2 Samuel 12:1-4 Theft

 “Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.””

‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Then the LORD sent Nathan to David: David’s sin displeased the LORD but David didn’t listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit or to his conscience. Now God sent someone else to speak to David. God mercifully kept speaking to David even when David didn’t listen.

i. Yet no one should presume God will speak forever to the unrepentant sinner. God said in Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever.” When we hear or sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we must respond to it immediately, because it might not always be there.

b. There were two men in one city: With wisdom and courage, Nathan used a story to get the message through to David. It was common in those days to keep a lamb as a pet, and Nathan used this story of the pet lamb to speak to his friend David.

i. Previously the prophet Nathan delivered a message of great blessing to David (2 Samuel 7). David knew that Nathan was not a negative critic but a friend. It made David receptive to the message of the story.

c. Who refused to take from his own flock…he took the poor man’s lamb: The sin Nathan describes is theft. There is a sense in which David stole something from Uriah. The Bible (in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5) says that in marriage a husband has authority over the body of his wife (and vice-versa). Obviously, David did not have this authority over the body of Bathsheba and he stole from Uriah. Adultery and sexual immorality are sins in many ways, and in one aspect are theft – taking something that does not belong to us.

i. This principle is also true regarding pornography and lust. Leviticus 18describes the sin of uncovering the nakedness of those other than our spouse. The idea is that the nakedness of others doesn’t belong to us, and it is theft if we take it. (Guzik)

Theft

This commentary is the hard truth for some to hear about adultery, pornography and lust.

But these verses show is David had the same problem!

The Good News is that there is freedom in Jesus Christ!

Dear Heavenly Father, I lift up all of us that deal with these sins of adultery, pornography and lust. Please give us the strength through the Holy Spirit to conquer these sins and give us freedom from the devil. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

Blessings