◄ 2 Samuel 12:1 ►
Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, "There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
Study Bible
Then the LORD sent Nathan to David
This phrase highlights God's direct intervention in the situation. Nathan, a prophet, is sent by God to confront King David. This reflects the role of prophets in Israel as God's messengers, often tasked with delivering difficult truths. Nathan's mission underscores the seriousness of David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, as recorded in the previous chapter. Prophets like Nathan were crucial in maintaining the covenant relationship between God and Israel, often calling leaders and the people back to righteousness.

and when he arrived, he said
Nathan's arrival signifies the beginning of a divine confrontation. The use of a parable to address David is strategic, allowing David to judge the situation objectively before realizing his own guilt. This method is reminiscent of Jesus' use of parables in the New Testament to reveal deeper truths and convict the heart. Nathan's approach is both wise and compassionate, aiming to lead David to repentance rather than immediate condemnation.

“There were two men in a certain city
The introduction of two men in a parable sets the stage for a moral lesson. The "certain city" is unspecified, making the story universally applicable. This narrative technique draws the listener into the story, encouraging them to focus on the moral implications rather than the specifics of location or identity. The use of parables is a common biblical method to convey spiritual truths, as seen in the teachings of Jesus.

one rich and the other poor
The contrast between the rich and poor man is central to the parable's message. This dichotomy highlights issues of justice, power, and exploitation, themes prevalent throughout the Bible. The rich man's abundance and the poor man's lack serve as a metaphor for David's actions against Uriah, where David, despite having much, took the little that Uriah had. This mirrors the biblical principle that those with power have a responsibility to act justly and protect the vulnerable, as seen in laws and teachings throughout the Old Testament.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD
The sovereign God who initiates the confrontation of David's sin by sending Nathan.

2. Nathan
A prophet of God who serves as His messenger, tasked with delivering a message of conviction to King David.

3. David
The King of Israel, who has sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrating the death of her husband, Uriah.

4. A Certain City
The unspecified location in Nathan's parable, representing the setting for the moral lesson he is about to deliver.

5. Two Men
Characters in Nathan's parable, symbolizing the disparity between David (the rich man) and Uriah (the poor man).
Teaching Points
The Role of Prophets and Messengers
God uses individuals to deliver His messages, often calling them to confront sin with courage and wisdom.

The Importance of Accountability
Nathan's confrontation of David underscores the necessity of accountability in the life of believers, especially leaders.

God's Pursuit of Repentance
God's sending of Nathan demonstrates His desire for repentance and restoration rather than punishment.

The Power of Parables
Nathan's use of a parable to reveal David's sin shows the effectiveness of accounttelling in conveying truth and prompting self-reflection.

Responding to Conviction
David's eventual repentance highlights the appropriate response to being confronted with one's sin—humility and a plea for forgiveness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Nathan's approach to confronting David's sin inform our understanding of addressing sin within the church today?

2. In what ways does the parable Nathan tells reflect the broader biblical theme of justice and mercy?

3. How can we ensure that we are open to receiving correction from others, as David eventually was from Nathan?

4. What role does accountability play in your personal spiritual growth, and how can you cultivate it in your community?

5. How does the account of Nathan and David encourage us to seek God's forgiveness and restoration when we fall short?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 51
David's psalm of repentance, traditionally understood to be written after Nathan's confrontation, illustrating the depth of David's remorse and plea for God's mercy.

1 Samuel 15:22-23
Samuel's rebuke of Saul, highlighting the importance of obedience to God over ritual sacrifice, paralleling Nathan's role in calling out sin.

Matthew 18:15-17
Jesus' teaching on confronting a brother in sin, reflecting the biblical principle of addressing wrongdoing directly and with the aim of restoration.

Galatians 6:1
Paul's instruction on restoring someone caught in sin with gentleness, akin to Nathan's approach to David.

Hebrews 12:6
The Lord's discipline as an act of love, which is evident in God's sending of Nathan to correct David.
Sermons
A Faithful Reprover of SinB. Dale 2 Samuel 12:1
The Parable of the Rich Oppressor; Or, the Poor Man's LambB. Dale 2 Samuel 12:1-4
Awakened and AwedH. E. Stone.2 Samuel 12:1-14
David's FallG. T. Coster.2 Samuel 12:1-14
David's Great Sin, and God's Greater GraceJ. Clifford.2 Samuel 12:1-14
David's Sin and Nathan's ParableC. S. Robinson, D. D.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Definite Teaching as to SinH. O. Mackey.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Nathan as a True ProphetW. Smith, D. D.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Nathan Reproving DavidE. Harper, B. A.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Nathan Sent to DavidC. Merry.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Nathan the Parabolist2 Samuel 12:1-14
Nathan's ParableJ. Parker, D,D.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Of Sell-ExaminationE. M. Goulburn, D. D.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Preaching to the ConscienceAlexander Smellie.2 Samuel 12:1-14
Reproof by PortraitSunday Companion2 Samuel 12:1-14
Reproving Without OffendingH. Brooke, M. A.2 Samuel 12:1-14
The Force of Private AdmonitionJ. Trapp.2 Samuel 12:1-14
The Parable of NathanR. Moss, D. D.2 Samuel 12:1-14
People
Ammonites, Bathsheba, David, Jedidiah, Joab, Milcom, Nathan, Saul, Solomon, Uriah, Urijah
Places
Jerusalem, Rabbah
Topics
David, Nathan, Poor, Rich, Town, Wealth
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Samuel 12:1-3

