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<h2><a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'all');">2Sa 12</a> - Nathan Confronts David</h2>
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<p>A. Nathan’s confrontation.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'1-4');">1-4</a>) Nathan’s parable.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then the <span class="c6">Lord</span> sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. "The rich <i>man </i>had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor <i>man </i>had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Then the <span class="c6">Lord</span> sent Nathan to David</span></b>: David's sin displeased the <span class="c6">Lord</span> but David wouldn't listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit or to his conscience. Now God will send someone else to speak to David. God mercifully kept speaking to David even when David wouldn't listen.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Yet no one should presume that God would speak <i>forever</i> to the unrepentant sinner. God said in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,3);">Gen 6:3</a>, "<i>My Spirit shall not strive with man forever</i>." When we hear or sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit we must respond to it immediately, because it might not always be there.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">There were two men in one city</span></b>: With wisdom and courage, Nathan used a story to get the message through to David. It was common in those days to keep a lamb as a pet, and Nathan used this story of the pet lamb to speak to his friend David.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Previously the prophet Nathan delivered a message of great blessing to David (<a onclick="return mV('1Sa',7,'all');">1Sa 7</a>). David knew that Nathan was not a negative critic but a friend. It made David receptive to the message of the story.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Who refused to take from his own flock . . . he took the poor man's lamb</span></b>: The sin Nathan describes is <i>theft</i>. There is a sense in which David <i>stole</i> something from Uriah. The Bible says that in marriage a husband has authority over the body of his wife (and vice-versa). Obviously David did not have this authority over the body of Bathsheba and he <i>stole</i> from Uriah. Adultery and sexual immorality are <i>theft</i> - taking something that does not belong to us.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This principle is also true regarding pornography and lust. <a onclick="return mV('Lev',18,'all');">Lev 18</a> describes the sin of <i>uncovering the nakedness</i> of those other than our spouse. The idea is that the nakedness of other doesn't belong to us and it is theft if we take it.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'5-6');">5-6</a>) David condemns the cruel man of Nathan's story.</p>
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<p class="c2">So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, <i>"As </i>the <span class="c6">Lord</span> lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">David's anger was greatly aroused</span></b>: Nathan did not ask David for a judicial decision, and David naturally assumed the story was true. David immediately passed sentence on the guilty man of Nathan's story. David shows that we often try to rid our guilty consciences by passing judgment on someone else.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">The man who has done this shall surely die!</span></b> David’s sense of righteous indignation was so affected by his own guilt that he commanded a death sentence for the hypothetical case brought by Nathan, even though it wasn’t a capital crime.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. David had to condemn his own sin before he could find forgiveness. We often try to find refuge in excusing or minimizing or deflecting the blame of our sin and we do not simply condemn sin in our self.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. David's use of the oath "<b><span class="c3">As the Lord lives</span></b>" shows how passionate his indignation is. He calls God to witness the righteousness of his death sentence upon Nathan's hypothetical rich man.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">He shall restore fourfold for the lamb</span></b>: David rightly knew that penalizing the rich man - even with death - wasn't enough. He also had to <b><span class="c3">restore</span></b> something to the man he took something from. David knew that true repentance means restitution.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Restore fourfold</span></b> also shows that David's sin and hardness of heart did not diminish his <i>knowledge</i> of the Bible. He immediately knew what the Bible said about those who steal sheep: <i>If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Exd',22,1);">Exd 22:1</a>). David knew the words of the Bible but was distant from the Author.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Because he had no pity</span></b>: The idea is that the man <i>should</i> have had pity on his neighbor and did not. In the same way David <i>should</i> have had pity on Uriah and Bathsheba's father and grandfather.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'7-9');">7-9</a>) Nathan’s confrontation.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then Nathan said to David, "You <i>are </i>the man! Thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span> God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if <i>that had been </i>too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife <i>to be </i>your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.' "</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">You are the man</span></b>: With this, Nathan applied the parable with alarming simplicity. Nathan had to shock David into seeing his sin for what it was. "This was downright plain dealing indeed." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Shocked, but not frightened: "You cannot frighten men into repentance, you may frighten them into remorse; and the remorse may or may not lead on to repentance." (Maclaren)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "God accuses us and condemns us one by one that He may save us one by one." (Maclaren) A <i>personal</i> salvation requires a <i>personal</i> conviction of sin. It wasn't enough for David to confess that he was a sinner in a general sense; he had to confess his sin at this very point. </p>
