Nathan's Parable: One Pet Sheep Changed Everything
Daily Scripture
2 Samuel 12:1-10, 13
1 So the LORD sent Nathan to David. When Nathan arrived he said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich, one poor. 2 The rich man had a lot of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing—just one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised that lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his food and drink from his cup—even sleep in his arms! It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to visit the rich man, but he wasn’t willing to take anything from his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had arrived. Instead, he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the visitor.”
5 David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the one who did this is demonic! [Or as good as dead; Hebrew a son of death]. 6 He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over because he did this and because he had no compassion.”
7 “You are that man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and delivered you from Saul’s power. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and gave his wives into your embrace. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. If that was too little, I would have given even more. 9 Why have you despised the LORD’s word by doing what is evil in his eyes? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and taken his wife as your own. You used the Ammonites to kill him. 10 Because of that, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own, the sword will never leave your own house.
13 “I’ve sinned against the Lord!” David said to Nathan.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Israel’s King David had fallen, step by step, into an ugly set of moral failures. (If you don’t know the story, it’s in 2 Samuel 11.) The prophet Nathan faced the challenge, on God’s behalf, of convincing his friend David away from his destructive course. “The idea of pets… is almost absent from ancient literature, but [Nathan’s] parable of the poor man’s one ewe lamb hints that (as on some farms today) not all animals were treated as mere produce.” * The story moved David’s heart and opened his eyes.
- People in David’s day mainly viewed animals in a purely functional way (the same way we usually view tractors or kitchen appliances today). Yet the king did not brush off Nathan’s brilliant parable. He had lost sight of the flagrant injustice as well as the gross immorality of his self-serving choices. How can seeing David’s inner response to the parable about the little lamb move you to let the feelings animals trigger in you awaken you to important life issues?
- Nathan’s brave confrontation (David was an absolute monarch) led the king to face what he had done. David offered no excuses, but frankly owned up to his reckless, deadly course. He couldn’t undo Uriah’s death. He could honestly seek God’s forgiveness. Pastor Hamilton wrote, “Don’t pretend you’re seeking forgiveness if you’re really not. The kind of half-hearted apologies we sometimes offer don’t cut it here.” ** Is there anything you need to honestly face and turn away from?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, it took a simple story about a little lamb to wake David up to his need for you. Send me conviction (not condemnation) about anything I need to own up to and turn away from. Amen.
GPS Insights
Torey Byrne
Torey Byrne, who is serving for her second summer as an intern with Resurrection Student ministry, wrote today's Insights. She just graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan university with a degree in Religion and Philosophy. She is a big advocate of random adventures, trips to the lake and lover of Bibbibop!
We can treat this story the way we treat life. Nathan’s parable pointed to teaming up with animals, not as a business transaction but with care and a relationship. As David realized, we can do that with humans and our neighbors, too.
A part of this GPS I want to highlight is the sentence, “He lost sight of the flagrant injustice as well as the gross immorality of his self-serving choices.” Unfortunately, this world today is not pretty. Yes, there are times of joy. We see neighbors helping each other, speaking up for friends who cannot, and so much love. But this world is also heartbreaking, There are too many heartbreaking injustices, dividing lines, and gaps.
We were never called to do this life alone. Jesus sat with sinners, loved them and welcomed them to his family. He did not say, “You are not allowed for you have sinned too deeply or you are different from me, so you are not allowed.” No–he teamed up with them and with all people. He used his leadership for good and the good of other people. He treated animals, neighbors and all with agape love. I challenge you to look at your neighbors, see them as children of God, and team up for the good of all.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Article “Animals” in Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, general editors, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 28.
** Hamilton, Adam. Forgiveness: Finding Peace Through Letting Go, (p. 27). Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.
