2 Samuel 12

2 Samuel 12

Maclaren points out, “To many sin-tortured soul since then, the two psalm, Psalm 51 and 32, all blotted with tears in which he has sobbed his penitence, have been as footsteps in a great and terrible wilderness. There are evidently ten years between the Bathsheba incident and Absalom’s revolt. It is not probably that many psalms were made in these dreary days but the 41st and 55th are with reasonably probability referred to this period by many commentators.” God’s wheels grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine. NET NOTE - A few medieval Hebrew MSS, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta add “the prophet.” The words are included in a few modern English version (e.g., TEV, CEV, NLT). We know that between the end of chapter 11 and the beginning of chapter 12 there was a period of months, most authorities putting it somewhere between 6 and 12 months (based primarily on the information that the child was not born - 2Sa 12:14). The main point is not the specific time but the fact that time did elapse in which there was no apparent repercussions for David's sin. And so between 2Sa 11:27 and 2Sa 12:1 there is a gap of around twelve months, during which there is no mention of David’s sin by himself, by God or by anyone else. During this time of cover-up David's conscience was dulled by his disobedience. God's Words were most likely not sweet to his taste. His joy is gone. His song is gone (no record of any psalms penned). His harp is out of tune. His soul is dry (Psalm 32:3, 4). THOUGHT- Beloved, if any of the preceding "symptoms" describe you, then perhaps you have an unconfessed sin or sins you are futilely seeking to cover over. If so, this proverb is written especially for you... He who conceals (covers over so as to keep secret) his transgressions will not prosper (Be profitable, succeed - The one who is concealing his sin shall not experience victory from the Lord, experience spiritual prosperity, thrive spiritually, accomplish satisfactorily what God intended.), But he who confesses and forsakes (abandons, departs from, leaves behind) them will find compassion. (Pr 28:13+) No action, whether foul or fair, Is ever done, but it leaves somewhere A record written by fingers ghostly, As a blessing or a curse, and mostly In the greater weakness or greater strength Of the acts which follow it. -Longfellow Illustration: In a conservative southern church, the pastor's wife found pornography on her husband's computer. After confronting him with the evidence, he admitted downloading the images off the internet, even using the computer in his study which was located in the church itself. Somehow he had separated his ongoing sexual sin from his responsibilities and duties as a man of God. Illustration: In an August 2000 poll conducted by Christianity Today on internet pornography, 33% of active ministers admitted having visited porn sites. Over half of those ministers said that they had visited those sites more than once. A total of 18 percent of clergy said they visit sexually explicit Web sites between a couple of times a month and more than once a week. This poll includes many liberal and 'mainstream' ministers, but it would be very naive to think that porn was not a problem for some bible-believing ministers. Illustration: In another Bible-believing church not far from my home, a Christian businessman sought investment capital from other Christian individuals and businesses. He promised to invest the money in new Christian enterprises and promised a high rate of return on their money. Alas, however, there was no new enterprise, and there was no return on their money. He had embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from his fellow Christians. He was charged by civil authorities and jailed. The unbelieving world had another excuse to demean biblical Christianity. Illustration: A nice Christian family joined the church by letter from another city. Brad and Susan had four wonderful little boys ranging in age from two years up to ten years. Susan had a beautiful voice and sang specials in the church. Brad was a bible teacher and had taught Sunday school at their former church. But Brad and Susan had a terrible secret. He had a terrible temper that caused him to abuse Susan both physically and emotionally. No one in the church had any idea until she took her boys and left to return to her hometown. Brad followed her back and tried to reconcile with her. But his secret was now public and there was no turning back. Spurgeon "You say that you can handle your secret sins, that there is no one hurt by them. But you may as well ask the lion to let you put your head into his mouth. You cannot regulate his jaws: neither can you regulate sin. Once done, you cannot tell when you will be destroyed. You may put your head in and out a great many times; but one of these days it will be a costly