You Scoundrel!

The prophet watched as anger ignited when he told David about the rich man who took the poor man’s sheep instead of one from his flock to feed a traveler. In the heat of the moment, the enraged king said the man was worthy of death because he lacked compassion and should repay the poor man four times what he took from him. Can you envision Nathan pointing his finger in King David’s face and hearing his words, “Thou art the man?” 2 Samuel 12:7

Nathan didn’t choose to confront the king about his wrong actions; the Lord sent him (v. 1). Imagine how David must have cringed—shocked, embarrassed, yet relieved to admit the truth—when God’s prophet confronted him with his sin. He WAS the man who took Uriah’s wife and had him killed. The king immediately admitted his sin, and the Lord forgave him (v. 13); Psalm 51 is David’s confession.

Have you ever been upset or even furious when you heard what awful or shameful thing someone did, said, or didn’t do or say the right something? Yet, you weren’t bothered at all when “the shoe was on your foot.” It’s easy to hold others to a higher standard of living than we are willing to live. We recognize when they miss God’s perfection and may even confront them. But did the Lord send you, or are you acting as the judge and jury?

We all have the propensity to sin; who are we to judge someone else when theirs differ from ours? Paul wrote that criticizing others is inexcusable. By doing so, we condemn ourselves by recognizing the sins we sometimes commit ourselves (Rom 2:1). We would do well to follow David’s example in the confession of sins when God’s Holy Spirit confronts our hearts with, “Thou art the man (or woman).”