Tuesday 29th October
Read 2 Samuel 12:5-6
“David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’” (NIVUK)
The prescribed punishment for what amounts to the theft of a lamb is to pay restitution ‘four times over’, just as David eventually declared (v6). His first response though is that the rich man deserves the death penalty.
David may be struggling somewhat with guilt over his actions. How else to explain his response to Nathan’s story? David’s conscience is clearly tender, his fuse rather short. It is also worth noting that this is the first time David has mentioned the Lord since the recounting of this sorry and sordid tale commenced…
Are you hypersensitive to wrongdoing when you have done something that may ‘displease the Lord’? Is there anything troubling your conscience today that you may need to address? Pray for the strength to confront it with the Spirit’s help.
