“And David said to God, ‘I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.’ And the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, ‘Go and say to David, Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ So Gad came to David and said to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, Choose what you will: either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the LORD, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel. Now decide what answer I shall return to Him Who sent me.’ Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.'” 1 Chronicles 21:8-13
Devotional Thought For The Day
By this time in his reign over Israel as king, David was wealthy and powerful, and Israel dominated the entire region – Lebanon, Syria, and south through the Negev. The grievous sin that David committed was taking a census of Israel. I suppose that it is a constant temptation for us to be infatuated with statistics – rulers and leaders often are. Perhaps we consider such data finding innocuous, and take issue with God’s heavy handedness in punishing David and Israel. However, the real issue was a matter of faith, trust in God, humility, contentment, and full embrace and reliance on the promises of God, rather than trusting in ourselves, our own power, what numbers and statistics might predict for our future. In turning away from faith in God’s promises, and turning to reliance upon common sense and reason, and succumbing to the pride of knowing just how big and powerful you are, David did indeed act very foolishly. Thus the necessity of some kind of strong discipline and punishment.
The three choices were painful and difficult, and in considering them, it is somewhat remarkable that David chose the last. In regard to the famine, David might have reasoned that they had adequate stores of food, and plenty of capital to purchase supplies, that they could probably hunker down and survive for three years. In regard to devastation by his enemies, David might have reasoned that he was a great warrior and that he might inflict more harm on the enemies than they on him – even though God warned him that the enemy would dominate. And David had seen times when Israel was impotent before its enemies, in consequence of God’s judgment. His decision, to “fall into the hand of the LORD,” based upon the premise that “His mercy is very great,” was very wise, and shows that David knew God as He truly is, what His primary will is in dealing with mankind. It also showed great wisdom that he didn’t want to fall into the “hand of man,” that he also knew the vicious malice and wickedness of men. The most remarkable aspect of this whole account is that God did impose harsh judgment upon the nation; His “angel” caused pestilence which killed 70,000 “men of Israel.” [21:14] Then the LORD Himself intervened and ceased the carnage. One can only wonder about the sorrow of God in all of this, and how difficult it must have been for Him to actually carry out this chastening.
The fact that we consider David’s offense rather minor, perhaps no real sin at all, bears witness to our own acquiescence to trust in ourselves, to taking pride in the blessings of God, as if they were our own accomplishments. The fact that we take pride in our statistical strengths, and put our faith and trust in our accumulated resources, is symptomatic of our decadence, unbelief, and refusal to live under God’s grace and blessing. It reveals that we are not willing to simply trust fully and completely in God and His love. When He allows discipline to fall upon us, and we suffer at the hands of other people, or at the hand of nature, we have no inkling that we should call upon God and choose to “fall into the hand of the LORD,” trusting in His great mercy and love. But even though His hand of discipline can be heavy and grievous, it is always preferable to be directly under His hand rather than foisting ourselves upon the mercy of nature or other people. So David’s restoration to faith was quick and complete, though the experience was heart-rending and painful, and a challenge to continued faith and trust in God. And this is what we are called to in our own relationship with God – full faith and trust in His gracious mercy, forgiveness, and love, and this regardless of the circumstances that we find ourselves in.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong in working with statistics; it is spiritually deadly to trust in ourselves, or in probabilities, rather than trusting in God. And it is spiritually deadly to take pride in our supposed strengths, to rise out of humble trust in God and to fall into arrogance. Yet these are temptations that plague and afflict us, especially when things are going well for us. We see in this account that God is able to correct us, and that we do not want to have this experience. So God calls us to walk humbly before Him, to live lives of faith and trust in Him, believing His Word, His gracious promises, His revelation of Himself as full of mercy, forgiveness, and love for us. The gift of His Son, and all that He has done to accomplish the full redemption of the world, is sure and certain proof of His good and gracious will for us, for all people. If even a powerful and wealthy king was called to live humbly with faith and trust in God, then surely we are invited to do the same. May God grant that we come to the same knowledge of God, and humble trust in Him, so that each day we joyfully acknowledge that we are in His hand and live courageously in cognizance of His presence, His love, and His power. In this way we are trained in wisdom and preserved from painful discipline.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, even within the church there is temptation to trust in statistics rather than in You, and to take pride in accomplishments rather than humbly and truly giving all honor and glory to You. And in our own lives we find it difficult to escape trusting in the blessings You have bestowed upon us rather than trusting in You. Forgive us and have mercy upon us, and if necessary let us fall into Your hand that we may learn to trust only in You. Thank You for Who You are, and for all that You have done for us. Give us humble peace and joy in Your grace, mercy, forgiveness, and steadfast love for us. Amen.