April 10 Daily Devotional

2 Samuel 11–12

David was a man of God: he did what was right in the sight of the Lord; yet he once committed a very grave sin. One day he saw a very beautiful woman, whose name was Bathsheba. She was the wife of Uriah, a servant of David, who was in the army. David desired that she might be his wife. He wrote a letter to Joab, the general of the army, saying, “Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten and die.” Joab did so. Uriah was set in a dangerous place and soon he was killed. Joab notified David, and he took Bathsheba to be his wife.

But this thing displeased the Lord. And the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David, and he said to him, “There were two men in one city; the one rich, the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man … but he took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.” When David heard this he was very angry. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die.” Nathan said to David. “Thou art the man … and hast taken Uriah’s wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon … Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house … Thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”

And David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast … made the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child that is born unto thee shall surely die.” And Nathan departed to his house. And David lay in the dust and prayed to the Lord, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin … Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a new heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51.