“This is a hard decision,” David replied, “but it is better to fall into the hand of the Lord (for his mercy is great) than into the hands of men.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“I made a mistake.” “My bad.”
“I shouldn’t have said/done that.” “I messed up.”
“That was wrong of me.” “It was my fault.”
“I wish I could take that back.” “I was wrong.”
“May I have a second chance?” “I’m sorry.”
We’ve all uttered at least one (and probably ALL) of these phrases at one time or another. But that doesn’t mean we liked it! We often find it hard to admit that we were mistaken or made a mess of things. It’s embarrassing…sometimes shameful. And often, there are consequences.
In this chapter of 2 Samuel, we learn about a really poor choice that David made. He sent representatives to take a census…to number (count) the people of Israel. He specifically wanted to know how many men were of conscription age – old enough to join his army. God had not sanctioned any of this…He had not told David to do this. In fact, David knew that God was not in favor of such a show of human strength. Bottom line…David just wanted to brag about how many men he had available for war. And God was not the least bit pleased.
So God offered David three choices…7 years of famine, three months on the run from his enemies, or three days of plague. David chose the three days of plague, and 70,000 people lost their lives as a result. God could have allowed even a larger number of people to die, but He had mercy before the three days was up and ordered the death angel to retreat. The people of Jerusalem were spared.
I don’t know about you, but if God offered me those same three choices, I would be tempted to answer, “None of the above!” There was no good option for David. But notice that he responded that any punishment from a merciful God would be far better than the consequences of man. David had no clue that God would spare Jerusalem or lighten the punishment. But he trusted that God would be fair and just, no matter what.
I believe that the treatment David received from God in this instance made Him a better man and taught him priceless lessons about how to behave in the future…toward God AND toward his fellow man. We can take these lessons to heart, as well…
- We need to question our motives. Are we making a choice because this is what we want…or are we certain that God agrees and sanctions this decision?
- When we make a mistake, we need to own it…and do whatever is necessary to make things right as quickly as possible.
- Staying in tune with God will help to ensure that we don’t make mistakes…but when we do, we need to be prepared to accept the consequences. We must trust that God will never desert us - even while we suffer for our sins - and that He will help us through these times with grace and mercy.
- We must offer others that same grace, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. People will offend us…they will make mistakes that affect us in ways great and small. And when they own these wrongdoings and admit them, we must be prepared to offer them the same love and fair treatment that God offers us when we sin against Him.
God could have just taken David out and washed His hands of him and his antics. But He didn’t…and He won’t do this with us, either. How will we respond to this much love, grace and mercy? How will you share these gifts with others?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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