venture. " THOUGHT - Christian friend, go not continue to hide your sin. Don't harbor that sin, buried deep in the tent floor of your heart (cp Achan's attempt Joshua 7:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26+). The danger is that like Achan, your hidden sin will affect your family, your home, your spiritual inheritance, and your purpose in life. There is no sin worthy of separating us from our Father. It is not necessary to confess your secret sins to everyone, for it is none of their business. Do business with God. Repent and let God restore you to fellowship. Don't sweep sin under the rug, but place it under the blood! The sins that would entangle us Must never be ignored; For if we try to cover them They'll pierce us like a sword. And he came to him and said - Nathan obeys the Spirit's prompting and comes to David and is faithful to speak as God's prophet, speaking boldly and without fear of reprisal from the most powerful man in the country (and probably in the world at that time), who could have easily called for his execution. Nathan was fearless and clearly Spirit empowered! Instead David even named a son after Nathan (1Ch 3:5; Lk 3:31). "Though God may suffer His people to fall into sin, He will not suffer His people to lie still in it." -- Matthew Henry There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor - Nathan begins speaking the words God has given him in the form of a parable that is easy to understand and will grab David's attention. The story draws David in completely and probably resulted in David letting down his defenses. David was in charge of dispensing justice and God was especially protective of the poor (Ex 23:6; Lev 19:15; Pr. 31:9; Is 3:14; et al).. So he easily gives himself over fully to Nathan's story, undoubtedly thinking that this will be a situation that calls for kingly intervention! Yes, he was correct, the the intervention would be in the life of the king himself! TSK Note - 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. Psalm 32+ helps us set the context for Nathan's visit to David... 1 A Psalm of David. A >Maskil. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. Swindoll - In his splendid book, Guilt and Grace (page 96 - "false guilt"), Paul Tournier, the brilliant Swiss writer, physician, and psychiatrist, talks about two kinds of guilt: true guilt and false guilt. False guilt, says Tournier, is brought on by the judgments and suggestions of man. True guilt comes from willfully and knowingly disobeying God. Obviously, David is enduring true guilt. Someone has described the way people handle guilt by using the picture of the warning light on the dashboard of the car. As you’re driving along, the red light flashes on, saying, “Take notice! There’s trouble under the hood.” At that moment, you have a choice. You can stop, get out of the car, open the hood, and see what’s wrong. Or, you can carry a small hammer in the glove compartment, and when the red light turns on, you can knock it out with the hammer and keep on driving. No one will know the difference for a while—until you burn up the car. And then you look back and realize what a stupid decision it was to break out the light on the dashboard. Some Christians carry imaginary hammers in the glove compartment of their conscience. When the light of true guilt begins to flash, they bring out the hammer and knock out the light. They call it false guilt or they say it’s just what everybody else is doing and on and on and on. But all the while their internal motor is burning up. Then, somewhere down the road, they look back and realize what a foolish decision it was not to stop, look deeper, and come to terms with what was wrong. David says, “When I lived in the true guilt of my soul, I could not stay silent down inside. As a matter of fact, I groaned all day.” Now you know what that means. “There was this awful oppression, this misery of conscience. Day and night I felt the heavy hand of God on me. It was like running a fever. I couldn’t lift my head. I couldn’t handle the pressures of my work. I couldn’t cope. I was sick. My body wasted away.” (Borrow David Man of Passion and Destiny - page 92) R G Lee in his famous sermon Payday Someday spoke of the consequences of sin..."Payday Someday!" God said it -- and it was done! Yes, and from this we learn the power and certainty of God in carrying out His own retributive providence, that men might know that His justice slumbereth not. Even though the mill of God grinds slowly, it grinds to powder. Yes, the judgments of God often have leaden heels and travel slowly. But they always have iron hands and crush completely. And yet the retributive side of God is more than balanced by the restorative side of our Great and Merciful Lord. As verification of this hope filled truth, we do well to remember that the events of this chapter inspired David to pen one of his most famous songs, Psalm 51... (For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him,) (after he had gone in to Bathsheba.) Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. (Psalm 51:1+) THOUGHT - Beloved of the Lord, do you feel like you have sinned so greatly against God that He could never use you in His kingdom work? This beautiful psalm in itself provides encouraging proof that God can restore and revive and use a repentant sinner. He will not despise your broken spirit, your broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:17+), but will renew a steadfast spirit in you, will not cast you away from His presence, will restore the joy of your salvation and will sustain you with a steadfast spirit, (Ps 51:10, Ps 51:11, Ps 51:12). Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus! Amen One other indication of God's willingness to use a repentant sinner is the fact that David and Bathsheba's union was blessed with the birth of the next king of Israel (Solomon) and Israel's victory over Rabbah which had been under siege for the period of David's cover-up! David's confession allowed God to bless him so that he was able to win the victory that could not be won while he had unconfessed sin! This begs the question dear reader - Is there some spiritual battle you are involved in which you are not seeing victory? If so you might want to pray Ps 139:23-24+, asking God's Spirit to reveal any sin you have been covering up. This might be the road to victory in the spiritual battle in which you are engaged! James Smith - Handfuls of Purpose - DAVID’S FALL AND FORGIVENESS 2 Samuel 12:1–14 “The spark, self-kindled from within, Which, blown upon, will blind thee with its glare, Or smothered, stifle thee with noisome air.” —COLERIDGE. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10–12). Backsliding never begins with an overt act of guilt, but in the secret thought of the heart. “Thou hast left thy first love, therefore thou art fallen” (Rev. 2:4–6). Christians may fall out of fellowship with God, although they may not fall out of their relationship as children, any more than the prodigal in Luke 15 could fall from his sonship. There was a vast difference in results between the fall of Saul and that of David, or between the denial of Peter and that of Judas. I. The Nature of it. David was guilty of adultery and murder (chap. 11). The killing of Uriah was a subtle device to cover the shame of his sin with Bathsheba. Oh, into what depths a child of God may fall in one unguarded moment! Here note the faithfulness of the Bible in exposing the faults and failings of its heroes. David is not the only holy man that has been dragged into the mire of sin through the influence of a look (chap. 11:2). Eve saw before she took the forbidden fruit. Lot’s backsliding began when he “looked toward Sodom,” and a look was the ruin of his wife. The first step that led to the destruction of the old world was taken when the “Sons of God looked on the daughters of men” (Gen. 6). The words of Christ are very searching in this connection (see Matt. 5:28). As we stand in the glare of this searchlight from Heaven, who will be the first to cast a stone at David? II. The Fruit of it. “By this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme; the child also shall surely die” (v. 14). The marrying of Bathsheba before the child was born did not cover the guilt of his sin in the sight of God (chap. 11:27). How sad when the behaviour of a professed servant of God fills the mouths of His enemies with arguments against Him and His cause! The misdeeds of Christians gives the enemy occasion to say things that blaspheme His Holy Name. Has He not said that “the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes” (Ezek. 36:23; see also Rom. 2:24). III. The Conviction of it. “Thou art the man” (v. 7). This arrow was not shot at random. Those who are living in sin are not to be convicted with a mere hint, they have to be “pierced in the heart” (Acts 2:37). As Christ was pierced for our sins, so must we be pierced with conviction. David’s secret sin was naked before God. Like the sin of Cain and Achan, no human device could cover it. The message sent by Nathan was singularly apt, as God’s messages always are; and like Latimer and Knox, he feared not the royal wrath. When a man has a message from God his manner will be bold and his speech unequivocal. Was it not thus with Jesus Christ? IV. The Confession of it. “David said, I have sinned against the Lord” (v. 13). He makes no excuse, he mentions no extenuating circumstances, he blames no one for betraying his secret to the prophet. He is too deeply wounded to offer any resistance. He does not say, I have sinned against Uriah, but I have sinned against the Lord. When a man has discovered that he has “sinned against Heaven” (Luke 15:18), he will cease justifying himself (Psa. 51:4). When the wife of John Brown, the martyr; asked