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<p class="c5">iii. In this sense, the confession of our sin needs to be specific. J. Edwin Orr tells of a time of revival in Brazil when a lady stood in a crowded church and said, “Please pray for me. I need to love people more.” The leader gently told her, “That is not confession, sister. Anyone could have said it.” Later in the service the woman stood again and said, “Please pray for me. What I should have said is that my tongue has caused a lot of trouble in this church.” Her pastor whispered to the leader, “Now she’s talking.”</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. It costs nothing to say, “I’m not everything I should be” or “I ought to be a better Christian.” It does cost something to say, “I have been a trouble-maker in this church” or “I have had bitterness towards certain leaders, to whom I apologize right now.”</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I anointed you . . . I delivered you . . . I gave you . . . and gave you the house of Israel and Judah . . . I also would have given you much more</span></b>: Through Nathan, God explains to David that his sin was really a base expression of <i>ingratitude</i>. When God gave all this to David and had so much more to give him, David sought out sin instead.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight?</span></b> In <a onclick="return mV('Psa',19,8);">Psa 19:8</a>, David said: <i>The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes</i>. Yet by his sin he <b><span class="c3">despised the commandment of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>. David acted as if God's command was wrong and to be <b><span class="c3">despised</span></b> when he did <b><span class="c3">evil in His sight</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">You have killed Uriah . . . you have taken his wife</span></b>: This is all another way of saying, "<b><span class="c3">You are the man!</span></b>" God won't allow David to blame anyone or anything else.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,10);">10</a>) David’s punishment.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The sword shall never depart from your house</span></b>: God promised that from this day forward David would know violence and bloodshed among his own family members.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. David demanded fourfold restitution for the man in Nathan’s parable. God exacted fourfold restitution for Uriah from four of David’s sons: Bathsheba's child, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Because you have despised Me</span></b>: In <a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,9);">2Sa 12:9</a> God said that David <i>despised the commandment of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i>. Here Nathan explained that in doing this, David <b><span class="c3">despised</span></b> God Himself. We can't despise God's commandments without despising Him.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many who live in either open or hidden sin seem to believe it has no effect or little effect on their relationship with God. But despising God's commandment means despising God Himself, and we can't have fellowship with God and despise Him at the same time. <i>If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',1,6);">1Jo 1:6</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The wife of Uriah the Hittite</span></b>: God didn't even use Bathsheba's own name. He wanted David to consider Bathsheba not only as an individual but as <b><span class="c3">the wife of Uriah the Hittite</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'11-12');">11-12</a>) Adversity against David.</p>
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<p class="c2">"Thus says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give <i>them </i>to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did <i>it </i>secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.'"</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I will raise up adversity against you from your own house</span></b>: The Living Bible translates <b><span class="c3">adversity</span></b> as "rebellion." God warns David that because he troubled another man's house, God will allow trouble to come upon David's house - from within the house.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor</span></b>: As David violated another man’s wife, so another will violate his wives. This was fulfilled in <a onclick="return mV('2Sa',16,'21-22');">2Sa 16:21-22</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Absalom abused his father's concubines on the house-top: and haply on that same terrace from whence he first looked, liked, and lusted after Bath-sheba." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">You did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel</span></b>: In these judgments, David will reap what he has sown - with interest.</p>
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<p>B. David’s repentance; the death of his newborn son.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,13);">13a</a>) David’s repentance.</p>
