Reading 48 | The Bible in 100 Passages

Friday, October 31, 2025  

Today's Scripture
2 Samuel 12:1–14      

And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added 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, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.” (NRSV) 

Reflection

I’ve long thought that one of the curses of modern life is the “disease of more.” At what point in our lives do we have enough? Even David, the richest and most powerful man of his time, didn’t have enough. He saw something that he didn’t have and snatched that away from someone else, simply because he could.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We see rich and powerful people of our time behave in a very similar way, taking and taking and taking. When will it be enough?

There’s a reason why money and power, and our relationship to them, are talked about so much in the Bible. Money and power change you, and they change how you interact in the world. The Bible constantly challenges us to think about these things. It also gives us the example of prophets like Nathan, who challenge the kings of the day to realign their hearts to God’s.

This passage is a reminder for me of two things. First, it reminds me of the need to constantly try and realign my heart to God’s, to love as God does. It’s easy to lose sight of that, to look out for only ourselves at the expense of those around us. We confess our sins weekly in worship because we know we know we don’t live up to that standard, but God’s love redeems us despite our failings.

Second, it reminds me that we all have the capability to be prophets, to speak God’s truth in this world and to stand up for the poor and oppressed. Nathan’s courage to stand up to the King of Israel can inspire us to speak up in whatever capacity that we have.

Prayer

Lord, align my heart to yours. Thank you for your love and forgiveness. Give me the courage to seize the opportunities to build your kingdom in this world. Amen.

Written by Jared Light, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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