the murderer Claverhouse how he would answer for this day’s work, he sneeringly replied, “As for man, I will answer to him; as for God, I will take Him into my own hands.” A dead conscience makes a man as arrogant as Satan himself. Job said, “Because I am vile, what shall I answer Thee?” (chap. 40:4). “God be merciful to me a sinner” is the incense that rises from the live coals of a burning conviction (Luke 18:13). V. The Forgiveness of it. “Nathan said, The Lord hath put away thy sin” (v. 13). It is still true that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us” (1 John 1:9). How sweetly David sings of this abounding mercy of God in the thirty-second Psalm. The prophet Micah exults in the same joyful note. “Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity” (Micah 7:18). 1. IT WAS IMMEDIATE. As soon as confession was made, so soon was his pardon declared. Behold in this the readiness of God to bless, as soon as the heart of man is in a right state to receive it. 2. IT WAS COMPLETE. “The Lord hath put away thy sin.” Who shall ever find what God hath put away? God never upbraids, where there is honest confession, but by the power of His omnipotent grace, He sweeps the hell-born thing for ever from before His face. “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). 3. IT WAS ACCOMPANIED WITH PROMISE. “Thou shalt not die.” The forgiveness of God is associated with the promise of life (Acts 13:38, 39; Eph. 1:6, 7; John 5:24). He forgives, then He assures the forgiven one with His Word. Although we should never hear a voice, as it were from Heaven, saying to us as it said to John Bunyan, “Will you have your sins and go to Hell, or forsake them and go to Heaven.” Yet are we not justified until we confess our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Howard Vos points out, “The recounting of the sins of saints of old and David in this case had as its purpose the provision of numerous lessons for believers of subsequent ages: (Borrow 1, 2 Samuel : Bible study commentary) 1. David apparently thought he could live like other kings in his disregard for the law of God, but he could not; just so other believers are not above God’s law and can expect to be judged for the infractions of it. 2. David found that it was foolish to try to cover up sin. By trying to do so, he just got deeper into trouble. 3. Sin not only separates a person from God, but it also besmirches his reputation and that of God and produces evil effects on other persons, organizations and institutions. Forgiveness restores the individual’s fellowship with God, but the effects of sin still remain. Such a fact should offer a deterrent o the rash acts of believers. 4. David’s capitulation to temptation raises the questions of how to avoid such a catastrophe. Two suggestions are especially important (1) Sometimes by an act of the will one deliberately had to flee a variety of compromising situations. (2) One reason why David sinned, the same reason why some modern believers sin, is because of too many idle moments Phil Newton asked What had changed with David? 1. David had not acknowledged the seriousness of sin Here was a man whose conscience was sensitive to snipping off the corner of Saul's robe and getting water at the risk of his men's lives at Bethlehem. 2. David was dulled to his own spiritual condition His sin had seared his conscience. Rough calluses developed over his heart. He was deceiving himself. 3. David seemingly thought that lack of discovery meant that no harm would be done 4. David took for granted the tender fellowship and joy he had known before the Lord 5. David ignored the reality that we do not sin in isolation; others are affected 6. David played loosely with the honor and glory of God (2Sa 12:14) Sometimes a story can harass our thoughts and emotions and imaginations. (2 Samuel 12 You Are the Man!) QUESTION - Who was Nathan in the Bible? ANSWER - Nathan was a prophet in the Bible who lived during the reign of King David in Israel. God spoke to David through Nathan on several occasions. Nathan was a member of David’s royal court and one of his closest advisers. Nathan apparently also knew Bathsheba well enough to speak to her about Adonijah’s attempt to usurp David’s throne from her son, Solomon (1 Kings 1:11) and to enlist her help in bringing the matter to the king. There are three or four stories in the Bible featuring Nathan that occurred during some of the darkest and most emotional times in David’s life. The first mention of Nathan establishes his relationship with David as a trusted adviser. David decides to build God a house, because the king is living in a beautiful cedar palace and thinks it wrong that the Ark of the Covenant should be housed in a lowly tent (the tabernacle). David tells Nathan about his plans to build a house for God, and Nathan says he should go ahead and do it because the Lord is with him (2 Samuel 