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<p class="c2">So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">I have sinned against the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: David’s confession is an example for each of us. He placed the blame squarely on his own shoulders. He did not minimize his offence. David realized that he especially sinned against God.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. In the original Hebrew, David’s statement <i>I have sinned against the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i> amounts to only two words: <i>hata al-Yahweh</i>. These two words, and the heart they reflect, show the fundamental difference between David and Saul. Confession doesn't need to be long to be real and sincere. "The greatest griefs are not always the most verbal. Saul confessed his sin more largely, but less effectually." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "The words are very few, but that is a good sign of a thoroughly broken spirit. There is no excuse, no hiding, no concealment of the sin. There is no searching for a loophole, no pretext put forward, no human weakness pleaded. He acknowledged his guilt openly, candidly and without any denial of truth." (Keil and Delitzsch)</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. This was an exceptionally good response from a man of David's standing in life. When confronted with sin, kings often say, "Off with their head." David shows that God was working on his heart all along, and Nathan's confrontation was just the last piece of that work.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. "In all this David was pre-eminently revealed as a man after God's own heart. Other men who had been guilty of such failure might have defended their actions, might have slain the prophet. Not so with this man. He knew God, and he knew the wrong of his action, and he confessed his sin." (Morgan)</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I</span></b>: David speaks of <i>himself</i>. It isn't "we" though it was true that he was not the only sinner. Yet David knew that he had to deal with <i>his</i> sin. David shows <i>personal responsibility</i> for his sin.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Have sinned</span></b>: David doesn't use elaborate or soft vocabulary. He <b><span class="c3">sinned</span></b>. It wasn't a <i>mistake</i>, an <i>error</i>, a <i>mess-up</i>, an <i>indiscretion</i>, or a <i>problem</i>.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Against the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: This expressed the <i>enormity</i> of David's sin. His sin against Bathsheba, against Uriah, against Ahithophel, against his wives and children, and against the nation were great. But his sin <b><span class="c3">against the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b> was greatest of all. There are no small sins against a great God, and great sins are even greater.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">I have sinned against the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: After meditation, David more eloquently expressed his repentance in <a onclick="return mV('Psa',51,'all');">Psa 51</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <i>Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. . . . For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and broken and contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',51,'1-4');">Psa 51:1-4</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Psa',51,'16-17');">16-17</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. David’s awareness of sin, desire for cleansing, recognition of God’s righteous judgment, and understanding of what God wants are each clear in <a onclick="return mV('Psa',51,'all');">Psa 51</a>.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'13-14');">13b-14</a>) Forgiveness and the immediate consequences of David's sin.</p>
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<p class="c2">And Nathan said to David, "The <span class="c6">Lord</span> also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> to blaspheme, the child also <i>who is </i>born to you shall surely die."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> also has put away your sin</span></b>: God's forgiveness was <i>immediate</i>. God did not demand a time of probation. <b><span class="c3">You shall not die</span></b> meant that David would be spared the penalty for adultery commanded under the Law of Moses.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It was because David believed the word, <i>You are the man!</i> That he could also believe the word, <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> also has put away your sin; you shall not die</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">You have given great occasion to the enemies of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> to blaspheme</span></b>: David did this by doing just what those <b><span class="c3">enemies of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b> would do in the same situation. What David did was not unusual among the kings and rulers of the world, but it should be unusual among God's people.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "Hitherto all the king's care had been to conceal his sin from the world, - which yet he could not do with all his skill, for the enemies had got it by the end." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The child who is born to you shall surely die</span></b>: There is a difference in judgment <i>for</i> sin and judgment <i>by</i> sin. God forgave David's sin, but He would not shield him from every consequence of the sin. David must face the consequences of his sin, beginning with the death of the child born by Bathsheba.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This shows that God didn't only want to heal David of the <i>guilt</i> of his sin; He also wanted to heal David of the <i>presence</i> of this sin. We never read of David committing adultery again because God used these chastisements to drive such impurities far from David.