Do you have a Nathan in your life?

What is ”The Strange Him!!”? The Strange Him!! is a MAN who has conviction, courage, and strength. A “MAN” in today’s society is totally different than a “man”. A MAN is one who protects, provides, and leads. These MEN are truly strange to most people, and this newsletter is an observance and celebration of that MAN. Thank you for your support, and hopefully, you will like what you read. If you like this content, share this newsletter with another “strange” MAN. You can share the newsletter by simply clicking on the Facebook, X, Linked In, or email buttons above. Stay Strange, my friend!!

I am stealing this topic from Kyle Thompson, one of the hosts of The Daily Blade podcast. Following this dialogue, I will post a link to the podcast being referenced. When Kyle asked, "Do you have a Nathan?” It hit me like a ton of bricks. We all need a Nathan or even a few Nathans in our lives.

There are so many more things that could be unpacked in the story of David and Bathsheba than men needing a Nathan in their lives, and maybe we will dive into that in the future. Go read 2 Samuel, Chapter 12 to become entirely familiar with how King David stumbled with Bathsheba, but to give you a little background, the following is a short synopsis of the event.

In the spring, when kings typically went to war, David stayed in Jerusalem while his army, led by Joab, fought the Ammonites. One evening, David saw a beautiful woman named Bathsheba bathing and had her brought to him. She became pregnant, so David tried to cover up the affair by summoning her husband, Uriah, from the battlefield. Uriah, however, refused to go home and enjoy the comforts of his house while his fellow soldiers were in the field. David then arranged for Uriah to be placed in the front line of battle, where he was killed.

When David hears of Uriah's death, he sends a message to Joab not to worry about the loss, encouraging him to continue the fight. After Bathsheba mourned her husband's death, she married David and had a son. However, what David had done greatly displeased the Lord.

The following is a portion of 2 Samuel, Chapter 12, verses 1-14. It is in these verses that the Lord sends Nathan to rebuke King David:

12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

⁵ David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for^[a] the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

King David is one of the most significant and complex figures in the Bible. He began as a humble shepherd boy who rose to prominence after defeating the giant Goliath with a single stone. David's bravery, military success, and charisma made him a beloved figure, eventually leading him to become the second king of Israel after Saul. Under his leadership, Israel was united, and David expanded the kingdom's borders through military victories, making him a powerful and respected ruler. He was known for his strong faith in God and for seeking God's guidance in various decisions, and he was truly a man of God.

But…even the mighty King David stumbled with sin, just as we all do. But how does David recognize the gravity of what he has done? Nathan the prophet. Nathan is a trusted advisor to King David and prophet of God. He is respected and petitioned by King David for advice and guidance. So, needless to say, Nathan knows King David pretty intimately and knows and loves King David well enough to approach him regarding the King’s sin toward God. As all of us would, Nathan had to have some apprehension about approaching King David and smiting him with his own sin, but Nathan trusted God enough to be able to share his love by sharing the truth with David.

The question is, do you have a Nathan or Nathan’s in your life? If not, then why don’t you? We should all be open to and excited about the opportunity of having a Godly man or Godly men in our life who will hold us accountable to God for our actions. We need a man (or men) in our life who know us intimately and are not scared to expose our sins to us so we can acknowledge them and repent. Nathan, being a Godly man, rebuked King David and, through obedience to the Lord, held David culpable and liable for his sin against God. And because of this rebuke by Nathan, David saw the sin in his life and humbled himself before the Lord. If King David, a king chosen directly by God, needed a Nathan in his life…why don’t we?  

 If you don't follow The Daily Blade, give it a listen as you head into work tomorrow. I promise that you will be inspired by a straight and to-the-point teaching of The Word of God. The Daily Blade is a short-form podcast hosted by Joby Martin, the Senior Pastor of The Church of Eleven22, and Kyle Thompson, the producer of the Undaunted Life podcast. It aims to help Godly men embrace their anointed roles as men of God! You won't be disappointed. After just one listen, you'll be hooked, and it will undoubtedly become a great starting point for your morning.

As always, I am going to plug my cult. F3 groups are popping up nationwide. This is a great way to find a great group of MEN. The men in my F3 group mean more to me than they will ever know. I appreciate and love each one of them. Get plugged in and you might just find your Nathan!!

I am also going to continue promoting GORUCK. This activity can be done with a group or by yourself….anywhere you go.

A quick shout to my guys doing a 26 mile GORUCK Star in a few months. Embrace the suck fellas!!

The Art of Manliness is a men's interest and lifestyle website with content geared to helping men become better men.

Thanks again for subscribing, and Stay Strange, My Friend!