Scripture to Read: 2 Samuel 12:1-15
God always lovingly disciplines His children when we are unwilling to repent of sin (Hebrews 12:5-11). God never stopped loving David, but what “David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). God proved His love for David by sending the prophet Nathan to David in 2 Samuel 12:1-15. Nathan shared with David a story about a rich man taking the precious lamb from a poor man. The story Nathan shared caused David to get angry, even to the point that David said the rich man in the story deserved to die. Nathan then told David that David was the rich man in the story and Uriah was the poor man. Then God led Nathan to lay out for David ALL that God had given to David, and in spite of ALL of God’s blessings, David has chosen to despise the word of the Lord by doing evil in God’s sight (2 Samuel 12:9). God had Nathan tell David in 2 Samuel 12:10-12, all of the negative consequences David and his family would suffer due to David’s sin. Sin ALWAYS brings the consequence of death. Finally, in 2 Samuel 12:13, David confesses his sin. God spares David’s life, but David would have heartache, even to the point that the child in Bathsheba’s womb would die. God hates sin; that is why Christ died on our behalf, taking the punishment for ALL our sin on Himself. We NEVER need to look at sin as something insignificant because death is never insignificant.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about sin and the heartache that sin will bring?
2. Who will you share Christ with this week so they have the opportunity to repent and be set free from their sin?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!