2 Samuel 12 (JND) - Bible Truth Library

There were.There is nothing in this parable which requires illustration. Its bent is evident; and it was wisely constructed, by not having too near a resemblance, to make David unwittingly pass sentence on himself.

The parable was in David's hand what his own letter was in the hands of the brave Uriah.

Nathan at length closed in with him in the application of it.

In beginning with a parable he shewed his prudence, and great need there is of prudence in giving reproof; but now he speaks as an ambassador from God.

He reminds David of the great things God had designed and done for him, and then charges him with a high contempt of the Divine authority, and threatens an entail of judgments upon his family for this sin.

Those who despise the word and law of God, despise God himself, and will assuredly suffer for such contempt.

2 Sam. 14:5‑11• ⁵And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead.
⁶And thy bondmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.
⁷And behold, the whole family is risen against thy bondmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may put him to death, for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also: so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband a name or remnant on the earth.
⁸And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee.
⁹And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.
¹⁰And the king said, Whoever speaks to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
¹¹Then she said, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they cut off my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. (2 Sam. 14:5‑11)

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Judg. 9:7‑15• ⁷And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.
⁸The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us.
⁹And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave over the trees?
¹⁰And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, reign over us.
¹¹But the fig-tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?
¹²Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.
¹³And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave over the trees?
¹⁴Then said all the trees to the thorn-bush, Come thou, reign over us.
¹⁵And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon. (Judg. 9:7‑15)

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1 Kings 20:35‑41• ³⁵And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of Jehovah, Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.
³⁶Then said he to him, Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, behold, when thou departest from me, the lion will slay thee. And when he had departed from him, the lion found him and slew him.
³⁷Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him violently, and wounded him.
³⁸And the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a sash over his eyes.
³⁹And as the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me and said, Keep this man; if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
⁴⁰And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So is thy judgment: thyself hast decided it.
⁴¹Then he hastily took the sash away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him, that he was of the prophets. (1 Kings 20:35‑41)

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Matt. 21:33‑45• ³³Hear another parable: There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and made a fence round it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and left the country.
³⁴But when the time of fruit drew near, he sent his bondmen to the husbandmen to receive his fruits.
³⁵And the husbandmen took his bondmen, and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
³⁶Again he sent other bondmen more than the first, and they did to them in like manner.
³⁷And at last he sent to them his son, saying, They will have respect for my son.
³⁸But the husbandmen, seeing the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance.
³⁹And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.
⁴⁰When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what shall he do to those husbandmen?
⁴¹They say to him, He will miserably destroy those evil men, and let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
⁴²Jesus says to them, Have ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which they that builded rejected, this has become the corner-stone: this is of the Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes?
⁴³Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation producing the fruits of it.
⁴⁴And he that falls on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder.
⁴⁵And the chief priests and the Pharisees, having heard his parables, knew that he spoke about them. (Matt. 21:33‑45)

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Luke 15:11‑32• ¹¹And he said, A certain man had two sons;
¹²and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give to me the share of the property that falls to me. And he divided to them what he was possessed of.
¹³And after not many days the younger son gathering all together went away into a country a long way off, and there dissipated his property, living in debauchery.
¹⁴But when he had spent all there arose a violent famine throughout that country, and he began to be in want.
¹⁵And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
¹⁶And he longed to fill his belly with the husks which the swine were eating; and no one gave to him.
¹⁷And coming to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have abundance of bread, and *I* perish here by famine.
¹⁸I will rise up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee;
¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
²⁰And he rose up and went to his own father. But while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses.
²¹And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; I am no longer worthy to be called thy son.
²²But the father said to his bondmen, Bring out the best robe and clothe him in it, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
²³and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry:
²⁴for this my son was dead and has come to life, was lost and has been found. And they began to make merry.
²⁵And his elder son was in the field; and as, coming up, he drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
²⁶And having called one of the servants, he inquired what these things might be.
²⁷And he said to him, Thy brother is come, and thy father has killed the fatted calf because he has received him safe and well.
²⁸But he became angry and would not go in. And his father went out and besought him.
²⁹But he answering said to his father, Behold, so many years I serve thee, and never have I transgressed a commandment of thine; and to me hast thou never given a kid that I might make merry with my friends:
³⁰but when this thy son, who has devoured thy substance with harlots, is come, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
³¹But he said to him, Child, *thou* art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine.
³²But it was right to make merry and rejoice, because this thy brother was dead and has come to life again, and was lost and has been found. (Luke 15:11‑32)

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Luke 16:19‑31• ¹⁹Now there was a rich man and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer in splendour every day.
²⁰And there was a poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his gateway full of sores,
²¹and desiring to be filled with the crumbs which fell from the table of the rich man; but the dogs also coming licked his sores.
²²And it came to pass that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and was buried.
²³And in hades lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
²⁴And he crying out said, Father Abraham, have compassion on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame.
²⁵But Abraham said, Child, recollect that *thou* hast fully received thy good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted here, and *thou* art in suffering.
²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, so that those who desire to pass hence to you cannot, nor do they who desire to cross from there pass over unto us.
²⁷And he said, I beseech thee then, father, that thou wouldest send him to the house of my father,
²⁸for I have five brothers, so that he may earnestly testify to them, that they also may not come to this place of torment.
²⁹But Abraham says to him, They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them.
³⁰But he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one from the dead should go to them, they will repent.
³¹And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, not even if one rise from among the dead will they be persuaded. (Luke 16:19‑31)

• A certain period of time passed after David committed this sin. The war against Ammon (begun in the preceding chapter, which covers nearly one year) still continued....Then the Lord intervenes, after having waited a long time for David to repent. (“Forgiveness, Discipline, and Restoration: 2 Samuel 12” by H.L. Rossier)

• The prophet is sent to him to set him in the light of a holy and righteous God whose eyes are too pure to behold evil and who must judge it. (“Forgiveness, Discipline, and Restoration: 2 Samuel 12” by H.L. Rossier)

J. N. Darby Translation

And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.