Today’s passage: 2 Samuel 12
Helpful thoughts:
- “And the Lord sent Nathan to David” is an incredibly grace-filled sentence. What David did greatly displeased the Lord, and then the Lord responded by sending a prophet to open David’s eyes to his sin and lead him to repentance!
- We are prone to want to get away with our sin. We deserve to be eternally damned for our sin. God provides forgiveness and restoration through Christ!
- Hebrews 12:11 – For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
- Stealing livestock was not punishable by death in the law. Adultery and murder were. David unwittingly condemned himself to death. He deserved the death penalty. God showed him mercy.
- The fourfold restoration that David demanded would return to him. Through the violence God promised in David’s household, three other sons would also later die (Bathsheba’s firstborn, and Amnon, Absalom, Adonijah).
- This passage along with others gives us confidence that God graciously saves infants who die before they could respond in faith.
- God showed grace to David after his confession.
- Solomon was born and beloved by the Lord!
- Joab was loyal and did not take glory for himself.
- Israel continued to be victorious in battle.
Questions to consider:
- Does mercy and grace mean that nothing bad is going to happen? How much “good” did David deserve? Does forgiveness mean there will be no consequences? Do we get to control our consequences?
- Who was/is the giver of every single good gift in David’s life (And ours) (James 1:16-17)?
- We could argue that Solomon should never have been born. Yet, God chose him before the foundation of the world, sovereignly made him the king of Israel, and loved him. How should we treat children who do not come into this world through righteous means? Can people repent and love others in a way that honors God when their first interactions dishonored God? Our sin makes a mess of our lives, who is the only one who can redeem them?