Truth to Power

And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
Nathan said to David, “You are the man!" ~ 2 Samuel 12:1-7a



Nathan emerges as an incredibly courageous prophet speaking truth to power and doing so in a quite clever fashion using imagination to draw the king into judging himself. Noteworthy is the fact that the language used for the rich man taking the lamb is the same language that was used in 2 Samuel 11:4 when David took Bathsheba. Moreover, the verb “to take” is the language that is used in 1 Samuel 8:11-19 by the prophet Samuel when he warns the people about the dangers of the royal office. Kings take whatever they want. In the context of leaders abusing their power, one truly needs whistle blowers and other upright individuals who stand up and say “No!” to injustice and the abuse of power. ~ Prof. Julianna Claasens, WorkingPreacher.org



This is probably one of the greatest "gotcha" moments in scripture. I can just hear Nathan, turning slowly to David, finger pointed accusingly:  "You are the man!"  It's like the end of an Agatha Christie mystery where the detective carefully lays out the story of the crime and then declares "Whodunnit!"
By the time we get to Nathan's speaking truth to power, David has: spied the married Bathsheba, seduced (raped?) her, got her pregnant, sent her husband, Uriah the Hittite, to the front lines to get him killed, and then married her.
It's almost a throwaway line about David "laying" with the married Bathsheba.  Much is made of her being married and much is made of the fate of her poor husband, and yet Bathesheba in some ways is thrust to the background. We are told David sent messengers to bring her to him and then lay with her.
What Bathsheba thought about all this is never mentioned.
Yet following this accusing parable told by Nathan to David, Bathsheba will lose her child.
Whodunnit indeed.
Nathan's accusation is a great dramatic moment.  Yet lost somehow in the shuffle is the human tragedy that surrounds that moment.
We know David grieved for the child he lost, but we are told nothing of Bathsheba's grief other than David consoled her by...well, by laying with again and getting her pregnant again.
This time with Solomon.
It is difficult to read passages like this through our 21st century lens.  It's difficult to take a passage out of the whole sweeping context of the story and try to make sense of it.

Because Scripture is story.  It is a book of faith and it is story.  And in story, sometimes even the heroes don't act the way we want them to.  


And that's maybe the sense to be made.  David, like us, made a mess out of a lot of parts of his life.  Maybe not the same kind of mess, but the kind of mess that needs forgiveness and mercy.  And through David, we get a view of how forgiveness and mercy play out in a life.


It isn't a straight path, but the path has a guide who is ever leading us on, even when we stray.


Bathsheba deserves more mention, but the fact is that when the story was told, her perspective wasn't what was viewed as important. David's sin, David's repentance, and David's salvation are the thrust of the story. Yet perhaps, with our 21st century lens, we can know now that God's love and mercy also extended to Bathsheba, even if it doesn't get the mention it deserves.




God of mercy, forgive us.  Pull us back when sin makes us stray.  And help us to extend the same mercy and forgiveness to others. Amen.



Thoughts for engagement:

- What do you think transpired between David and Bathsheba? Was she a willing participant? Or not?
- Read a little bit more about David in 2 Samuel. What is he like?

Popular posts from this blog

But we had hoped

Resurrection Run

God's People: Abram