     4831   largeness

2 Samuel 12:1-4

     4478   meat
     5448   poverty, attitudes to
     5935   riddles

2 Samuel 12:1-7

     7786   shepherd, king and leader
     8401   challenges

2 Samuel 12:1-10

     5438   parables
     5503   rich, the
     6126   condemnation, human

2 Samuel 12:1-12

     1431   prophecy, OT methods
     5817   conspiracies
     5926   rebuke

2 Samuel 12:1-13

     8479   self-examination, examples

2 Samuel 12:1-14

     6650   finding

Library
David and Nathan
'And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin.'--2 SAMUEL xii. 13. We ought to be very thankful that Scripture never conceals the faults of its noblest men. High among the highest of them stands the poet- king. Whoever, for nearly three thousand years, has wished to express the emotions of trust in God, longing after purity, aspiration, and rapture of devotion, has found that his words have been before him. And this man …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Thou Art the Man
'And David said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die; because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.'--2 SAMUEL xii. 5-7. Nathan's apologue, so tenderly beautiful, takes the poet-king on the most susceptible side of his character. All his history shows him as a man of wonderfully sweet, chivalrous, generous, swiftly compassionate nature. And so, when he hears the story of a mean, heartless selfishness, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Letter vi. In My Last Two Letters I have Given the State of the Argument as It...
My dear friend, In my last two Letters I have given the state of the argument as it would stand between a Christian, thinking as I do, and a serious well-disposed Deist. I will now endeavour to state the argument, as between the former and the advocates for the popular belief,--such of them, I mean, as are competent to deliver a dispassionate judgment in the cause. And again, more particularly, I mean the learned and reflecting part of them, who are influenced to the retention of the prevailing …
Samuel Taylor Coleridge—Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit etc

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Cleansing.
As there are conditions requiring to be complied with in order to the obtaining of salvation, before one can be justified, e. g., conviction of sin, repentance, faith; so there are conditions for full salvation, for being "filled with the Holy Ghost." Conviction of our need is one, conviction of the existence of the blessing is another; but these have been already dealt with. "Cleansing" is another; before one can be filled with the Holy Ghost, one's heart must be "cleansed." "Giving them the Holy …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

That the Ruler Should not Set his Heart on Pleasing Men, and yet Should Give Heed to what Ought to Please Them.
Meanwhile it is also necessary for the ruler to keep wary watch, lest the lust of pleasing men assail him; lest, when he studiously penetrates the things that are within, and providently supplies the things that are without, he seek to be beloved of those that are under him more than truth; lest, while, supported by his good deeds, he seems not to belong to the world, self-love estrange him from his Maker. For he is the Redeemer's enemy who through the good works which he does covets being loved …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

How the Poor and the Rich Should be Admonished.
(Admonition 3.) Differently to be admonished are the poor and the rich: for to the former we ought to offer the solace of comfort against tribulation, but in the latter to induce fear as against elation. For to the poor one it is said by the Lord through the prophet, Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded (Isai. liv. 4). And not long after, soothing her, He says, O thou poor little one, tossed with tempest (Ibid. 11). And again He comforts her, saying, I have chosen thee in the furnace of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Preparatory Service; Sometimes Called the Confessional Service.
In our examination of the nature and meaning of the Lord's Supper, we have found that it is indeed a most important and holy Sacrament. It is in fact the most sacred of all the ordinances of the Church on earth. There is nothing beyond it--nothing so heavenly, on this side heaven, as this Feast. Nowhere else does the believer approach so near to heaven as when he stands or kneels, as a communicant at this altar, the Holy of Holies in the Church of Christ. What a solemn act! To approach this altar, …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Right Understanding of the Law
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Before I come to the commandments, I shall answer questions, and lay down rules respecting the moral law. What is the difference between the moral laud and the gospel? (1) The law requires that we worship God as our Creator; the gospel, that we worship him in and through Christ. God in Christ is propitious; out of him we may see God's power, justice, and holiness: in him we see his mercy displayed. (2) The moral law requires obedience, but gives …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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