“7
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of
Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand
of Saul;” – 2 Samuel 12:7
It’s hard to look in the mirror, when you first wake up in
the morning. I scarcely have known anyone who will bare more than a
glance at themselves; really just glancing to see what needs to be
primped. I don’t believe I have ever woken up in the morning and looked
in the mirror only to say; “Yep, I look great! I am ready for the
day!” The plain fact is this; we don’t want to see our reflection for too
long because it is unattractive to us. The big puffy eyes, hair going all
over the place, it just brings about that feeling of “UHH”; then (perhaps for
some of us) “where’s my coffee?”
When something is unpleasant the tendency is to look away or
run away. Nobody stops and stares at road kill, you won’t find a painting
of a dumpster, odds are good the homeless man begging on your local street
corner is not going to make the cover of the latest fashion magazine. Why
do folks change the channel or look away when the UNICEF commercials come
on? Because nobody wants to see starving children in Africa, it simply
reminds us that there are starving children in Africa. Frankly, a greater
majority of the world is saying “your pain is not my problem, and don’t bring
it to my doorstep.” Not only is the tendency to ignore it, but also to
find unpleasantries in others. Stop and ask yourself, am I swift to point
out the sin in others? Are we quick to spot our neighbors
shortcomings? King David found himself, for a moment, as such a man.
King David was a great and honorable man who made a grievous
mistake; he took what was not his (the following is found in 2 Samuel 12).
By and by God sent the prophet Nathan to preach to David, and not David only
but to his sin. Nathan began by telling a story of a poor man with one
little lamb. This poor man loved his little lamb, cared for it and
nurtured it. The scripture says that the lamb was to him as a daughter. He didn’t have much but he had his lamb and
that was enough. Then a rich man came along, and stole the poor man’s
lamb he loved so great; and this rich man killed it, and served it to a
traveler staying at his home. While David thought on this tale, an urge for
justice must have filled his heart; “this rich man must pay for his great
transgression!” he must have thought; for when Nathan asked David. “What
shall be done to this man?” David responded “Kill him and restore the
poor man four fold.” Then Nathan spoke those cutting words to the great
king: “Thou art the man.” You see not to many days prior, David had taken
the wife of his noble servant Uriah; and got her pregnant. He then sent
Uriah into battle and called the armies to draw back, murdering him as a cover
up. Finally, once Uriah’s death was known, he took the wife that Uriah
loved so much……he took her and made her his own. David was the rich man,
and Uriah the poor. “Thou art the man.”
We hear often of others who fall into the trappings of
sin. It seems so easy for humanity to see the sin in others, and often
even easier to see it and do nothing. But when the Holy Ghost speaks to
your heart, and declares plainly: “Thou art the man” there is no denying
it. You cannot turn away from the unpleasant ugliness of your sin; you
cannot point your finger at anybody but you alone. God has declared
plainly your unrighteousness and all that is left is to fall to the ground and
plead for mercy. All that remains is the earnest declaration of the
obvious, as David said: “I have sinned against the Lord.” The
clutter and business of life can provide a convenient excuse to ignore the
obvious. However, let me beg and implore of you; stop and “consider YOUR
ways.” Has the Holy Ghost pointed the finger at your life? Declared
specifically to you……..“Thou art the
man.”
