Now Nathan arrives on the scene some nine months after the first sin. By now David realises that he has sinned and wants to repent. Nathan provides the environment for confession. In this we see the love and Mercy of God. See David's reaction in Psalm 32 51 40.

2 Samuel 12:18 The child
2 Samuel 13:28-29 Amnon
2 Samuel 18:14 Absalom
1 Kings 2:24-25 Adonijah

V.7 "Thou art that man" As we read this account, our thoughts always go ahead to Peter, who must have had similair thoughts and feelings as David, when the Master looked upon him after the cock crew the second time (Luke 22:16) Peter, like David recognized his failure immediately and wept. Both in acknowledging their sin admitted that God is a rightous God.

Vs.10-12 Yahweh requires a balancing of the books with regard to sin.  In David's case he was to lose the child of adultery, and later three more sons.  He would be, in turn, openly disgraced by the violation of his concubines (2Sam 16:22).  He would always remain a man of war and never be able to build the temple (1Chron 28:3). 

But Yahweh forgave David and he will enter the Kingdom of God.  Let us repent of our sins now.  If Yahweh requires a reckoning from us now so be it.  It is better to clear the books at this present time than to be rejected at the judgement.

12:14  Notice that one of the consequences of David’s sin was it denigrated God in the eyes of others. Have we ever considered that our sins reflect upon our God? David did and responded – Psa 51:13  – by re dedicating himself to teaching others.

12:1 spare a thought for Nathan who had to go to tell David the parable, whilst we know the outcome of the visit Nathan had no idea what to expect. He knew that David had already killed a man over this matter.

12:12  Nathan’s word ‘secretly’ impacted on David’s mind. In Psa 51:6David acknowledges that God wants integrity in the ‘hidden parts’.

12:21 David’s explanation to the servants is a powerful lesson to us. We have to move on when it becomes clear that our prayers are not being answered in the way that we would like. It is all too easy to w\allow in self pity. Grief is good and right but has its place in the larger scale purpose of God.

Vs.1-6 In the Ancient Near East, parables were a common means of conveying the truth (especially unpleasant truth). Consider a couple of other examples: concerning Abimelech (Judg 9:8-15; 55,56); concerning Nebuchadnezzar and the destruction of Jerusalem (Eze 17:2-11).

Vs.20-23 David confounded his household by not continuing mourning after the child had died.  But, David had already made his petition to Yahweh, and Yahweh had given His answer.

V.31 David practiced excessive cruelty in dealing with his captors (1Chron 20:3).

12:18 In telling us that the child died on the ‘seventh day’ we realise that the child was not circumcised and so was not brought into the bonds of the covenant as if to show God’s disapproval of what David had done.

16:4, 13 provide two more quotations from Deuteronomy 28.

Israel, in Jeremiah's prophecy, are repeatedly warned that the curses of Deuteronomy 28 are coming upon them.

If we have a problem being separate from the world, let us look at such people as Jeremiah. In the service of Yahweh:

-He could not marry.

-He could not participate in any activity with his fellows, either joyful nor sad. 

-He had to remain emotionally detached from the horrors which he knew would come. 

Jeremiah is a great example of being in the world but not of the world.

Vs.15,16 These are latter-day prophecies of are .  Yahweh has partially fulfilled the gathering of Israel into its own land since the foundation of the modern state of Israel.  But, more gathering will occur after Christ returns.  Also, after Christ returns, many enlightened Gentiles will realize that their apostate churches had been telling them lies. 

Up until a few years ago we saw the Russians refusing to let the Jews emigrate to Israel. Now it is happening, and there are thousands of Russian Jews in the land – in fact, there’s a number of our Bre & Sis in the land who speak Russian.  So we have seen Jer 16:14,15 come literally true.

16:9  The way that the mirth of Jerusalem would cease is used to describe the way that mirth would cease in spiritual Babylon – Rev 18:23 – indicating the depravity of Jerusalem in the tie of Jeremiah.

16:13 The promise that Judah would be cast out of the land, quoting Deut 28:64, is one of the many times that Jeremiah quotes the curses of Deuteronomy 28 in an attempt to bring Judah to repentance.

16:14-15 Despite painting a picture of captivity the prophet now looks to a time of deliverance. So great will be the deliverance at the time of the return of Christ that the deliverance from Egypt will pale into insignificance.

V.4 Yahweh vowed to bring such horror on His people.  We are reminded that an angry God is sometimes not appeased. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31).

16:8-9 Clearly the people had got used to enjoying themselves and doing as they pleased. Jeremiah says that all this is to stop and it would stop when the Babylonians took them captive.

V.19 After Jesus returns to the earth, He will confront the Apostasy.  Many members of the apostate churches will realize that their leaders have told them lies. They will leave their churches and worship Jesus in Truth.

