seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Chronicles 21:8 Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
9 The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of being swept away[a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
13 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah(b) the Jebusite.
9 The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of being swept away[a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
13 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah(b) the Jebusite.
a. 1 Chronicles 21:12 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Samuel 24:13) of fleeing
b. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah; also in verses 18-28
This is from enduringword.com.
I offer you three things: God used David’s sin and the resulting chastisement to reveal David’s heart and wisdom. His choice of the following three options would test David:
Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD: This meant that David chose the three days of plague. In the other two options the king and his family could be insulated against the danger, but David knew that he had to expose himself to the chastisement of God.
Do not let me fall into the hand of man: This meant that David chose the three days of plague. In the other two options, Israel would either be at the mercy of neighbors (as in the famine) or attacked by enemies. David knew that God is far more merciful and gracious than man is.
· Three years of famine: This would surely be the death of some in Israel, but the wealthy and resourceful would survive. Israel would have to depend on neighboring nations for food.
· Three months to be defeated by your foes: This would be the death of some in Israel, but mostly only of soldiers. Israel would have to contend with enemies among neighboring nations.
· For three days… the plague in the land: This would be the death of some in Israel, but anyone could be struck by this plague – rich or poor, influential or anonymous, royalty or common.
· Three months to be defeated by your foes: This would be the death of some in Israel, but mostly only of soldiers. Israel would have to contend with enemies among neighboring nations.
· For three days… the plague in the land: This would be the death of some in Israel, but anyone could be struck by this plague – rich or poor, influential or anonymous, royalty or common.
Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD: This meant that David chose the three days of plague. In the other two options the king and his family could be insulated against the danger, but David knew that he had to expose himself to the chastisement of God.
“Had he chosen war, his own personal safety was in no danger, because there was already an ordinance preventing him from going to battle. Had he chosen famine, his own wealth would have secured his and his own family’s support. But he showed the greatness of his mind in choosing the pestilence, to the ravages of which himself and his household were exposed equally with the meanest of his subjects.” (Clarke)
Do not let me fall into the hand of man: This meant that David chose the three days of plague. In the other two options, Israel would either be at the mercy of neighbors (as in the famine) or attacked by enemies. David knew that God is far more merciful and gracious than man is.
When I was a kid.... and when the culprit wasn't obvious.... my dad would line all of us up.... oldest to youngest. There were five of us. I was 12 or 13 when Dad started this. My baby sister was a toddler.... if I did anything... she was on my hip.... so she saw it all. It was easier to fess up... even if I didn't do it... than to stand there and watch him smack my sisters or my brother. I knew the belt wouldn't hurt me as bad as it would my baby sister or my little brother. The other two could handle it... but I was afraid for the babies. Maybe the reason my mom finally ended this little trial, was she noticed I was always the one to say "Please stop... it was me". She knew I didn't do it all.
Now before I go any further.... there was plenty of stuff I did do... that I didn't get caught at.... and these kinds of "line them up" meetings only happened a handful of times before Mom got the message that it was extremely unfair to my butt and legs. So I don't blame my dad for trying this method. There were five of us and only two of them.... anyway... back to David....
So David chose plague. That way he would be part of the catastrophy. If it was war... the commentaries say he would have been safe at home. If it were famine... the palace would have been the last place to go hungry. So... he chose the one that would be hard on him as well. After all... the people hadn't asked to be counted.... and that's what all this is about... David got a big head and counted the number of people in his kingdom..... David's the one that did this. Just like it wasn't Uriah's fault that David and Bathsheba had an affair... but he died. It wasn't the baby's fault that David and Bathsheba couldn't behave.... but the baby died.
So finally David made a choice that would include himself in the ramifications. That plague lasted three days and it killed 7,000 men. They didn't count the women and children. The deaths of the women and children weren't recorded. They died too but they weren't counted. Thousands of people died in three days. If this was the flue.....it was one heck of a flu virus. Maybe it was the three day measles.... that would be one heck of an outbreak.