7:2–3). Then God visits Nathan in a vision and tells him to return to David and inform him that God doesn’t need the king to build him a house; rather, God would establish David’s dynasty, through his son, forever. His son Solomon would be the one to build God’s house (2 Samuel 7:4–17). Nathan relays this important message to the king, and David utters a grateful and beautiful prayer to God for His grace (2 Samuel 7:18–29). The next time Nathan is mentioned, it is after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and brought about her husband’s death to hide her pregnancy (2 Samuel 12:1). At that point, David had made Bathsheba his wife and had seemingly gotten away with his sin, but the Lord knew about it and told Nathan to rebuke David. Nathan went to David and wisely told the king a fable about a rich man and a poor man: the rich man was visited by a traveler, so he took the poor man’s only possession, a little ewe lamb that he loved as a pet, to feed his guest—rather than taking a lamb from his own extensive flocks. David was enraged at the story and declared that the rich man had no pity and deserved to die. Nathan then points to David and says, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7). Nathan reveals that David’s sin was like that of the rich man, because David took away Uriah’s wife. Nathan then prophesies to David, in God’s own words: “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 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” (2 Samuel 12:7–10). David confesses to Nathan that he has sinned against the Lord, and Nathan comforts him, saying that the Lord has forgiven his sin and that David’s life will not be required of him. Nonetheless, David’s child by Bathsheba was to die. David, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, pens Psalm 51 after this encounter with Nathan the prophet. After the death of David’s child, his wife Bathsheba became pregnant again, this time with a son whom they named Solomon. The Lord sent Nathan to David again, this time to say that the Lord loved his son Solomon, and they called Solomon “Jedidiah,” a name that means “beloved of the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:24–25). Solomon later built God’s house, the temple, and became an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. First Chronicles 3:5 reveals the fact that King David and Queen Bathsheba named one of their sons born to them in Jerusalem “Nathan.” No doubt, the child’s name is a reflection of the royal couple’s appreciation for the prophet Nathan’s faithfulness, friendship, and tough love through the years.GotQuestions.org Sowing and Reaping by Theodore Epp 2 Samuel 12:1-10 David's harshness and lack of pity were due to his being out of touch with God. No wonder he failed to remember the judgment prescribed by the Law. At this point the Holy Spirit gave Nathan boldness to say to David, "Thou art the man" (2 Sam. 12:7). Through Nathan, the Lord reminded David of His sovereign choice of David, of His protection of him through the years of Saul's bitter enmity, of his elevation to the throne and of the abundance of God's provision for him. In spite of God's mercies, David had despised God's commandment. God hid nothing from His servant. David was forced to face his sin. Nathan's message to David not only reminded him of God's tender mercy, love, abundant gifts and honor but also warned David that, because he had sinned, he would reap a harvest of sorrow. "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife" (2Sa 12:10). The Lord made it very plain in the New Testament that believers cannot escape reaping the kind of harvest they sow. We cannot hide our sin; we will not get away with it. The secrets of the night are not hidden from God. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7+). 2 Samuel 12:2 "The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. great many: 2Sa 12:8 3:2-5 5:13-16 15:16 Job 1:3 2 Samuel 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries STORY OF A RICH RANCHER The rich man had a great many flocks and herds - Of course we, the readers, have inside information and know that the rich man with many flocks is King David (See table below) 2 Samuel 12:3 "But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him. one little: 2Sa 11:3 Pr 5:18,19 lie in his bosom: De 13:6 Mic 7:5 2 Samuel 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE POOR MAN ENTERS THE SCENE But - Term of contrast - Nathan draws a strong contrast between the rich man (great many flocks) and the poor man (one little ewe lamb) to heighten David's interest, his sense of justice and ultimately his sense of conviction of sin once Nathan clarified that David was the rich man in verse 7! Thomas Stone writes glowingly of Nathan's modus operandi of indirectly drawing out David's conscience and sense of right and wrong "There scarcely ever was any thing more