Friday, December 2, 2016

Nathan: the Great Prophet of God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 1:22-23,

"While she [Bathsheba] was still speaking with the king [David], Nathan the prophet arrived. And the king was told, 'Nathan the prophet is here.'"

It was the Lord's intention to place Solomon on the throne of his covenanted people Israel. King David, who was now old, was ready to be succeeded on the throne and another son of David, Adonijah, had put himself forward to take it for himself.

The plot was brought to an end when the prophet Nathan approached Solomon's mother, Bathsheba. He told her to go in to see David and make her appeal. Then he told her what he was going to do seal the resolution of it all. Nathan would come in to talk with David just as Bathsheba was making her appeal on Solomon's behalf. Nathan himself would join her to make the request to David to put an end to Adonijah's attempt at siezing the throne.

Enough cannot be said about this great prophet Nathan. Imagine the Lord giving you the task of confronting someone (King David) about his most egregious sin. Confronting the one man who had the ability to have your life ended in a heartbeat. Confronting David in the midst of his temptation, passion and illicit behavior. Behavior that already included not just adultery, but deception as well as murder.

This was Nathan's task. Unlike some other prophets who shirked their duty (Jonah, as well as others come to mind), Nathan stood tall and risked his life for what the Lord asked of him.

Due to this past intervention into David's life by Nathan, Nathan held a unique position to cross into David's life where many might not have been successful. I am reminded of Proverbs 28:23, "Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue." Where the rebuke had its origin in the Lord himself, it was Nathan who was faithful to deliver the message and it was Nathan who was now particularly and especially positioned to impact David later when Solomon's ascension to the throne was threatened.

It causes me to think about circumstances today. Might there be something the Lord is asking of me, something that needs to be addressed by me, and faithfully following through on it, will later yield another opportunity for me to be used by the Lord, because he had uniquely prepared me for it by what he asks of me today?

Just musing here...

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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