Over the next series of posts, we will look at the life of David, this progenitor of our Lord and Saviour, to better see the working of God’s radical grace in the face of deserved punishment (and everyone deserves punishment but rather God’s radical mercy applies to all who will receive it).

Some prophets like to tell people only what they want to hear. And it’s true that God gives words of hope and fulfillment; good news is a prophet’s main currency, beyond whatever bad news he has to tell. But on at least two occasions, Nathan had to deliver messages that the king did not want to hear. After assuring David, “Do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you” (2 Samuel 7:3), he had to come back with a corrected message that David would not build the Temple himself.

Yet after the crimes against Uriah, he had to voice God’s displeasure for David’s sins and cover-up. Nathan had to be the bearer of harsh news (2 Sam. 12).

That had to be frightening for Nathan. David had already killed to conceal his crime, and there was a reason ancient royal courts were filled with advisers who had mastered the art of walking on eggshells around their kings. But David was a different kind of king, and Nathan was a different kind of adviser. Integrity in expressing God’s voice was more important to him than avoiding offending a king who had behaved rashly.

Nathan masterfully portrayed David’s offense in a parable designed to provoke the king’s outrage. He put David in the position of judging himself. Only then did Nathan reveal that David was the transgressor. And the rightful verdict had already been declared.

In Their Steps
Few people balance truth and love as well as Nathan did, and David was able to see the ugliness of his sin. That doesn’t always happen; sometimes truth offends friends and ends relationships. Not so with David and Nathan; David retained Nathan in his court and later even named a son after him (1 Chronicles 3:5). Honest confrontation creates an opportunity for God to open eyes and change a heart. In this case, it accomplished all that God had intended — Taken from NIV Life Appilcation Study Bible

What a lesson for the called of the Lord in balancing Truth, Grace and Love! Selah



Pastor Afolabi Oladele