Read 2 Samuel 12:7 NIV
“Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!…”
If you go and check this verse from Samuel you will see that I truncated it – and Nathan’s words weren’t meant to be a compliment!
After David’s sin with Bathsheba, he arranged the death of her husband Uriah (2 Samuel 11). He had covered his tracks, moved the widow into his house, and carried on as if nothing had happened. But God saw everything — and He loved David too much to leave him uncorrected.
So He sent Nathan.
Nathan didn’t come swinging a sword. He came with a story. A parable about a rich man who stole a poor man’s only lamb. When David burned with anger over the injustice in the tale, Nathan delivered the piercing truth: “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7).
In that moment, Nathan risked his relationship, his safety, even his standing. But he chose obedience over comfort — and David, to his credit, chose repentance over pride. “I have sinned against the Lord,” he said (v.13).
Correction isn’t comfortable, but it’s a gift. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
In a world where many would rather flatter or stay silent, a true friend speaks truth — not to shame, but to restore. Nathan’s words didn’t destroy David. They were the beginning of his healing.
We live in a culture where rebuke is often mistaken for hate and where accountability is labeled judgment. But in God’s economy, loving correction is one of the highest forms of care. The people who love us most are the ones who refuse to let us drift away from God without a word.
Nathan didn’t cancel David. He confronted him 1:1. He didn’t lecture — he led David to see himself clearly. And in doing so, he helped write one of the most beautiful repentance prayers in all of Scripture: Psalm 51.
Something to think and pray about today:
Do you have people in your life who can lovingly tell you the truth? Are you willing to receive correction — and give it when God calls you to?
