12:1 the Lord sent Nathan. The prophets were servants of the word of God, which has authority even over kings. The prophets needed courage and were sometimes in sharp conflict with the kings (1 Kin. 22:8; 2 Kin. 1:3, 4; Mark 6:17; cf. Acts 7:52).

one rich and the other poor. The rich man is David and the poor man is Uriah. The parable was also fulfilled by Ahab and Jezebel against Naboth (1 Kin. 21:1–14).