</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>ii. "Long before his sin with Bathsheba, there were various indications as to David’s special liability to temptation. That sin only threw out upon the surface the evil that was always within him; and now God, having is him see that the deadly cancer is there, begins to use the knife to cut it out of him." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'15-23');">15-23</a>) The death of David's son.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then Nathan departed to his house. And the <span class="c6">Lord</span> struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose <i>and went </i>to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!" When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead." So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, "What <i>is </i>this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child <i>while he was </i>alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food." And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell <i>whether </i>the <span class="c6">Lord</span> will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> struck the child</span></b>: This is hard for many to accept. Sadly, often the innocent are made to suffer because of the sin of the guilty. Since the sickness came immediately after the words of Nathan the prophet, it was received as from the hand of God.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "The biblical writer does not hesitate to attributed directly to the Lord the sickness of this child, in accordance with the prophet’s word." (Baldwin)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. This was far more tragic for David and Bathsheba than it was for the child himself. Their young son suffered for several days and we may trust that God's comfort was extended to the child in the midst of suffering. At the end of his suffering the child went to eternal glory. Though the child died, the chastisement was really upon David and Bathsheba and not upon the child.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "God's mercy to his erring and repentant children will be shown in converting the results of their sin into the fires of their purification." (Meyer)</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. This illustrates an important principle: <i>even when sin is forgiven a price must be paid</i>. God does not simply pass over or excuse our sin. It is forgiven and a price is paid. Often <i>an innocent party</i> pays the price for forgiveness.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">That Uriah's wife bore to David</span></b>: Though Uriah was dead and David was legally married to Bathsheba, the Biblical writer can't help but refer to Bathsheba as <b><span class="c3">Uriah's wife</span></b>. This is because when the child was conceived Uriah was alive and Bathsheba was <b><span class="c3">Uriah's wife</span></b>. It is God's way of saying, "Uriah's death and the subsequent marriage <i>doesn't</i> make everything alright."</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">David therefore pleaded with God for the child</span></b>: David is right to take the announcement and presence of God’s judgment as an invitation to earnestly seek His mercy. When God's judgment is announced or present, we shouldn't receive it passively or fatalistically. We should cry out to God in repentance and ask for His grace and mercy, realizing we deserve none of it.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">David fasted . . . the child died</span></b>: This shows that extraordinary prayer and fasting does not change God's mind. It put David in the right place to receive what he must from God but it did not "force" God to change His plan.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Extraordinary prayer and fasting are not tools to get whatever we want from God. They are demonstrations of radical submission and surrender to God's power and will. </p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">He went into the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and worshiped</span></b>: This shows that David's extraordinary prayer and fasting were answered. He had a sense of peace when the child died, knowing he did all he could to seek God's mercy in a time of chastisement.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The ability to worship and honor God in a time of trial or crisis is a wonderful demonstration of spiritual confidence.</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me</span></b>: David was confident that his son would meet him in heaven. This is an indication that babies and perhaps children who pass from this world to the next will go to heaven.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',7,14);">1Cr 7:14</a> is an additional promise of assurance that the children of believers are saved, at least until they come to an age of personal accountability (which may differ for each child).<span> </span>However, we have no similar <i>promise</i> for the children of parents who are not Christians.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. If the children of non-Christian parents are saved, and do go to heaven – even some of them – it is important to understand that it is not because they are <i>innocent</i>.<span> </span>As sons and daughters of guilty Adam, we are also born guilty.<span> </span>If such children go to heaven, it is not because they are innocent and <i>deserve</i> heaven, but because the rich mercy of God has been extended to them also.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'24-25');">24-25</a>) God extends His mercy to David and Bathsheba.</p>
