Nathan the Prophet

2018-01-19

Nathan was a prophet that served King David throughout his reign and at the beginning of Solomon’s reign. He was instrumental in several situations: The announcement of the Davidic Covenant, the confrontation over the sin of Bathsheba, and the coronation of King Solomon. He also chronicled events from the lives of these kings.

The David Covenant

The LORD’s promise to David is recorded in 2 Samuel 7:1-17 and 1 Chronicles 17:1-15. We see how Nathan was supportive of David when he said He wanted to build the Temple. However, that night, Nathan received the word of the LORD concerning the matter: how God was going to create a dynasty of kings beginning with David.

We see that Nathan is a man who supported the king and cared about him. Also, Nathan was quick to correct his advice to David when the word of God came to him.

Confrontation Regarding Bathsheba

Nathan’s confrontation of David concerning Bathsheba is in 2 Samuel 12:1-15. We see that Nathan is a bold man to proclaim God’s message of rebuke and mercy to David. He could have just as easily not told the king, being that a king has the power to do him harm. This was no sugarcoated message!

We see David’s response is one of contrition. David feared the Lord, and God chose Nathan to be His mouthpiece concerning this critical event in David’s life.

The Coronation of Solomon

This event is recorded in 1 Chronicles 1:11-53.

We know from 1 Chronicles 29:1, that David had proclaimed His successor to be Solomon, and this was God’s command. The Bible also explicitly stated that “the LORD loved him” (2 Samuel 12:24). However, when David was old and dying, most people chose to follow Adonijah as king despite David’s announcement to the contrary (1 Kings 1:5-9). Nathan was one of the few that stood by the LORD’s wishes (1 Kings 1:10).

Nathan went before King David with Bathsheba to explain the situation, bowing himself down before the king in humility. He wanted to be sure that Solomon was anointed king as God has said.

Nathan was commanded to be one of those men who anointed Solomon king, because he was one of the few found faithful.

The Chronicling of the Kings

Nathan the prophet was also active in recording the events of the lives of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29). Because of this, Hezekiah was able to recreate the order of music that David had required during his reign (2 Chronicles 29:25).

Though we do not have an actual book that is called Nathan, it is possible that Nathan was one of the contributors to the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (humanly speaking). He knew it was important to record the events so that future generations could learn about how God worked in the lives of these men.