calculated, on the one hand, to awaken emotions of sympathy, and, on the other, those of indignation, than the case here supposed; and the several circumstances by which the heart must be interested in the poor man’s case, and by which the unfeeling oppression of his rich neighbour was aggravated." the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him - As informed readers we know that the poor man is Uriah the Hittite who had one wife whom he loved dearly. Pulpit Commentary - The Orientals are excessively fond of pet animals, and, as the dog is with them unclean, its place is taken by fawns, kids, or lambs. The description, therefore, is not overcharged, for in many an English home the dog or cat takes its place as one of the family. The Revised Version preserves the tenderness of the original in translating “it did eat of his own morsel.” NET NOTE - The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical. Like a daughter to him - The point is the lamb was like a daughter even as Bathsheba was Ahithophel's precious daughter. As David sowed evil by taking someone's daughter, so too he would reap in kind as his own precious daughter Tamar was coveted and her virginity stolen David's son Amnon. David had sown the seed of lust in the form of adultery but would reap the bitter harvest of incestuous rape! Beloved, let us not read over this too quickly. May God the Holy Spirit penetrate our head and heart with the truths of the rotten fruit of forsaking God's way for our wants, lest we too might come to crave evil things as David craved (cp 1Co 10:6, 11+). 2 Samuel 12:4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Now a traveler came to the rich man: Ge 18:2-7 Jas 1:14 took the: 2Sa 11:3,4 2 Samuel 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries RICH MAN (DAVID) TAKES FROM THE POOR MAN (URIAH) Now a traveler came to the rich man - While one must be careful going beyond the limits of Scripture, in the context of David's sin, this traveler would correlate well with the lust that visited David the night he first spied Bathsheba. Henri Rossier agrees that the traveler's name is "Lust" writing "Let us watch out for this sort of traveler, for we are all prone to be visited by him. Certainly when he appears it is better to close the door against him. This wayfarer is lust, a passing desire, and not one that we habitually entertain and feed. This wayfarer had entered the king's house, knowing he would find something to feed on there. Our hearts too ever contain that which it takes to succumb to Satan's temptations (Jer 17:9, 10). David forgot to depend on God and thought he could relax instead of serving and fighting. This was enough to allow the traveler to open the door and let himself in and to mark his visit with disorder and ruin. (2 Samuel) Wiersbe agrees writing "David didn’t seem to realize that he was the rich man, Uriah was the poor man, and Bathsheba was the ewe lamb he had stolen. The “traveler” whom the rich man fed represents the temptation and lust that visited David on the roof and then controlled him. If we open the door, sin comes in as a guest but soon becomes the master. (See Ge 4:6, 7+) (Borrow Be restored -2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles) Pink agrees that the "traveler which came to him pictures the restless flesh, the active lusts, the wandering thoughts, the roving eyes of David in connection with Bathsheba." Ah, my reader, it is at this point we most need to be upon our guard. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23+). Part of that task lies in regulating our thoughts and repelling unlawful imaginations. True it is that we cannot prevent wandering thoughts from entering our minds nor evil imaginations from surging up within us, but we are responsible to resist and reject them. But this is what David failed to do: he welcomed this "traveller," he entertained him, he feasted him, and feasted him upon that which was not lawful—with that which belonged to another: pictured in the parable by the lamb belonging to his neighbor. And, my reader, it is when we give place to our sinful lusts, indulge our evil imaginations, feed our wandering thoughts upon that which is unlawful, that we pave the way for a sad fall. "Travellers" will come to us—the mind will be active—and our responsibility is to see that they are fed with that which is lawful: ponder Philippians 4:8+ in this connection. (2 Samuel 12 His Conviction) And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him - The parable is so close to the scenario that played out with David, Bathsheba and Uriah that it is surprising David did not begin to see the picture that Nathan was painting. The taking of the poor man's ewe lamb amounts to stealing which is exactly what David had done to Uriah - he took the wife of Uriah (2Sa 11:4+)! The analogy breaks down of course in that the one that was "sacrificed" was Uriah. David