Week 16: Friday, You Are the Man

Nathan’s parable set a trap that David walked right into—and in doing so,he condemned himself. Believing the story about the rich man’s senselesstheft of the poor man’s beloved ewe lamb to be real, David was furious. Asa shepherd-turned-king, he knew both the value of sheep and theinjustice of such an act. He declared that the guilty man deserved to dieand should make fourfold restitution (2 Samuel 12:5–6). He even sworeby the name of the Lord, perhaps hoping to demonstrate his owncommitment to justice—or to ease his conscience by punishing someoneelse’s greed.