Life-Saving Boldness

There’s a passage in 1 Chronicles 3 that lists the sons of King David.  It’s one of those passages that we usually just skim over or ignore, but there is something very revealing in it.  As you read the list of boys, you recognize the name Solomon, and if you really know your Bible, you know the names Absalom and Amnon, because they both are destined for a bad end.  Then there’s the name Nathan.  David and his wife Bathsheba named a son Nathan.  Here’s what is remarkable about that:  We know the names of David’s father and all his brothers, and David didn’t choose to name any of his sons after them.  We also know the names of the thirty mighty men, David’s elite soldiers who were with him from his days as a fugitive to the days when he was conquering every nation that opposed Israel.  He didn’t name a child after any of them, either.  Nor did he name a son after any of the great heroes of Israel: Not Moses or Joshua, Gideon or Samuel, Abraham, Isaac or Jacob.  In fact, the only person David named a son after—as far as we know—was Nathan.  What did Nathan do to earn the respect and love of David and his wife Bathsheba?  That story is found in 2 Samuel 12, and that's what I'll be preaching on this Sunday.  I'm in a series on boldness, and we will see how boldness can save lives.