Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Bible Truth #209 - 2 Samuel 12:7-8

7  Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8  I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.

You may know the story well. These verses record the story of Nathan’s response to King David after his adulterous liaison with Bathsheba and murder of her husband. Nathan told him the story of the poor man with only one lamb who had it stolen by the rich man with many flocks and David said the rich man deserves to die.

Please read carefully not what Nathan said, but what Nathan said the Lord says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave...’ The emphasis is on the word “I.”

Did David anoint himself? No. Did David deliver himself from Saul? No. Did David give himself anything? No. David did nothing to earn deliverance from Saul, he did nothing to deserve deliverance from Saul. God did it all. Why? Because God had a plan for David’s life and that plan included deliverance from Saul.

Was David the first-born so that he could receive God’s anointing from Samuel? Was David more worthy than his brothers to receive the anointing? What was different or special about David? King David was special because he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), his heart was perfect (1 Kings 11:4). BUT!!! Did David have anything to do with the condition of his heart? NO!! The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked... (Jeremiah 17:9). It is so wicked and vile (i.e. Totally Depraved) it doesn’t know enough to want even the blessings of God, nor His mercy and compassion. God, not man, GOD forms the hearts of all men (Psalm 33:15). So David had a heart for God only because God gave it to him. I know the Arminian will probably deny this but in Romans 9:16 Paul writes It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

The Sovereign God of the universe said, “I delivered you from the hand of Saul.”

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