In His Sight

Think of 2 Samuel 11 and 12 as two portraits hanging side by side in a gallery. The first is a devastating, gut-wrenching portrait of sin, and the second is a breathtaking, soul-stirring portrait of grace. These pictures are so different—why would anyone hang these pictures next to each other? In a strange, beautiful way, they seem to belong together. Sin seems less horrifying without the portrait of grace, and grace seems less glorious without the portrait of sin. So what do we discover as we study these two portraits in David’s life and in our own?

Grace is God pursuing us in the midst of our sin. “And the Lord sent Nathan to David” (2 Samuel 12:1). In chapter 11, all we see is David sending, using, and manipulating people for his own selfish ends. The Lord appears to be absent, and David appears to get away with it. “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Sam. 11:27). When we sin, God’s silence does not mean His absence. He comes after us. He breaks in. He sends someone to bring the word that cuts like a surgeon’s knife to hurt so that it can heal. Do we welcome God’s gracious pursuit? Where would we be if the Lord never interrupted?

Grace is God revealing the depth of our sin to us. “Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in His sight?” (2 Sam. 12:9, 10). In chapter 11, all we see is David doing wrong and trying to cover his tracks. We can’t see his heart, but the Lord does. Of course David has broken the law, but the deeper problem is a broken love. Sin is more than dysfunctional behavior; it is disordered love. When we should be loving God supremely and loving our neighbor as ourselves, we are loving ourselves supremely and harming our neighbor. We are despising the word of the Lord, and therefore we are despising the Lord of the word. If we don’t realize the depth of our problem, we will never appreciate the wonder of God’s remedy. Are we able to say, “I am the man (or woman) who has despised the word of the Lord”? Do we know our sin well enough to know our need for His grace?

Grace is God giving us nothing less than Himself when we deserve nothing less than judgment. In chapter 11, all we see is David playing God and living like the Lord doesn’t exist. With his self-righteous response to Nathan’s story, David effectively condemns himself. “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die” (2 Sam. 12:5). Though we’re inconsistent in applying it, we all have a standard of justice that knows what such treachery deserves. Yet when we deserve nothing less than judgment, God gives us nothing less than Himself. How can this be? That must’ve been David’s question, and it should be ours. How can we, who have done what is evil in God’s sight, somehow become righteous in His sight? Ultimately, the only answer is the cross of Jesus Christ, where the graciousness of grace overwhelmed the sinfulness of sin, where the Lord Himself suffered what we deserve in order that we might enjoy what He deserves.

Oh Lord, be gracious to us today. We welcome your life-interrupting, sin-revealing grace. We know what we deserve, and so we cast ourselves upon Jesus. By Your grace, send Nathan to us, and send us like Nathan to others. Show us how we have despised You, and create in us a heart that loves You. May we never lose the wonder that, by Your grace, You have put away our sin and given us Yourself.