(1 Samuel 24:10) Now David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 11 When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lord says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
David had been given a choice of consequences, and his choice reflected a little selfishness; so now his sin was now going to effect everyone, and over 70,000 men would die.
Notice that there are two different "angels" mentioned in the scripture portion below. Besides "THE angel of the Lord" - who is the Lord (Jesus pre-incarnate), there was an angel sent to deliver the judgment...
(2 Samuel 24:15-17) So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”
David was finally ready to take full ownership of his sin and begged God to reconsider and put all the consequences onto himself. Even when someone offered to give David free land and animals in order to make a sacrifice to the Lord, David insisted that he pay the full price...
(2 Samuel 24:18-25) So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. 20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be held back from the people.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” 24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the Lord was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
From this we see:
- angels are used to deliver judgments and to destroy
- angels are fully obedient to God
Personal experience: a lot of times when things go wrong, people will assume that they are being attacked by Satan. We have to ask ourselves: are we so important in God's kingdom to deserve THAT? Is our outreach effort that incredible that Satan would feel threatened by us?
We need to consider whether or not we have done something wrong. Perhaps we are experiencing discipline from God. Therefore, it never hurts to do a thorough self-evaluation. And if we have done something wrong, we need to confess. If we haven't, we should then accept the situation as a test from God.
Back in college, I had gone through a depression which lasted for more than a semester. I had no options except to just continue on - putting one foot in front of the other - like a robot. I wasted a lot of time crying out (inside) with this pointless prayer, "Why Lord? WHYYYYY??? Why me??? What is this??? I feel so alone! Where are You???"
It wasn't until years later when I realized that I had actually asked for that situation. In that particular semester, I had started a course called "Human Needs and Christian Resources." As part of the course, we helped out in a soup kitchen nearby. Now I'm going to be very blunt here... I got cocky - and prayed - "Lord, open my eyes to every human need around me. - I - can handle it."
"I" can handle it??? Wow! How stupid was that? So God answered my prayer and opened my eyes. And living in North Philly, let me tell you, there is NOOOO shortage of human needs!!!! Almost immediately I was saddened - and overwhelmed - to the point of sinking into a very dark depression!
And what did I do? I wondered how - I - was supposed to fix everything. It was just too much. How could I fix even one of these people living on the streets? Being a "poor" student, I could barely help myself, let alone one other person.
Of course, the answer was always right there! And I learned a lesson. A very important BIG lesson. Duh. Confess my stupid pride, and ask GOD to handle everything! And ask God to strengthen me and guide me in whatever opportunity He would give me.
Today's takeaway: during a time of great suffering, David did not get angry with God or even question Him. David confessed his sins and asked God to help fix the situation...
(Hebrews 123:1-11) Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
No comments:
Post a Comment