2 Samuel 12:5-6 Because He Had No Pity

 ”So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”“

‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. David’s anger was greatly aroused: Nathan did not ask David for a judicial decision, and David naturally assumed the story was true. David immediately passed sentence on the guilty man of Nathan’s story. David showed that we often try to rid our guilty consciences by passing judgment on someone else.

b. The man who has done this shall surely die: David’s sense of righteous indignation was so affected by his own guilt that he commanded a death sentence for the hypothetical case brought by Nathan, even though it wasn’t a capital crime.

i. David had to condemn his own sin before he could find forgiveness. We often try to find refuge in excusing or minimizing or deflecting the blame for our sin; we simply do not condemn sin in ourselves.

ii. David’s use of the oath “As the LORD lives” shows how passionate his indignation was. He called God to witness the righteousness of his death sentence upon Nathan’s hypothetical rich man.

c. He shall restore fourfold for the lamb: David rightly knew that penalizing the rich man – even with death – wasn’t enough. He also had to restore something to the man he took something from. David knew that true repentance means restitution.

i. Restore fourfold also shows that David’s sin and hardness of heart did not diminish his knowledgeof the Bible. He immediately knew what the Bible said about those who steal sheep: If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep (Exodus 22:1). David knew the words of the Bible but was distant from the Author.

d. Because he had no pity: The idea is that the man should have had pity on his neighbor and did not. In the same way David should have had pity on Uriah and Bathsheba’s father and grandfather. (Guzik)

Because He Had No Pity

David didn’t understand this hypothetical was about him because he didn’t perceive the plank in his eye that blinded his sin, for it is written:

”And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?“ ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭41‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

What will happen when Nathan exposes David’s sin?

Blessings