1 Chronicles 21:9-13
New International Version (NIV)
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.”
Footnotes:
- 1 Chronicles 21:12 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Samuel 24:13) of fleeing
Replies
David had sinned against God, but he was still willing to before the mercy of God than the hand of man.
A price with choices...............for disobedience
David was always willing to repent for His wrong, and beg God for His mercies. He didn't hesitate to hear the message that his seer delivered from God. God is so God that He still allowed David to choose his own punishment. David knew he would prefer to b judged by God rather than man. man can b brutal and show no compassion. with God,s punishment because of His love and compassion, it hurts so good..it is of the Lord's mercies that we r not consumed....
David knew how powerful God is, yet merciful withholding nothing. I thank God that he's God and not me or other people.
This was the best answer because God is more merciful than most men.
This just another example of God unconditional love, our parents didnt give us choices we were punish for doing wrong. David humble himself and God had mercy. What a mighty God we serve! what a mighty God we serve. Let me always fall into your hands my Lord.
David didn’t obey God and because of his disobedient he was chastised by God. God, by withdrawing His grace at this time from David permitted the tempter to prevail over him. As the result of this successful temptation was the entail of a heavy calamity as a punishment from God upon the people, it might be said that "Satan stood up against Israel." Simply these things failed King David and the people due to his disobedience.
The sin of David numbering the people consisted in its being either to gratify his pride to ascertain the number of warriors he could muster for some meditated plan of conquest; or, perhaps, more likely still, to institute a regular and permanent system of taxation, which he deemed necessary to provide an adequate establishment for the monarchy, but which was regarded as a tyrannical and oppressive exaction--an innovation on the liberty of the people--a departure from ancient usage unbecoming a king of Israel. God is truly more merciful than human kind. I believe there are many believers that can relate to this story, of not obeying God, and doing the opposite of what God has instructed us to do and found ourselves in trouble with the Lord. I for one can admit to having done the opposite of what God had instructed me and because of it, as God sent Gad, God himself informed me that he allowed the chastisement that I had to endure. Just like David being endowed with the gift as I David often sort the Lord through the medium of priest when it came to himself and his kingdom instead of seeking God for himself.
I like David was in the hands of God, and I knew his mercy was abounding even thou, everything at the time was out of my hands, there was nothing at that time I could do be still and go through it. So, I can relate to this story. In this I learned to seek God for myself, and not so willing to allow any and everybody to lay hands of me or even speak to my life, or give me opposite instruction than what God gave me himself. I didn’t get to choose between 3 different options, as David did, because of my disobedience, but I knew still that God was still showing mercy. David said; let him fall in the hands of the Lord rather than man. I would have made the same decision as David.
Humans don’t show man the compassion or the mercy that God shows to his children. Experience taught David that human passion and vengeance had no bounds, whereas our wise and gracious Father in heaven knows the kind, and regulates the extent, of chastisement which everyone needs. We can learn much from what David went through due to God withdrawing His grace from David for a time, and permitted the tempter to prevail over him. We read the result of that successful temptation was the entail of a heavy calamity as a punishment from God upon the people.
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