I have shared about the symbol at the core of Jacob receiving Esau’s blessing and I have shared about another symbol at the core of the Good Samaritan. Both of these examples show how good symbols reflect real life and today’s story is yet another example of that, but also of another principle that I wish to illustrate.
David’s Sin)
The story of David in the Old Testament is at times triumphant and at times tragic. Everything turns upon one pivotal moment, where he betrays his own conscience and destroys an innocent man. The story begins, of course, with him seeing Bathsheba bathing from the roof of his palace, then bringing her to him and committing adultery. When she became pregnant from the encounter he tried to obfuscate the parentage of the child, and when that failed, he ordered her husband to be placed at the forefront of a battle where he would likely be killed, which was exactly what happened.
But what David did in secret was fully known to God, and the Lord sent His prophet, Nathan, to tell him a symbolic story. In 2 Samuel 12:1-4 we read that story:
There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 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.
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.
The story is, of course, a symbol for David. He is the rich man that had everything yet took from the poor man who had so very little. Not only this, but it is a symbol for all injustices in which the rich have further extended themselves by crushing those beneath them. This type of injustice is, unfortunately, fundamental to the human condition, and Nathan condenses it expertly into this one, short story.
The End of the Symbol)
Because Nathan’s story is so direct and so fundamental, it is only natural to feel a powerful emotional reaction to it. David certainly did, and the account in 2 Samuel records that response:
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!
Obviously, David had not realized that he, himself, was the subject of the story. His was the own head that he was proclaiming death upon!
This dramatic example illustrates one of the other hallmarks of good symbols: they make plain to us the natural order and summon from us the correct resolution to any unnatural situation.
The fact is, each one of us is imbued at birth with basic morals and truths. Deep at our core, we understand justice even before we can put words to the notion. It is ingrained in us, and a good symbol can help us cut through all of the bias and distraction, seeing plainly what the natural order is, how it has been twisted, and what must be done to set it right.
If David had known that he was the real subject of the story, he may well have squirmed and tried to justify his actions. But since he was absorbed in the fundamental violation of the natural order described in the story, he could not help but exclaim the harsh penalty that was necessary to set things right. By recognizing the answer to the fundamental, he had also found the answer to the specific. Such is the power of a truly good symbol.
Spiritual Wanderings 