The Ewe

II Samuel 11 But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

II Samuel 12 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. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and 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, God of Israel, 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 to little, I would haved added to you as much more.

And Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin: you shall not die.

Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.

It is a mystery, a miracle really, how the Holy Spirit can take such a specific and ancient story or event and apply it in it's entirety our lives. The Helper comes to lead me to truth in this matter.

Hebrews 4 For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, peircing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from it's sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

It is enough to say that our Father knew us all before the foundations of the world were laid. Everything about us. All our triumphs and failure. The mystery is that in knowing that why would He choose to create us anyway. Therein lives the unfathomable love of God.

It is worth noting that there are consequences to our choices, our sins. Forgiveness and consequences are sometimes far removed from each other. They are independent of each other. David made some terrible choices for which he paid a terrible price. For who can place a value on the life of a child? It is easier for us to bear the consequences of our sin, I think, than it is to see those we care for suffer for our actions. But that is a reality. We rarely suffer alone.

Father this work, this life, is so hard sometimes. I accept Your forgiveness and I know that You would not have me live a life of regret or to be defined by guilt. But the truth is that we all face consequences of the choices that we make. Give us grace to bear up under the weight of it and to learn from it. Some lessons are so profoundly painful that I hope not to be required to learn them a second time. Thank You for the stories of the Old Testament. Real people, loved by God, with all same burdens and failures and weaknesses that we still face today. Thank You for telling us the whole story of their lives the good and the bad. The sinner within the saint.