how can this be? How can we be a man who deserves to die as a result of our sins, but also be a messenger of God tasked with presenting those in our lives with message of rebuke and salvation?” Yes, perhaps you missed it when reading through the verses in 2 Samuel 12:1-15, but Nathan also delivers a message of salvation; it was in the midst of his rebuke. “And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”-2 Samuel 12:13

Sometimes as believers, we are stuck in the mindset that it is our job, our place even, to be like Nathan and rebuke fellow believers, rebuke unbelievers…to look in on the lives of others and determine their standing with the Lord. We can often forget, however, that we need to focus on hearing that message ourselves. The Lord sent his son, Jesus Christ, to the cross to pay for the sins of mankind so that we might have eternal life with Him. The gospel is twofold, just like Nathan’s message to David, the gospel of Jesus Christ carries two messages, a message of rebuke and a message of salvation. As such, brothers and sisters, let us be ready when the Lord presents us with an opportunity to be Nathan, but let us also continue to be molded by the grace and love that we receive as a result of our salvation in Christ Jesus.

When you find yourself at the feet of Jesus, take time this week to open scripture to Psalm 51 and examine the words reflective of David’s heart. Please be praying the following with me, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”-Psalm 51:10

Your brother in Christ,

Zack Fugate

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