MFM Daily Devotional 19 January 2024

TOPIC: Lessons from the Life of Prophet Nathan (III)

FIRE SCRIPTURE:  2 Samuel 12:1-23 
12 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

² The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

³ 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.

⁴ And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

⁵ And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

⁶ And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

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;

⁸ And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

⁹ Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

¹¹ Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

¹² For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

¹³ And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

¹⁴ Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

¹⁵ And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

¹⁶ David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

¹⁷ And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

¹⁸ And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

²⁰ Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

²¹ Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

²² And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

²³ But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

MEMORY VERSE
“If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.”
Ecclesiastes 10:10 

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES: Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom: with all your getting, get understanding.

PRAISE AND WORSHIP: Take praise and worship songs as you’re led by the Holy Spirit.

PROPHETIC WORD FOR TODAY: Receive the spirit of wisdom to navigate life, in the name of Jesus

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 5, Exodus 6, Exodus 7, Luke 11, Luke 12, Luke 13

MFM Daily Devotional 19 January 2024 MESSAGE

Prophet Nathan rebuked the king wisely and in love. Yesterday, we established the fact that it is not an easy task to confront kings and the high-profiled personalities of this world with the truth of God’s word. David, the man after God’s heart, had slipped into the sin of adultery and God was not happy with him. He then sent Prophet Nathan to give him strict warnings and he knew he had to obey God in the strictest sense.

There is an adage in Yoruba (a tribe in Nigeria) that says that the king has sent you on an errand but the road to deliver the errand is flood-filled, the king’s business requires haste and here is a flood you cannot hastily pass through. What do you do now? That was exactly the situation Nathan found himself.

As a pastor and preacher, sometimes God will send you on tough errands and to do or say things that do not make sense. Sometimes, God will send you to confront the Davids, Pharaohs, Ahabs and Herods of this world with the undiluted message of the cross. He will send you to presidents and governors.

READ MFM Daily Devotional 18 January 2024 – Lessons from the Life of Prophet Nathan (II)

At such times, what do you do when you remember that this kind of errand has caused some people their heads? What do you do without diluting God’s message while also making the person receptive? Nathan has been there before. He knew he must never dilute or water down God’s word. Then he devised a wise and appealing way of delivering God’s warning. He told a story to help David see his wrong.

It is not wise to hit someone over the head with their sin. Nathan told the story of injustice he knew David would recognize. Jesus also used stories and questions with the Pharisees to make His point. After Nathan passed God’s message, David broke down in genuine repentance.

To preach to the unregenerate minds, we need wisdom. It is not enough to know what to do but it is equally important to know how to do what needs to be done. Nathan knew what to do and how to do it. He did not give a broad accusation, he rebuked in love. May we receive the spirit of wisdom and creativity in our delivery, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

MFM Daily 19 January 2024 Prayer Points

𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆
1. Spirit of wisdom, come upon me now, in the name of Jesus.
2. Spirit of creativity, rest upon me, in the name of Jesus.
3. Power to know what to do in every situation and how to do it, be bestowed on me, in the name of Jesus.

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆
4. Powers asking for my head in a charger, receive angelic slap, in the name of Jesus.
5. Father, make me Your mouthpiece and Your battle axe, in the name of Jesus.
6. I receive the grace to obey God to the letter, in the name of Jesus.
7. Wisdom of God, baptise me, in the name of Jesus.