Which would you say was worse?:

1 - Serving and worshipping idols

2 - Doing what you feel is right

I think the answer would be 1 is worse. But God puts them the other way round. In v11-12 He says following your own heart is worse than idolatry. Now that might cause us to think about our own behaviour. When it comes to making a decision, do we mull it over internally, or go to the word of God? 18:12 emphasises this state of mind: "we will walk according to our own plans". And 7:23-26 tells us it was epidemic among the people.

Why should it be so bad to do what you feel yourself to be the right thing to do? Why is God so against listening to the heart? The answer is that our heart naturally tells us to trust man, not God. In 17:9-10 we are told "the heart is deceitful above all things" having just explained in the previous verses that one ought to trust in God, not man. This tendency of our natural way of thinking to deviate from trust in God is deadly. That's obvious isn't it, because trust is faith, and "you have been saved through faith, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8). Only by hearing what God has to say can that state of mind be altered (Rom 10:10,17).

So all the problems with the children of Israel can be reduced to one simple problem, namely; they didn't listen to God. And the solution is equally simple (Psa 81:8-16).

16:21 Israel were not interested in worshipping God. However His hands are stretched out offering salvation. However they still spurned His attempts to recover them. One would hope that we are never so opposed to God working in our lives!

Verse 46, Jesus as he hung on the tree quoted a verse from Psalm 22. He did this in response to the taunt from the Soldiers (v43), which is also found in this Psalm. It reveals to us very graphically what Jesus was thinking at the time of his death, because he was thinking Psalm 22. In Psalm 22v6 we have the thought of Jesus "I am a worm and not a man". I wonder if the words written in Job 25v4-6 came to his mind "How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?"

Maybe these words gave him the strength to remain on the cross, because he knew couldn't be "pure" unless he put to death all of his fleshly will, and humbled himself totally under God's will. He did this the final time, right there on the cross, maybe by thinking these very words... I'm a worm. The lowest of the low. And so I will remain unless I put "the son of man" to death. "And being found in apearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of he cross" (Phil 2v8)

V.34 Crucifixion was a long and painful process.  The fact that Jesus died in six hours was unusually short (Mark 15:44).  Nevertheless, Jesus knew that He would face a painful experience. 

It was the practice to give those being crucified a drink of vinegar (soured wine) mixed with gall.  Gall is a poisonous herb, the juice of which is probably the hemlock of Shakespearian fame.  Diluted, it acts as a narcotic which deadens the pain. 

Jesus refused this drink because He wanted to face this cruel experience with full faculties.  Such was the courage and faith of our Lord who was sacrificed for us.  

V.25 The phrase all the people could not refer to the entire nation.  Only a small portion of the nation would have been there assenting to the death of Jesus. The vocal minority usually carries the day. Who knows what the others thought? 

We do know, for sure, that some did not agree to have Jesus crucified.  The high-ranking Joseph of Arimathea was one of them (vs.57-60; Luke 23:50,51).  Nicodemus was another (John 19:39).  Obviously, the apostles were others. 

And so, it would be wrong to tar the whole nation with the responsibility of Jesus' death.  Unfortunately, this has been the response of some so-called Christians, over history, who have viewed all Jews as Christ-killers, and thus worthy of slaughter. 

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27:11 The ‘governor’ as we know was Pilate. In giving hi his title we are being show that Rome is pitting itself against the son of God.

Mark 15:25; Matt 27:45,46,50 - The crucifixion started at 9am and Christ died 6 hours later at 3pm. The 6 hours may be significant. Many believe 6 is the number of man so it could be that there is symbolism here in that (although Jesus never sinned, he was tempted in all points as we are Heb 4:15) the flesh (man's sinful inclination) was overcome and destroyed.

27:52   The strange event of the resurrection of the saints after Jesus’ resurrection is a fulfilment of Isa 26:19.

The first part of Ps. 22 describes a sense of being cut off from God. Jesus and His Father always had an uncommonly close relationship (John 5:19-21, 10:30, 14:11).  Could it be that the Father withdrew His presence and left Jesus to suffer his final moments on the cross alone?

Vs.4,5  Judas was overcome with the guilt of wrongdoing.  He must have felt that nothing could lift the burden of his sin, and so he committed suicide.  But, if he had sought forgiveness for his sin, would he have been forgiven? I have known people who were convinced that they could never be exonerated from the evil they have done.  How large is Yahweh's forgiveness?  To a person who is truly contrite and prepared to change to conform to the will of Yahweh, there is no limitation to forgiveness. 

"Pontius Pilate Inscription"

Matt 27:2 - a stone with inscriptional evidence for Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, was found in 1961 at Caesarea Maritima.