Bible Commentaries

2 Samuel 12:1-14

1. And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

2. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

3. But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children: it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

4. And there came a traveller unto the rich 2 Samuel 12:14.

We are to consider what effect our conduct will have upon outsiders, upon observers who are not kindly disposed towards us or towards our religion.—It is in vain to suppose that our evil deeds can be hidden, or can be shorn of their influence, or can be limited to the mere date and occasion of their committal.—Even where they are not known publicly they leave their impress upon ourselves; we are weakened by them; our heart is lowered in courage and in moral temperature, and we who might have gone forward like giants refreshed are willing to make any concession or accept any compromise, or settle down upon any terms of humiliation.—Every good man would seem to hold the reputation of God in his keeping.—Every professor of religion does this in a certain sense.—"When the Christian does that which is wrong he brings Jesus Christ himself into disrepute, he crucifies the Son of God afresh; not only does the man himself do that which is evil, but he humbles and grieves the Son of God.—The soldier who wears the national uniform aggravates every evil he does by the very fact that he represents the power and grandeur of an empire.—For other men to be cowards is bad enough, but for a soldier to be cowardly is unpardonable.—For a man of the world to do that which is wrong or unjust is shameful in a high degree, but when a Christian does this he violates all the commandments of God, all the instincts of the new life, and the whole inspiration which he is supposed to derive from Jesus Christ.—The contrary argument is of great effect on behalf of Christianity: when Christian men do good they make observers think that the fountain at which they refresh their spiritual life must be heavenly, not earthly; when they forgive their enemies, when they kindly use those who despitefully entreat them, they begin to excite wonder as to the origin of their feeling and the inspiration of their motive.—Holiness is an argument. Charity is a mighty weapon of defence.—A forgiving spirit is an eloquent sermon.

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?"— 2 Samuel 12:22.

David had been afflicted because of the sin which he had committed.—The prophet had foretold that the child that was to be born unto him should surely die.—In fulfilment of this prophecy the Lord struck the child, and it was very sick.—David, though a guilty sinner, had a tender heart.—Above all the tumult of his wrongdoing there came the voice of prayer and intercession.—David besought God for the child, and fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.—" The elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died."—Now David shows another aspect of his character,—the strong, soldierly, royal aspect.—He had fought a battle, and lost it; he would not give up hope so long as life flickered in the pulse; he wrestled with death, and would have thrown the grim monster if he could; but death was not to be pacified by his tears or to be driven away by all his prayers.—A marvellous tribute is paid to God's goodness in this very confession of David, "Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me?"—he had seen so many acts of graciousness on the part of God; God had so often turned away from wrath, and rejoiced in mercy; he had overlooked so much, delivered from so many dangers, interposed in so many crises, that David had a lingering hope that even yet, though the sword was lifted high, it would be turned aside, and the little child should be permitted to live.—We must accept the providences of heaven alike when they are blessings and when they are judgments.—In this case the providence was a judgment, and David accepted it, saying, "Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."—Thus we have to fall into the march of the divine providence; we have to note the rhythm of the heavenly movement and keep in step with it; and this being so, our resignation will be accepted as repentance, and our obedience accounted as prayer.—The man had sinned, sinned deeply, sinned all but unpardonably; yet, account for it as we may, there was something in him which God could not but look upon with complacency; the very seed of heaven was in him, and he had a great election to realise and justify.—So it may be with many of us.—We have great sins, but our love may be greater than our guilt.—After all we have done, enough indeed to darken all heaven as with a frown, it may be that the voice of God within us shall be stronger than the voice of temptation, and out of great sin and infinite danger, we may be brought to peace, restoration, and eternal blessedness.—Let no man trifle with these hopes, or these sacred promises; they were not meant to be trodden under foot, or to be made excuses for redoubling our sin; they were meant to deter us from the repetition of evil, and to encourage us in our upward way.