2 Samuel 12:1-10: How do you respond to being confronted?

The Lord does not condone David’s actions, but neither does he abandon David. The Lord speaks. He sends Nathan the prophet to David with the story of a rich man who abuses a poor man, taking the poor man’s one lamb (like a pet to the poor man) to serve as supper for the rich man’s guest. David is outraged at the story, says the man deserves death but must pay back four times over for the lamb.

‘You are the man,” says Nathan. The Lord had blessed David beyond his imagination, making him wealthy and powerful. God would have blessed him even more, but David repaid his blessing by despising the word of the Lord. David, the man after God’s own heart, has turned his heart against God, stopped his ears against God’s voice, and disobeyed God as heinously as Saul ever did.

Next Steps

Have you ever had someone confront you? How did you respond? Have you ever had to confront someone else? How did you handle it and the other person handle it?

Prayer

God of truth, open our eyes to our own brokenness so that we might be saved.

DR. GARY HOLLOWAY

Gary Holloway is Executive Director of the World Convention. Holding degrees from Freed-Hardeman, Harding, The University of Texas, and Emory University, he has written or edited thirty books, including (with Douglas Foster) Renewing God’s World: A Concise Global History of the Stone-Campbell Movement from ACU Press. He is married to Deb Rogers Holloway.