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<p class="c2">Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the <span class="c6">Lord</span> loved him, and He sent <i>word </i>by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">David comforted Bathsheba his wife</span></b>: This is the first time the Biblical writer calls this woman <b><span class="c3">Bathsheba</span></b> except for the mere reporting of her name in <a onclick="return mV('2Sa',11,3);">2Sa 11:3</a>. Each time before this she is called <i>the wife of Uriah</i>. Only now, after the chastisement for sin, is she called <b><span class="c3">Bathsheba his wife</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Went in to her and lay with her</span></b>: This shows that God did not command that David forsake or leave Bathsheba, even though his marriage to her was originally sinful. He was to honor God in the marriage commitment he made, even though it began in sin.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Paul commands the same principle in <a onclick="return mV('1Cr',7,17);">1Cr 7:17</a>: <i>As the Lord has called each one, so let him walk</i>. In part, this principle in context warns us against trying to undo the past in regard to relationships. God tells us to repent of whatever sin is there and then to move on. If you are married to your second wife, after wrongfully divorcing your first wife, and become a Christian, don’t think you must now leave your second wife and go back to your first wife, trying to undo the past. As the Lord has called you walk in that place right now.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">So she bore a son . . . the <span class="c6">Lord</span> loved him</span></b>: This shows the great forgiveness and tenderness of God. He did not hold a grudge against David and Bathsheba. The days of blessing and fruitfulness were not over for David.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "David's best sons came of Bath-sheba; because they were the fruit of their humiliation." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">He called his name Solomon</span></b>: Remarkably it is <i>this son</i> - the son born out of a marriage that began in adultery - that will be heir to David's throne. God chose this son among David's many sons to be heir to the throne and the ancestor of the Messiah to demonstrate the truth that <i>God forgives repentant sinners.</i></p>
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<p class="c5">i. People may not forgive; we may refuse to really believe that we are forgiven. But God forgives repentant sinners.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">So he called his name Jedidiah</span></b>: The name <b><span class="c3">Jedidiah</span></b> means, "loved of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>." It was God's way of saying that He would love and bless this son of David and Bathsheba.</p>
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<p>C. David’s victory at Rabbah.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'26-28');">26-28</a>) Joab fights against Rabbah.</p>
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<p class="c2">Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city's water <i>supply.</i> Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name." </p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Joab fought against Rabbah and the people of Ammon, and took the royal city</span></b>: This continues the war that began in <a onclick="return mV('2Sa',10,'all');">2Sa 10</a>. Joab was about to complete the defeat of the Ammonites.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Lest I take the city and it be called after my name</span></b>: Joab goads David into returning to battle by saying, "I'll take all the credit to myself if you don't come and finish this war."</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Joab struggled for more than a year to conquer Rabbah, and the victory only came when David got things right with God. There was an unseen spiritual reason behind the lack of victory at Rabbah. </p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "David's sin at home had hindered Joab's good success abroad, and retarded the conquest of this city Rabbah, which now is ready to be taken, that David reconciled to God may have the honour of it." (Trapp)</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Sa',12,'29-31');">29-31</a>) David captures the city, takes the spoil, and sets the people to forced labor.</p>
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<p class="c2">So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. Then he took their king's crown from his head. Its weight <i>was </i>a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was <i>set </i>on David's head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance. And he brought out the people who <i>were </i>in it, and put <i>them to work </i>with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah</span></b>: This is the final phase of David's restoration. He went back to doing what he should have done all along - leading Israel out to battle, instead of remaining in Jerusalem.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Fought against it, and took it</span></b>: David is in victory once again. His sin did not condemn him to a life of failure and defeat. There was chastisement for David's sin, but it did not mean that his life was ruined.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">He took their king's crown . . . it was set on David's head</span></b>: David's sin didn't take away his crown. Had David refused the voice of Nathan the Prophet it might have. Because David responded with confession and repentance, there was sill a crown for <b><span class="c3">David's head</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "David’s fall should put those who have not fallen on their guard, and save from despair those who have." (Augustine)</p>
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